Allied Warships
Steelhead (SS-280)
Submarine of the Gato class
USS Steelhead during or shortly after te war.
| Navy | The US Navy |
| Type | Submarine |
| Class | Gato |
| Pennant | 280 |
| Built by | Portsmouth Navy Yard (Kittery, Maine, U.S.A.) |
| Ordered | 9 Sep 1940 |
| Laid down | 1 Jun 1942 |
| Launched | 11 Sep 1942 |
| Commissioned | 7 Dec 1942 |
| End service | 1 Apr 1960 |
| History | Decommissioned 29 June 1946. |
Commands listed for USS Steelhead (280)
Please note that we're still working on this section
and that we only list Commanding Officers for the duration of the Second World War.
| Commander | From | To | |
| 1 | T/Cdr. David Lee Whelchel, USN | 7 Dec 1942 | 15 Oct 1944 |
| 2 | T/Cdr. John Culver Nichols, USN | 15 Oct 1944 | 26 Oct 1944 |
| 3 | T/Lt.Cdr. Robert Bogardus Byrnes, USN | 26 Oct 1944 | 29 Jun 1946 |
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Notable events involving Steelhead include:
14 Mar 1943
USS Steelhead (Lt.Cdr. D.L. Whelchel, USN) departed New London, Connecticut for the Panama Canal Zone.
8 Apr 1943
USS Steelhead (Lt.Cdr. D.L. Whelchel) arrived at Pearl Harbor from the US east coast.
25 Apr 1943
USS Steelhead (Lt.Cdr. D.L. Whelchel) departed from Midway for her 1st war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in Japanese home waters.
12 May 1943
USS Steelhead (Lt.Cdr. D.L. Whelchel) lays mines off Erimo Zaki, Japan.
30 May 1943
USS Steelhead (Lt.Cdr. D.L. Whelchel) lays more mines off Erimo Zaki, Japan.
12 Jun 1943
USS Steelhead (Lt.Cdr. D.L. Whelchel) ended her 1st war patrol at Midway.
30 Jun 1943
USS Steelhead (Lt.Cdr. D.L. Whelchel) departed from Midway for her 2nd war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the Caroline Islands area.
10 Jul 1943
USS Steelhead (Lt.Cdr. D.L. Whelchel) torpedoed and damaged the Japanese escort carrier Unyo (17128 GRT, built 1940, offsite link) north-west of Truk in position 10°00'N, 150°48'E.
1 Aug 1943
USS Steelhead (Lt.Cdr. D.L. Whelchel) torpedoed and damaged the Japanese auxiliary vessel Seiko Maru (5385 GRT) north-west of Truk in position 11°20'N, 153°30'E.
6 Aug 1943
USS Steelhead (Lt.Cdr. D.L. Whelchel) ended her 2nd war patrol at Pearl Harbor.
13 Sep 1943
USS Steelhead (Lt.Cdr. D.L. Whelchel) departed from Pearl Harbor for her 3rd war patrol. She was ordered to patrol off the Gilbert Islands.
25 Sep 1943
USS Steelhead (Lt.Cdr. D.L. Whelchel) called at Johnston Island to take on provisions and fuel and then resumes her patrol in the Palau area.
6 Oct 1943
USS Steelhead (Lt.Cdr. D.L. Whelchel) torpedoed and damaged the Japanese fleet tanker Kazahaya (18300 GRT) north-west of Truk in position 10°30'N, 146°37'E. The Kazahaya is sunk later that day by USS Tinosa.
21 Oct 1943
USS Steelhead (Lt.Cdr. D.L. Whelchel) torpedoed and damaged the Japanese aircraft transport Goshu Maru (8592 GRT, offsite link) south-east of Ulithi in position 08?16'N, 141?53'E.
23 Nov 1943
USS Steelhead (Lt.Cdr. D.L. Whelchel) ended her 3rd war patrol at Pearl Harbor.
10 Jan 1944
While on her 4th war patrol USS Steelhead (Lt.Cdr. D.L. Whelchel) torpedoed and sank the Japanese repair ship Yamabiko Maru (6799 GRT) about 200 nautical miles south of Hamamatsu, Honshu, Japan in position 31°28'N, 137°44'E.
15 Apr 1944
The Japanese merchant cargo ship Sumida Maru (2022 GRT) is sunk, most likely by mine laid in May 1943 by USS Steelhead, off Honshu, Japan in position 42°07'N, 143°10'E.
30 Apr 1944
While on her 5th war patrol USS Steelhead (Lt.Cdr. D.L. Whelchel) sank a Japanese trawler with gunfire off the Ryukyu Islands in position 26°10'N, 125°34'E.
23 May 1944
USS Steelhead (Lt.Cdr. D.L. Whelchel) ended her 5th war patrol at Midway.
17 Jun 1944
USS Steelhead (Lt.Cdr. D.L. Whelchel) departed from Midway for her 6th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol south of Formosa.
31 Jul 1944
While operation near the Bashi Channel USS Steelhead (Lt.Cdr. D.L. Whelchel) teams up with USS Parche to sink the Japanese troop transport Yoshino Maru (8990 GRT) in position 19°05'N, 120°50'E. Steelhead by herself torpedoed and sink the Japanese troop transport Fuso Maru (8195 GRT) in position 19°00'N, 120°55'E and damaged the Japanese troop transport Dakar Maru (7169 GRT) in position 19°08'N, 120°51'E. The Dakar Maru is towed to San Fernando and abandoned.
16 Aug 1944
USS Steelhead (Lt.Cdr. D.L. Whelchel) ended her 6th war patrol at Pearl Harbor. She is sent to the hunters Point Navy Yard for a much needed overhaul.
1 Oct 1944
While in dry-dock USS Steelhead suffered a fire that required the installation of a new conning tower.
16 Apr 1945
USS Steelhead (Lt.Cdr. R.B. Byrnes) departed from San Francisco bound for Pearl Harbor.
13 May 1945
USS Steelhead (Lt.Cdr. R.B. Byrnes) departed from Pearl Harbor for her 7th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol off Tokyo Bay.
5 Aug 1945
USS Steelhead (Lt.Cdr. R.B. Byrnes) ended her 7th war patrol at Midway.
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