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Originally Posted by Chief of the Boat
AND... don't forget that the Boats at the beginning of the War were the old "S" boats, many of which barely got out of Cavite [Manila Bay] ahead of the Nipponese. They were built at or shortly after WW ONE, and mostly were barely able to perform their War Patrol duties. The 'Fleet Boats' (with Names instead of like S-37) didn't show up on the scene until 1942 [as I recall].
COB
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There are Fleet Boats in December 1941...The famous gatos dont go on active patrol until 1942...but their predecessors are there in Dec 1941...Some Fleet Boats made patrols to Japanese Home Waters in the days after Pearl Harbor. There were Fleet Boats in Pearl Harbor and the Philippines on Dec 7th.
P Class, Tambor Class, Salmon Class, are the early Fleet Boats..Many were commissioned in the late 1930s.