Edward Clark Stephan, USN
| Born | 12 Jun 1907 | District of Columbia, District Of Columbia, USA | |
| Died | 5 Sep 1990 | (83) | Olney, Montgomery County, Maryland, USA |
| Ranks
Retired: 1964 Decorations
|
Warship Commands listed for Edward Clark Stephan, USN
| Ship | Rank | Type | From | To |
| USS S-28 (133) | Lt. | Submarine | May 1939 | Jul 1941 |
| USS Grayback (208) | Lt.Cdr. | Submarine | 22 Sep 1942 | 19 Jul 1943 |
| USS Devilfish (292) | T/Cdr. | Submarine | 1 Sep 1944 | 3 Mar 1945 |
Career information
We currently have no career / biographical information on this officer.
Events related to this officer
Submarine USS Grayback (208)
31 Oct 1942 (position -4.37, 152.30)
While on her 4th war patrol USS Grayback (Lt.Cdr. Edward Clark Stephan) torpedoed and damaged the Japanese transport ship Noto Maru (7191 GRT) off Rabaul in position 04°37'S, 152°30'E.
7 Dec 1942
USS Grayback (Lt.Cdr. E.C. Stephan) departed from Brisbane, Australia for her 5h war patrol.
23 Jan 1943
USS Grayback (Lt.Cdr. E.C. Stephan) ended her 5th war patrol at Brisbane.
16 Feb 1943
USS Grayback (Lt.Cdr. E.C. Stephan) departed from Brisbane for her 6th war patrol.
13 Mar 1943 (position -0.10, 151.06)
USS Grayback (Lt.Cdr. E.C. Stephan) torpedoed and damaged the Japanese transport ship Noshiro Maru (7184 GRT, offsite link) about 100 nautical miles north-west of Bismarck Archipelago in position 00°10'S, 151°06'E.
4 Apr 1943
USS Grayback (Lt.Cdr. E.C. Stephan) ended her 6th war patrol at Brisbane.
25 Apr 1943
USS Grayback (Lt.Cdr. E.C. Stephan) departed from Brisbane for her 7th war patrol.
11 May 1943 (position -0.47, 149.02)
USS Grayback (Lt.Cdr. E.C. Stephan) torpedoed and sank the Japanese collier Yodogawa Maru (6441 GRT) about 125 nautical miles north-west of Kavieng in position 00°47'S, 149°02'E.
16 May 1943 (position -1.00, 148.44)
USS Grayback (Lt.Cdr. E.C. Stephan) torpedoed and damaged the Japanese destroyer Yugiri (offsite link) north-west of Kavieng in position 01°00'S, 148°44'E.
17 May 1943 (position -1.00, 148.40)
USS Grayback (Lt.Cdr. E.C. Stephan) torpedoed and sank the Japanese transport ship England Maru (5829 GRT) about 60 nautical miles north-west of Mussau Island in position 01°00'S, 148°40'E.
30 May 1943
USS Grayback (Lt.Cdr. E.C. Stephan) ended her 7th war patrol at Pearl Harbor. She was now sent to the US west coast for an overhaul.
Submarine USS Devilfish (292)
6 Sep 1944
USS Devilfish (T/Cdr. E.C. Stephan, USN) departed Philadelphia for New London. She was escorted until New York by USS SC-1296 (Lt.(jg) E.J. Adams, Jr., USNR).
7 Sep 1944 (position 0.00, 0.00)
USS Devilfish (T/Cdr. E.C. Stephan, USN) arrived at New London from Philadelphia.
15 Sep 1944 (position 0.00, 0.00)
USS Devilfish (T/Cdr. E.C. Stephan, USN) is docked on the marine railway at New London.
17 Sep 1944 (position 0.00, 0.00)
USS Devilfish (T/Cdr. E.C. Stephan, USN) is put back in the water.
18 Sep 1944 (position 0.00, 0.00)
USS Devilfish (T/Cdr. E.C. Stephan, USN) departed New London for the Naval Torpedo Station at Newport, Rhode Island where she arrived later the same day for her torpedo discharge trials.
21 Sep 1944 (position 0.00, 0.00)
With her torpedo discharge trials completed, USS Devilfish (T/Cdr. E.C. Stephan, USN) departed the Naval Torpedo Station at Newport, Rhode Island for New London where she arrived later the same day.
24 Sep 1944
USS Devilfish (T/Cdr. E.C. Stephan, USN) departed New London for a three day trials including a deep submergence test on the 24th.
28 Sep 1944
USS Devilfish (T/Cdr. E.C. Stephan, USN) conducted exercises in Long Island Sound with USS Durik (T/Lt.Cdr. R.W. Gavin, USN, USN) and USS SC-642 (?).
29 Sep 1944
USS Devilfish (T/Cdr. E.C. Stephan, USN) conducted attack exercises in Long Island Sound with USS Bernadou (Lt.Cdr. W.C. Meredith, USNR) and USS Dallas (Lt.Cdr. J.W. Coolidge, USNR).
30 Sep 1944
USS Devilfish (T/Cdr. E.C. Stephan, USN) conducted attack exercises in Long Island Sound with USS Bernadou (Lt.Cdr. W.C. Meredith, USNR) and USS Dallas (Lt.Cdr. J.W. Coolidge, USNR).
1 Oct 1944
USS Devilfish (T/Cdr. E.C. Stephan, USN) conducted attack exercises in Long Island Sound with USS Bernadou (Lt.Cdr. W.C. Meredith, USNR) and USS Dallas (Lt.Cdr. J.W. Coolidge, USNR).
11 Oct 1944
USS Devilfish (T/Cdr. E.C. Stephan, USN) departed New London, Connecticut for Key West, Florida.
She is to proceed through positions; B) 35°09'N, 70°00'W at 0010Q/13. C) 26°45'N, 70°00'W at 2200Q/14. D) 25°41'N, 76°39'W at 0715Q/16. E) 26°09'N, 79°10'W at 2000Q/16. F) 24°39'N, 80°25'W at 0615Q/17. G) 24°25'N, 81°47'W at 1310Q/13. Bombing restrictions were in place.
She was to be joined by USS PC-1147 (Lt. J.A. Hickman, USNR) in position D for onward escort to Key West.
17 Oct 1944
Around noon, USS Devilfish (T/Cdr. E.C. Stephan, USN) arrived at Key West, Florida from New London, Connecticut. She is now temporary assigned for duty with the Fleet Sound School.
She had been escorted since the vicinity of the Bahamas by USS PC-1147 (Lt. J.A. Hickman, USNR).
17 Oct 1944 (position 0.00, 0.00)
USS Devilfish (T/Cdr. E.C. Stephan, USN) departed Key West for exercises.
19 Oct 1944 (position 0.00, 0.00)
USS Devilfish (T/Cdr. E.C. Stephan, USN) returned to Key West from exercises.
21 Oct 1944 (position 0.00, 0.00)
USS Devilfish (T/Cdr. E.C. Stephan, USN) conducted exercises off Key West.
22 Oct 1944 (position 0.00, 0.00)
USS Devilfish (T/Cdr. E.C. Stephan, USN) conducted exercises off Key West.
23 Oct 1944 (position 0.00, 0.00)
USS Devilfish (T/Cdr. E.C. Stephan, USN) conducted exercises off Key West.
24 Oct 1944 (position 0.00, 0.00)
USS Devilfish (T/Cdr. E.C. Stephan, USN) conducted exercises off Key West.
25 Oct 1944 (position 0.00, 0.00)
USS Devilfish (T/Cdr. E.C. Stephan, USN) conducted exercises off Key West.
26 Oct 1944 (position 0.00, 0.00)
USS Devilfish (T/Cdr. E.C. Stephan, USN) conducted exercises off Key West.
27 Oct 1944 (position 0.00, 0.00)
USS Devilfish (T/Cdr. E.C. Stephan, USN) conducted exercises off Key West.
28 Oct 1944 (position 0.00, 0.00)
USS Devilfish (T/Cdr. E.C. Stephan, USN) conducted exercises off Key West.
30 Oct 1944 (position 0.00, 0.00)
USS Devilfish (T/Cdr. E.C. Stephan, USN) conducted exercises off Key West.
31 Oct 1944 (position 0.00, 0.00)
USS Devilfish (T/Cdr. E.C. Stephan, USN) conducted exercises off Key West.
1 Nov 1944 (position 0.00, 0.00)
USS Devilfish (T/Cdr. E.C. Stephan, USN) conducted exercises off Key West.
2 Nov 1944
USS Devilfish (T/Cdr. E.C. Stephan, USN) departed Key West, Florida for the Panama Canal Zone.
6 Nov 1944
USS Devilfish (T/Cdr. E.C. Stephan, USN) arrived in the Panama Canal Zone from Key West, Florida.
8 Nov 1944 (position 0.00, 0.00)
USS Devilfish (T/Cdr. E.C. Stephan, USN) and USS Threadfin (T/Cdr. J.J. Foote, USN) conducted exercises in the Gulf of Panama with USS MacLeish (Lt.Cdr. J.W. Fitzpatrick, USNR).
9 Nov 1944 (position 0.00, 0.00)
USS Devilfish (T/Cdr. E.C. Stephan, USN) and USS Threadfin (T/Cdr. J.J. Foote, USN) conducted exercises in the Gulf of Panama with USS MacLeish (Lt.Cdr. J.W. Fitzpatrick, USNR).
10 Nov 1944 (position 0.00, 0.00)
USS Devilfish (T/Cdr. E.C. Stephan, USN) conducted exercises in the Gulf of Panama with USS MacLeish (Lt.Cdr. J.W. Fitzpatrick, USNR).
11 Nov 1944 (position 0.00, 0.00)
USS Devilfish (T/Cdr. E.C. Stephan, USN) conducted exercises in the Gulf of Panama with USS MacLeish (Lt.Cdr. J.W. Fitzpatrick, USNR).
15 Nov 1944
USS Devilfish (T/Cdr. E.C. Stephan, USN), USS Boarfish (T/Cdr. R.L. Gross, USN) and USS Threadfin (T/Cdr. J.J. Foote, USN) departed the Panama Canal Zone for Pearl Harbor.
2 Dec 1944
USS Devilfish (T/Cdr. E.C. Stephan, USN), USS Boarfish (T/Cdr. R.L. Gross, USN) and USS Threadfin (T/Cdr. J.J. Foote, USN) arrived at Pearl Harbor from the Panama Canal Zone. They were then taken in hand for voyage repairs and alterations.
16 Dec 1944 (position 0.00, 0.00)
USS Devilfish (T/Cdr. E.C. Stephan, USN) conducted exercises off Pearl Harbour.
18 Dec 1944 (position 0.00, 0.00)
USS Devilfish (T/Cdr. E.C. Stephan, USN) conducted exercises off Pearl Harbour.
19 Dec 1944
USS Devilfish (T/Cdr. E.C. Stephan, USN) conducted exercises off Pearl Harbour with USS Doherty (Lt. W.J. O'Brien, USNR).
20 Dec 1944
During 20/21 December 1944, USS Greenling (T/Cdr. J.D. Gerwick, USN) and USS Devilfish (T/Cdr. E.C. Stephan, USN) conducted exercises off Pearl Harbour with USS Whitman (Lt.Cdr. R.G. Coan, USNR) and USS Cabana (Lt.Cdr. R.L. Bence, USNR). These included night exercises.
23 Dec 1944 (position 0.00, 0.00)
USS Devilfish (T/Cdr. E.C. Stephan, USN) conducted exercises off Pearl Harbour.
24 Dec 1944 (position 0.00, 0.00)
USS Devilfish (T/Cdr. E.C. Stephan, USN) conducted exercises off Pearl Harbour.
26 Dec 1944
USS Devilfish (T/Cdr. E.C. Stephan, USN) conducted exercises off Pearl Harbour with USS Doherty (Lt. W.J. O'Brien, USNR) and USS Whitman (Lt.Cdr. R.G. Coan, USNR).
27 Dec 1944 (position 0.00, 0.00)
USS Devilfish (T/Cdr. E.C. Stephan, USN) conducted exercises off Pearl Harbour.
28 Dec 1944 (position 0.00, 0.00)
USS Devilfish (T/Cdr. E.C. Stephan, USN) conducted exercises off Pearl Harbour.
31 Dec 1944
Around 1330VW, USS Devilfish (T/Cdr. E.C. Stephan, USN) departed from Pearl Harbor for her 1st war patrol. She was escorted out until 1900VW by USS PC-602 (Lt.(jg) H.P. Benton, Jr., USNR)
She was ordered to patrol off the Kii Suido and Bungo Suido. She was to make a stop at Saipan before proceeding to her patrol area.
31 Dec 1944
For the daily positions of USS Devilfish during her 1st war patrol see the map below.
12 Jan 1945
Around 0915K/12, USS Devilfish (T/Cdr. E.C. Stephan, USN) arrived at Saipan from Pearl Harbour. She was escorted in by USS LCI(L)-371 (Lt.(jg) B.M. Daniel, USNR) which she had made rendezvous with around 0200K/12.
At Saipan, USS Devilfish was taken in hand for voyage repairs by the submarine tender USS Fulton (T/Capt. A.A. Clarkson, USN).
17 Jan 1945
At 0010K/17, USS Devilfish (T/Cdr. E.C. Stephan, USN) is ordered to proceed to position 18°30'N, 138°50'E to search for a downed aviator, however at 0540K/17, orders were received to continue the passage to the patrol area.
At 1430K/17, USS Devilfish is ordered to proceed to position 28°00'N, 136°00'E for lifeguard duties.
19 Jan 1945
At 0129K/19, USS Devilfish (T/Cdr. E.C. Stephan, USN) is ordered to proceed to position 31°00'N, 136°00'E for lifeguard duty.
At 0915K/19, she is ordered to proceed to her patrol area.
At 1545K/19, a ship was sighted through the high periscope in position 30°03'N, 135°52'E. Range was about 8 miles. The ship was subsequently identified as a small sampan of about 150 tons.
20 Jan 1945 (position 0.00, 0.00)
At 1403K/20, USS Devilfish (T/Cdr. E.C. Stephan, USN) sighted a small 2-mast junk in position 33°20'N, 135°35'E. Again no attack was made so as not to give away the presence of the submarine.
23 Jan 1945 (position 0.00, 0.00)
At 1425K/23, USS Devilfish (T/Cdr. E.C. Stephan, USN) sighted the top of a ship in position 33°00'N, 133°45'E. Range was about 10000 yards. Went to battle stations and commenced an approach. However what was thought to have been an abnormally large stack at long range turned out to be the bridge structure of a small wooden coastal lugger or sea truck.
At 1437K/23, the top of a second ship was sighted but this turned out to be another lugger running on the same course as the first one that had been sighted. The estimated tonnage of these vessels was about 150 to 200 tons.
25 Jan 1945 (position 0.00, 0.00)
At 1408K/25, USS Devilfish (T/Cdr. E.C. Stephan, USN) sighted a small sampan in position 30°33'N, 134°27'E. Again no attack was made on such a small vessel despite the fact that it was thought to be a guard boat.
1 Feb 1945
At 2120K/1, USS Devilfish (T/Cdr. E.C. Stephan, USN) picked up the sound of a fast vessel in position 30°28'N, 132°43'E. The target could initially not be picked up by radar but was later seen to be barely visable at a range of 3500 yards. It was thought to be a small patrol vessel not worth attacking as it was too small for a torpedo and the sea was too rough for the use of the deck gun.
8 Feb 1945 (position 0.00, 0.00)
At 2148K/8, USS Devilfish (T/Cdr. E.C. Stephan, USN) receives a signal ordering her to leave patrol and to proceed to Guam.
13 Feb 1945
Around 0445K/13, the submarine USS Spadefish (T/Cdr. G.W. Underwood, USN) made contact with USS Roe (T/Cdr. J.P. Craft, Jr., USN) which was to escort her to Guam.
Around 0630K/13, the submarine USS Devilfish (T/Cdr. E.C. Stephan, USN) also joined and course was then set for Apra Harbour, Guam.
They arrived at Guam between 1000K/13 and 1030K/13 thus ending the 1st war patrol of USS Devilfish and the 3rd war patrol off USS Spadefish.
At Guam, USS Devilfish and USS Spadefish were both taken in hand for repairs by the submarine tender USS Proteus (T/Capt. C.N. Day, USN).
You can help improve officers Edward Clark Stephan's page
Click here to Submit events/comments/updates for this officer.
Please use this if you spot mistakes or want to improve his page.