| Navy | The US Navy |
| Type | Submarine |
| Class | Perch |
| Pennant | 181 |
| Built by | Mare Island Navy Yard (Vallejo, California, U.S.A.) |
| Ordered | |
| Laid down | 14 Jan 1936 |
| Launched | 11 Mar 1937 |
| Commissioned | 12 Jun 1937 |
| Lost | 17 Sep 1943 |
| Loss position | |
| History | USS Pompano (Lt.Cdr. Willis Manning Thomas) was due to leave her patrol area at sunset on 27 September 1943 and return to Pearl Harbour through Midway. She was expected to arrive at Midway for fuel and provisions on 5 October 1943 but she never arrived. The official version is that she was lost while patroling off the coasts of Hokkaido and Honshu. Probably lost to Japanese mines. The date usually given (27 September) is an approximate one. However Japanese records show that a submarine was sunk on 17 September by air attack off the Aomori Prefecture near Shiriya Zaki (offsite link). Though we cannot be certain the boat was actually sunk here, it must be taken into consideration since it can only have been directed against Pompano as this is within her patrol area and as there were no other submarines operating in that area. They say a seaplane based on Ominato (offsite link) attacked a surfaced sub which returned fire (this is critical since it leaves little doubt about what the plane attacked) then dived. The Japanese minelayer Ashizaki dropped depth charges the following day on a spot where oil was surfacing, bringing up more oil. |
Commands listed for USS Pompano (181)
Please note that we're still working on this section.
| Commander | From | To | |
| 1 | Lt. Lewis Smith Parks, USN | 12 Jun 1937 | Jun 1942 |
| 2 | Lt.Cdr. Willis Manning Thomas, USN | Jul 1942 | 17 Sep 1943 (+) |
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Noteable events involving Pompano include:
18 Dec 1941
USS Pompano (Lt.Cdr. Lewis Smith Parks) left Pearl Harbour for her first war patrol, and was ordered to reconnoiter the eastern Marshall Islands.
31 Jan 1942
USS Pompano (Lt.Cdr. L.S. Parks) ended her first war patrol when she returned to Pearl Harbour
20 Apr 1942
USS Pompano (Lt.Cdr. L.S. Parks) left Pearl Harbour for her second war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the East China Sea.
24 May 1942
USS Pompano (Lt.Cdr. L.S. Parks) sinks the Japanese fishing vessel Kotoku Maru with gunfire in position east of Formosa in position 25º16'N, 122º41'E. (see map)
25 May 1942
USS Pompano (Lt.Cdr. L.S. Parks) torpedoes and sinks the Japanese tanker Tokyo Maru (902 GRT) some 70 nautical miles west of Naha, Okinawa in position 27º03'N, 127º03'E. (see map)
30 May 1942
USS Pompano (Lt.Cdr. L.S. Parks) torpedoes and sinks the Japanese troop transport Atsuta Maru (7983 GRT) east of Okinawa in position 26º07'N, 129º06'E. (see map)
18 Jun 1942
USS Pompano (Lt.Cdr. L.S. Parks) ends her second war patrol at Pearl Harbour.
19 Jul 1942
USS Pompano (Lt.Cdr. Willis Manning Thomas) left Pearl Harbour for her third war patrol, and was ordered to patrol in Japanese home waters.
4 Sep 1942
USS Pompano (Lt.Cdr. W.M. Thomas) sinks the Japanese guardboat Nanshin Maru No.27 (83 tons) with gunfire northeast of Honshu, Japan in position 35º22'N, 151º40'E. Pompano also takes one survivor prisoner. (see map)
12 Sep 1942
USS Pompano (Lt.Cdr. W.M. Thomas) ended her third war patrol at Pearl Harbour. She left for an overhaul at the Mare Island Navy Yard shortly afterwards.
16 Jan 1943
With her overhaul completed USS Pompano (Lt.Cdr. W.M. Thomas) left Pearl Harbour for her 4th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol off the Marshall Islands.
28 Feb 1943
USS Pompano (Lt.Cdr. W.M. Thomas) ended her fourth war patrol at Midway.
19 Mar 1943
USS Pompano (Lt.Cdr. W.M. Thomas) leaves Midway for her 5th war patrol. She is ordered to patrol in Japanese home waters.
10 May 1943
USS Pompano (Lt.Cdr. W.M. Thomas) ended her 5th war patrol at Pearl Harbour.
6 Jun 1943
USS Pompano (Lt.Cdr. W.M. Thomas) left Pearl Harbour for her 6th war patrol, once again she is ordered to patrol in Japanese home waters.
4 Jul 1943
USS Pompano (Lt.Cdr. Willis Manning Thomas) torpedoes and destroys the Japanese seaplane carrier Sagara Maru (offsite link) (7189 GRT) on the coast of southern Honshu in position 34º38'N, 137º53'E. The Sagara Maru was beached after an earlier attack by USS Harder on 22 June 1943. (see map)
10 Jul 1943
USS Pompano (Lt.Cdr. W.M. Thomas) torpedoes and damages the Japanese oiler Kyokuyo Maru (17549 GRT) off southern Honshu in position 33º34'N, 136º07'E
(see map)
20 Jul 1943
USS Pompano (Lt.Cdr. W.M. Thomas) torpedoes and damages the Japanese transport ship Uyo Maru (6376 GRT) east of Miki Zaki, Honshu, Japan in position 33º55'N, 136º26'E. (see map)
28 Jul 1943
USS Pompano (Lt.Cdr. W.M. Thomas) ends her 6th war patrol at Midway.
20 Aug 1943
USS Pompano (Lt.Cdr. W.M. Thomas) left Midway for her 7th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in Japanese home waters off Hokkaido and Honshu.
1 Sep 1943
USS Pompano (Lt.Cdr. W.M. Thomas) sinks the Japanese merchant Nankai Maru (451 GRT) off Miyako, Japan.
3 Sep 1943
USS Pompano (Lt.Cdr. W.M. Thomas) sinks the Japanese merchant Akama Maru (5600 GRT) south-east of Hokkaido in position 41º00'N, 144º34'E. (see map)
9 Sep 1943
USS Pompano (Lt.Cdr. W.M. Thomas) torpedoes and damages the Japanese transport ship Nanking Maru (3005 GRT) east off Honshu in position 40º12'N, 141º55'E. (see map)