Allied Warships

Thresher (SS-200)

Submarine of the Tambor class

USS Tresher as completed

Navy	The US Navy
Type	Submarine
Class	Tambor
Pennant	200
Built by	Electric Boat Co. (Groton, Connecticut, U.S.A.)
Ordered	2 Aug 1938
Laid down	27 Apr 1939
Launched	27 Mar 1940
Commissioned	21 Aug 1940
End service	15 Jul 1946
History	Decommissioned 13 December 1945. Laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. Recommissioned 6 February 1946. Decommissioned 12 July 1946. Stricken 23 December 1947. Sold 18 March 1948 to be broken up for scrap.

Commands listed for USS Thresher (200)

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	Lt.Cdr. William Lovett Anderson, USN	1 Nov 1940	Jun 1942
2	Lt.Cdr. William John Millican, USN	Jun 1942	Mar 1943
3	T/Cdr. Harry Hull, USN	Mar 1943	Nov 1943
4	T/Capt. Duncan Calvin MacMillan, USN	Nov 1943	28 Jul 1944
5	T/Cdr. John Robert Middleton, Jr., USN	28 Jul 1944	11 May 1945
6	Douglas N. Syverson, USN	11 May 1945	13 Dec 1945

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Notable events involving Thresher include:

7 Dec 1941
USS Thresher (Lt.Cdr. W.L. Anderson) was nearing Pearl Harbor, after conducting a simulated war patrol north of Midway, when the Japanese attacked. She returned to Pearl Harbor the next day.

30 Dec 1941
USS Thresher (Lt.Cdr. W.L. Anderson) departed from Pearl Harbor for her 2nd war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the Marshall and Mariana Islands area.

26 Feb 1942
USS Thresher (Lt.Cdr. W.L. Anderson) ended her 2nd war patrol at Pearl Harbor.

23 Mar 1942
USS Thresher (Lt.Cdr. W.L. Anderson) left Pearl Harbor for her 3th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in Japanese home waters.

10 Apr 1942
USS Thresher (Lt.Cdr. W.L. Anderson) torpedoed and sank the Japanese transport ship Sado Maru (3039 GRT) about 5 nautical miles north of Oshima, near the entrance to Tokyo Bay, Honshu, Japan in position 34°59'N, 139°29'E.

29 Apr 1942
USS Thresher (Lt.Cdr. W.L. Anderson) ended her 3th war patrol at Pearl Harbor.

26 Jun 1942
USS Thresher (Lt.Cdr. W.J. Millican) departed from Pearl Harbor for her 4th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the Marshall / Caroline Islands area.

9 Jul 1942
USS Thresher (Lt.Cdr. W.J. Millican) torpedoed and sank the Japanese torpedo recovery vessel Shinsho Maru (4836 GRT) at the entrance to Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands in position 08°43'N, 167°33'E.

15 Aug 1942
USS Thresher (Lt.Cdr. W.J. Millican) ended her 4th war patrol at Fremantle, Australia.

15 Sep 1942
USS Thresher (Lt.Cdr. W.J. Millican) departed from Fremantle for her 5th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the gulf of Siam and lay mines there.

16 Oct 1942
USS Thresher (Lt.Cdr. W.J. Millican) lays mines in the Gulf of Siam in the approaches to Bangkok.

12 Nov 1942
USS Thresher (Lt.Cdr. W.J. Millican) ended her 5th war patrol at Fremantle.

16 Dec 1942
USS Thresher (Lt.Cdr. W.J. Millican) departed from Fremantle for her 6th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the South China Sea.

30 Dec 1942
USS Thresher (Lt.Cdr. W.J. Millican) damaged the Japanese merchant Hachian Maru (2733 GRT) with gunfire about 120 nautical miles west of Mata Siri Island, off the south-eastern tip of Borneo. The Japanese ship is finished off with one torpedo and sank in position 04°45'N, 113°54'E.

10 Jan 1943
USS Thresher (Lt.Cdr. W.J. Millican) ended her 6th war patrol at Fremantle.

25 Jan 1943
USS Thresher (Lt.Cdr. W.J. Millican) departed from Fremantle for her 7th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the Netherlands East Indies.

25 Jan 1943
HrMs Tromp (Capt. J.B. de Meester, RNethN) and HrMs Tjerk Hiddes (Lt.Cdr. W.J. Kruys, RNethN) conducted A/S exercises off Fremantle with USS Thresher (T/Cdr. W.J. Millican, USN). (1)

14 Feb 1943
USS Thresher (Lt.Cdr. W.J. Millican) attacked the Japanese submarine I-162 (offsite link) off the Lesser Sundas in position 06°05'S, 105°47'E. Thresher fires two torpedoes, unfortunately one is a dud and the other misses.

21 Feb 1943
USS Thresher (Lt.Cdr. W.J. Millican) torpedoed and damaged the Japanese transport ship Kuwayama Maru (5724 GRT) off Soembawa Island, Netherlands East Indies in position 07°53'S, 119°13'E. The damaged Japanese ship sank the following day.

2 Mar 1943
USS Thresher (Lt.Cdr. W.J. Millican) torpedoed and sank the Japanese tanker Toen Maru (5332 GRT) in the southern Makassar Strait, Netherlands East Indies in position 03°29'S, 117°17'E.

10 Mar 1943
USS Thresher (Lt.Cdr. W.J. Millican) ended her 7th war patrol at Fremantle.

4 Apr 1943
USS Thresher (Lt.Cdr. H. Hull) departed from Fremantle for her 8th war patrol.

23 May 1943
USS Thresher (Lt.Cdr. H. Hull) ended her 8th war patrol at Fremantle.

14 Jun 1943
USS Thresher (T/Cdr. H. Hull) and USS Gar (T/Cdr. P.D. Quirk, USN, USN) conducted exercises off Fremantle. The destroyer HrMs Tjerk Hiddes (Lt.Cdr. W.J. Kruys, RNethN) served as target ship during these exercises. (2)

18 Jun 1943
USS Thresher (T/Cdr. H. Hull, USN) conducted exercises off Fremantle during which HrMs Van Galen (Lt.Cdr. F.T. Burghard, RNethN) acted as target. (3)

1 Jul 1943
While on her 9th war patrol USS Thresher (Lt.Cdr. H. Hull) attacked a Japanese convoy off the northwest coast of Celebes, in the Straits of Makassar. She torpedoed and damaged the Japanese destroyer Hokaze (offsite link) in position 00°43'N, 119°34'E and torpedoed and sank the Japanese transport ship Yoneyama Maru (5274 GRT) in position 00°20'N, 119°32'E about 40 nautical from Balikpapan. Hokaze is grounded in Sibaya harbour, Celebes, to prevent her from sinking and to permit her to be salvaged.

9 Jul 1943
USS Thresher (Lt.Cdr. H. Hull) lands men, 500 pounds of stores and 40,000 rounds of ammunition on the west coast of Negros near Catmon Point. Thresher now left the Philippines and proceeded to Pearl Harbor where she was to end her 9th patrol. After arriving at Pearl Harbor Thresher was ordered to the Mare Island Navy Yard for an overhaul.

1 Nov 1943
With her overhaul completed USS Thresher (Lt.Cdr. H. Hull) departed from Pearl Harbor for her 10th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the Caroline Islands area.

12 Nov 1943
USS Thresher (Lt.Cdr. H. Hull) torpedoed and sank the Japanese transport ship Muko Maru (4862 GRT) north of Truk in position 09°02'N, 152°46'E. Unfortunately Thresher is damaged by depth charges dropped by the escorts and is forced to terminate her patrol.

29 Nov 1943
USS Thresher (Lt.Cdr. H. Hull) ended her 10th war patrol at Pearl Harbor.

27 Dec 1943
USS Thresher (Lt.Cdr. D.C. MacMillan) left Pearl Harbor for her 11th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the South China Sea.

10 Jan 1944
USS Thresher (Lt.Cdr. D.C. MacMillan) sank the Japanese sailing vessel Horai Maru (91 GRT) with gunfire in the South China Sea.

15 Jan 1944
USS Thresher (Lt.Cdr. D.C. MacMillan) torpedoed and sank the Japanese transport ship Toho Maru (4092 GRT) and the Japanese tanker Tatsuno Maru (6960 GRT) about 75 nautical miles north of Luzon, Philippines in position 20°00'N, 120°51'E.

27 Jan 1944
USS Thresher (Lt.Cdr. D.C. MacMillan) torpedoed and sank the Japanese transport ship Kosei Maru (2205 GRT) and the Japanese merchant Kikuzuki Maru (1266 GRT) about 70 nautical miles south-west of Formosa in position 22°11'N, 119°12'E.

18 Feb 1944
USS Thresher (Lt.Cdr. D.C. MacMillan) ended her 11th war patrol at Pearl Harbor.

18 Mar 1944
USS Thresher (Lt.Cdr. D.C. MacMillan) left Pearl Harbor for her 12th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the Caroline Islands area.

8 May 1944
USS Thresher (Lt.Cdr. D.C. MacMillan) ended her 12th war patrol at Pearl Harbor.

14 Jun 1944
USS Thresher (Lt.Cdr. D.C. MacMillan) left Pearl Harbor for her 13th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the South China Sea.

16 Jul 1944
USS Thresher (Lt.Cdr. D.C. MacMillan) torpedoed and sank the Japanese transport ship Shozen Maru (2838 GRT) off northern Luzon, Philippines in position 18°23'N, 119°06'E, and torpedoed and damaged the Japanese merchant Sainei Maru (4916 GRT) in position 18°23'N, 119°32'E. This last ship sank the following day.

27 Jul 1944
USS Thresher (Lt.Cdr. D.C. MacMillan) ended her 13th war patrol at Midway.

23 Aug 1944
USS Thresher (Lt.Cdr. J.R. Middleton, Jr) departed from Midway for her 14th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the Yellow and East China Seas.

18 Sep 1944
USS Thresher (Lt.Cdr. J.R. Middleton, Jr) torpedoed and sank the Japanese transport ship Gyoku Maru (6854 GRT) in the Yellow Sea in position 35°02'N, 124°24'E.

25 Sep 1944
USS Thresher (Lt.Cdr. J.R. Middleton, Jr) torpedoed and sank the Japanese merchant Nissei Maru (1468 GRT) in the Yellow Sea in position 37°32'N, 124°33'E.

26 Sep 1944
USS Thresher (Lt.Cdr. J.R. Middleton, Jr) torpedoed and sank the Japanese merchant Koetsu Maru (873 GRT) in the Yellow Sea in position 37°13'N, 123°48'E.

3 Oct 1944
USS Thresher (Lt.Cdr. J.R. Middleton, Jr) sank the Japanese guard boat Nanshin Maru No.28 (83 GRT) with gunfire North-North-West of Marcus Island in position 30°49'N, 153°26'E.

12 Oct 1944
USS Thresher (Lt.Cdr. J.R. Middleton, Jr) ended her 14th war patrol at Pearl Harbor.

31 Jan 1945
USS Thresher (Lt.Cdr. J.R. Middleton, Jr) departed from Pearl Harbor for her 15th and last war patrol. She was ordered to patrol north of Luzon.

24 Apr 1945
USS Thresher (Lt.Cdr. J.R. Middleton, Jr) ended her 15th and last war patrol at Pearl Harbor. She was now assigned to training duties.