| Navy | The US Navy |
| Type | Submarine |
| Class | Balao |
| Pennant | 383 |
| Built by | Portsmouth Navy Yard (Kittery, Maine, U.S.A.) |
| Ordered | 8 Jun 1942 |
| Laid down | 15 Mar 1943 |
| Launched | 12 Jul 1943 |
| Commissioned | 6 Nov 1943 |
| End service | 15 Dec 1945 |
| History | Her biggest day came on September 12, 1944, when she and two other submarines surprised an 11-ship convoy and sank seven vessels. Later, Pampanito rescued more than 73 Allied prisoners of war who had been carried aboard the enemy transports. Decommissioned 15 December 1945. |
Commands listed for USS Pampanito (383)
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 | |
| Donald Arthur Scherer, USN | |||
| 1 | T/Lt.Cdr. Charles Barzzellious Jackson, Jr., USN | 6 Nov 1943 | 6 Mar 1944 |
| 2 | T/Lt.Cdr. Paul Edward Summers, USN | 6 Mar 1944 | 7 Oct 1944 |
| 3 | T/Capt. Frank Wesley Fenno, Jr., USN | 7 Oct 1944 | 2 Jan 1945 |
| 4 | T/Cdr. Paul Edward Summers, USN | 2 Jan 1945 | 1 May 1945 |
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Notable events involving Pampanito include:
USS Pampanito (Lt.Cdr. P.E. Summers) torpedoed and sank the Japanese merchant passenger/cargo ship Kachidoki Maru (former US passenger liner President Harrison, 10509 GRT) and the Japanese tanker Zuiho Maru (5135 GRT) in the South China Sea east of Hainan in position 19?25'N, 112?27'E.
22 Dec 1943
USS Pampanito (Lt.Cdr. C.B. Jackson, Jr., USN) arrived at Newport, Rhode Island from Portsmouth, New Hampshire for her torpedo trials.
24 Dec 1943
With her torpedo trials completed, USS Pampanito (Lt.Cdr. C.B. Jackson, Jr., USN) arrived at New London, Connecticut from Newport, Rhode Island.
14 Feb 1944
With her trials and initial training completed USS Pampanito (Lt.Cdr. C.B. Jackson, Jr.) arrived at Pearl Harbor.
15 Mar 1944
USS Pampanito (Lt.Cdr. P.E. Summers) departed from Pearl Harbor for her 1st war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the Mariana Islands area.
7 Apr 1944
USS Pampanito (Lt.Cdr. P.E. Summers) is damaged by depth charges off the Mariana Islands in position 12°46'N, 143°49'E. Despite the damage she is able to remain on patrol.
8 May 1944
USS Pampanito (Lt.Cdr. P.E. Summers) ended her 1st war patrol at Pearl Harbor.
3 Jun 1944
USS Pampanito (Lt.Cdr. P.E. Summers) departed Pearl Harbor for her 2nd war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in Japanese home waters off Kyushu, Shikoku, and Honshu.
8 Jun 1944
USS Pampanito (Lt.Cdr. P.E. Summers) topped up with fuel at Midway.
23 Jul 1944
USS Pampanito (Lt.Cdr. P.E. Summers) ended her 2nd war patrol at Midway.
17 Aug 1944
USS Pampanito (Lt.Cdr. P.E. Summers) departed from Midway for her 3rd war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in Luzon Strait.
15 Sep 1944
USS Pampanito (Lt.Cdr. P.E. Summers) picks up 73 Allied POW's from the sea.
20 Sep 1944
USS Pampanito (Lt.Cdr. P.E. Summers) arrived at Saipan.
28 Sep 1944
USS Pampanito (Lt.Cdr. P.E. Summers) ended her 3rd war patrol at Pearl Harbor.
28 Oct 1944
USS Pampanito (Capt. F.W. Fenno) departed from Pearl Harbor for her 4th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol off Formosa and in the South China Sea.
1 Nov 1944
Around 1500Y/1, USS Searaven (T/Lt.Cdr. R. Berthrong, USN), departed Midway for her 13th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the northern part of the South China Sea as a member of a coordinated attack group which was furthermore made up of USS Pampanito (T/Capt. F.W. Fenno, Jr., USN), USS Pipefish (T/Cdr. W.N. Deragon, USN) and USS Sea Cat (T/Cdr. R.R. McGregor, USN).
Around 2100Y/1, she joined USS Pampanito and USS Pipefish which had departed Midway later in the afternoon.
They were to proceed to Saipan first before proceeding to their patrol area.
Around 2000L/5, USS Pipefish parted company to proceed at best speed to Saipan with a case of appendicitis on board.
Around 0700L/7, USS Pampanito and USS Searaven were joined by USS Archerfish (T/Cdr. J.F. Enright, USN).
At 2030L/7, USS Searaven suffered a fire in the maneuvering room which was quickly brought under control. She briefly had to stop but was able to rejoin the other two submarines shortly afterwards. (1)
9 Nov 1944
Around 1330K/9, USS Pampanito (T/Capt. F.W. Fenno, Jr., USN), USS Archerfish (T/Cdr. J.F. Enright, USN) and USS Searaven (T/Lt.Cdr. R. Berthrong, USN) arrived at Saipan. They were escorted in USS Swanson (T/Lt.Cdr. W.K. Ratliff, USN) by which had joined around 0630K/9.
The three submarines were then all taken in hand for voyage repairs by USS Fulton (T/Capt. A.A. Clarkson, USN). (1)
11 Nov 1944
Around 1330I/11, USS Pampanito (T/Capt. F.W. Fenno, Jr., USN), USS Pipefish (T/Cdr. W.N. Deragon, USN) and USS Sea Cat (T/Cdr. R.R. McGregor, USN) and USS Searaven (T/Lt.Cdr. R. Berthrong, USN), which were to operate as a coordinated attack group, departed Saipan to proceed to their patrol area in the northern part of the South China Sea.
With them were also USS Archerfish (T/Cdr. J.F. Enright, USN) and USS Scabbardfish (T/Cdr. F.A. Gunn, USN). These two submarines parted company with the others around 1900I/12.
On leaving Saipan these six submarines were escorted by USS Candid (Lt. C.B. Hinton, USNR). (1)
18 Nov 1944
USS Pampanito (Capt. F.W. Fenno) torpedoed and sank the Japanese depot ship Banshu Maru No.17 (459 GRT) and the Japanese merchant cargo ship Shinko Maru No.1 (1200 GRT) off the east coast of Hainan in position 19°12'N, 110°51'E.
3 Dec 1944
USS Pampanito (Capt. F.W. Fenno) torpedoed and damaged the Japanese tanker Seishin Maru (5239 GRT) in the South China Sea east of Hainan in position 18°20N, 111°52E.
30 Dec 1944
USS Pampanito (Capt. F.W. Fenno) ended her 4th war patrol at Fremantle, Australia.
23 Jan 1945
USS Pampanito (Cdr. P.E. Summers) departed from Fremantle for her 5th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the Gulf of Siam.
6 Feb 1945
USS Pampanito (Cdr. P.E. Summers) torpedoed and sank the Japanese merchant tanker Engen Maru (6890 BRT) about 200 nautical miles north-east of Singapore in position 06°22'N, 106°00'E.
8 Feb 1945
USS Pampanito (Cdr. P.E. Summers) torpedoed and sank the Japanese auxiliary gunboat Eifuku Maru (3520 GRT) off Cape Camau, French Indo-China in position 07°05'N, 104°50'E.
12 Feb 1945
USS Pampanito (Cdr. P.E. Summers) ended her 5th war patrol at Subic Bay, Philippines.
25 Feb 1945
USS Pampanito (Cdr. P.E. Summers) departed from Subic Bay for her 6th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the Gulf of Siam.
5 Apr 1945
USS Pampanito (Cdr. P.E. Summers) takes on board additional fuel at Saipan.
24 Apr 1945
USS Pampanito (Cdr. P.E. Summers) ended her 6th war patrol at Pearl Harbor. She is now ordered to the Hunters Point Navy Yard for a major overhaul.
1 Aug 1945
With her overhaul completed USS Pampanito (Cdr. D.A. Scherer) departed from San Francisco bound for Pearl Harbor.
Media links
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Sources
- Patrol report of USS Searaven for her 13th war patrol
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