Allied Warships

Scorpion (SS-278)

Submarine of the Gato class

USS Scorpion as completed.

Navy	The US Navy
Type	Submarine
Class	Gato
Pennant	278
Built by	Portsmouth Navy Yard (Kittery, Maine, U.S.A.)
Ordered	9 Sep 1940
Laid down	20 Mar 1942
Launched	20 Jul 1942
Commissioned	1 Oct 1942
Lost	6 Mar 1944
History	On the 5 January 1944 USS Scorpion (Cdr. Maximilian Gmelich Schmidt) attempted to rendezvous with sister ship USS Herring (SS 233) to transfer an injured crewmember. Heavy seas prevented the transfer, and Scorpion continued west. She was not heard from again and is assumed to be the victim of a Japanese mine, she was declared lost on 6 March 1944. The loss date given is an approximate one.

Commands listed for USS Scorpion (278)

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/Lt.Cdr. William Naylor Wylie, USN	1 Oct 1942	23 Sep 1943
2	T/Cdr. Maximilian Gmelich Schmidt, USN	23 Sep 1943	6 Mar 1944 (+)

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Notable events involving Scorpion include:

22 Feb 1943
USS Scorpion (Lt.Cdr. W.N. Wylie, USN) departed New London, Connecticut for Key West, Florida.

26 Feb 1943
USS Scorpion (Lt.Cdr. W.N. Wylie, USN) arrived at Key West, Florida from New London, Connecticut.

2 Mar 1943
USS Scorpion (Lt.Cdr. W.N. Wylie, USN) departed Key West, Florida for the Panama Canal Zone.

9 Mar 1943
USS Scorpion (Lt.Cdr. W.N. Wylie, USN) transited the Panama Canal.

24 Mar 1943
USS Scorpion (Lt.Cdr. William N. Wylie) arrived at Pearl Harbor from the US East coast.

5 Apr 1943
USS Scorpion (Lt.Cdr. W.N. Wylie) departed from Pearl Harbor for her 1st war patrol. She was ordered to patrol off the east coast of Honshu in Japanese home waters.

19 Apr 1943
USS Scorpion (Lt.Cdr. W.N. Wylie) lays mines s off Kashima Nada, Japan.

20 Apr 1943
USS Scorpion (Lt.Cdr. W.N. Wylie) torpedoed and sank the Japanese auxiliary gunboat Meiji Maru No.1 (1934 GRT) off east central coast of Honshu, Japan in position 37°10'N, 141°25'E.

27 Apr 1943
USS Scorpion (Lt.Cdr. W.N. Wylie) torpedoed and sank the Japanese merchant cargo ship Yuzan Maru (6380 GRT) off the east coast of Honshu, Japan in position 38°08'N, 143°03'E.

30 Apr 1943
USS Scorpion (Lt.Cdr. W.N. Wylie) sank the Japanese guard boat Ebisu Maru No.5 (131 GRT) with gunfire east of Japan in position 37°24'N, 154°40'E.

8 May 1943
USS Scorpion (Lt.Cdr. W.N. Wylie) ended her 1st war patrol at Pearl Harbor.

29 May 1943
USS Scorpion (Lt.Cdr. W.N. Wylie) departed from Pearl Harbor for her 2nd war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the Yellow Sea.

2 Jun 1943
USS Scorpion (Lt.Cdr. W.N. Wylie) topped up with fuel at Midway.

3 Jul 1943
USS Scorpion (Lt.Cdr. W.N. Wylie) torpedoed and sank the Japanese merchant cargo ships Anzan Maru (3890 GRT) and Kokuryu Maru (6112 GRT) in the Yellow Sea in position 38°20'N, 124°25'E.

26 Jul 1943
USS Scorpion (Lt.Cdr. W.N. Wylie) ended her 2nd war patrol at Pearl Harbor.

13 Oct 1943
USS Scorpion (Cdr. Maximilian Gmelich Schmidt) departed from Pearl Harbor for her 3rd war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the Mariana Islands area.

13 Nov 1943
USS Scorpion (Cdr. M.G. Schmidt) torpedoed and damaged the Japanese fleet oiler Shiretoko (14050 GRT, offsite link) north-west of the Marianas in position 18°22'N, 142°50'E.

5 Dec 1943
USS Scorpion (Cdr. M.G. Schmidt) ended her 3rd war patrol at Pearl Harbor.

29 Dec 1943
USS Scorpion (Cdr. M.G. Schmidt) departed from Pearl Harbor for her 4th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the Yellow Sea.

3 Jan 1944
USS Scorpion (Cdr. Maximilian Gmelich Schmidt) refuels at Midway.

6 Mar 1944
USS Scorpion was declared lost on 6 March 1944.