USS Pogy (SS-266)

USS Pogy (SS-266), a Gato-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the pogy, or menhaden.

The first Pogy (SS–266) was laid down 15 September 1941 by the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co., Manitowoc, Wisc., launched 23 June 1942; sponsored by Mrs. Julius A. Furer; and commissioned 10 January 1943, Lt. Comdr. G. H. Wales in command. Pogy temporarily decommissioned 1 February for a Mississippi cruise on a river barge to New Orleans, LA, and recommissioned upon her arrival 12 February.

First war patrol, April – June 1943
After fitting out, trial runs, and training, Pogy arrived Pearl Harbor 5 April 1943. On 15 April she set out for her patrol area along the eastern coast of Honshū, making her first contact 1 May. Her periscope attack on a convoy of five ships with one escort sank ex-gunboat Keishin Maru, and damaged a small freighter. Upon surfacing that night, Pogy attacked a destroyer with three torpedoes, but was unable to observe the results. The next day she destroyed a large sampan by gunfire. On 9 May while making a submerged attack on a convoy of four freighters, a bomb close astern forced Pogy to retire. On 11 May, she sank a 100-ton sampan by gunfire. Two torpedo hits sent a small freighter to the bottom 26 May, and on 5 June Pogy retired to Midway.

Second war patrol, June – August 1943
She departed Midway on her second war patrol 26 June. Throughout July she covered the Empire-Truk main communication and supply line. While patrolling submerged east of the Pulap Islands 5 July, she attacked two freighters with torpedoes, damaging the leading 3,000-ton freighter by one hit.

Pogy sighted an aircraft ferry steaming for Truk, and sank the 7,497-ton Mongamigawa Maru and her valuable cargo 1 August. The submarine then departed the area, stopping at Johnston Island for fuel on the 14th, and arriving at Pearl Harbor two days later for refit.

Third and fourth war patrols, September – December 1943
Pogy departed Pearl Harbor 9 September for her third war patrol, in the Palau area. On 28 September she sighted a five ship convoy. After a two-day chase and one unsuccessful attack, she scored two torpedo hits on the largest freighter of the convoy, Maebashi Maru, sinking 7,000 more tons of enemy shipping. On 6 October Pogy fired and missed with 4 torpedoes at Nichiei Maru. On 26 October Pogy returned to Pearl Harbor.

The submarine sailed for her patrol area again in the Palau Islands, 25 November. En route, she sighted a large freighter and a submarine tender escorted by a destroyer 7 December. In the ensuing attack three torpedoes hit and sank the 6,081-ton submarine tender, and one hit the freighter, before Pogy went deep to sit out an attack of 22 depth charges. She surfaced in the darkness to find the freighter dead in the water with the destroyer circling her. Pogy launched two torpedoes, both hits.

On 13 December Pogy sank 3,821-ton transport Fukkai Maru leaving Palau loaded with troops. The angry escort dropped 27 depth charges during the counter-attack, the three closest charges causing damage which forced Pogy to return to Midway 22 December.

Fifth war patrol, February – March 1944
On 5 February 1944 Pogy departed Midway on her fifth war patrol for an anti-shipping sweep of the Formosa area. During the morning of 10 February, she spotted a convoy in Bashi Channel, off the southern tip of Formosa, guarded by three Japanese destroyers. Pogy attacked with five torpedoes, sinking Japanese destroyer Minekaze and 5,500-ton passengercargo ship Malta Maru, and damaging another freighter.

Pogy then headed northward up the east coast of Formosa and, on 20 February, caught a convoy on the Tropic of Cancer. Skillful approach and sharpshooting sent two torpedoes slamming into the Taijin Maru, a 5,154-ton freighter, and one into the Nanyo Maru, a 3,610-ton freighter, sinking both. Three days later in Ryukyu waters, Pogy blew the bottom out of another freighter, before heading for Pearl Harbor, arriving 8 March 1944.

Sixth war patrol, April – June 1944
On 7 April she departed on her sixth patrol, southeast of Japan. The night of 28 April, Pogy sighted and sank a Japanese submarine, I-183. She then attacked and sank a freighter 5 May, and a medium freighter on 13 May.

Three days later Pogy sank a 20-ton sampan by gunfire, and took five of her crew prisoner. On 20 May, Pogy destroyed a small trawler and arrived back in Pearl Harbor 29 May. She departed Pearl Harbor 1 June for a West Coast navy yard overhaul, arriving at Hunter's Point, San Francisco, Calif. 8 June. Pogy departed for Pearl Harbor 17 September.

Seventh and eighth war patrols, October 1944 – February 1945
After a training period, she got underway 13 October for her seventh war patrol, in the Ryukyu (Nansei) islands and waters south of Japan, but made no contacts before returning to Midway 2 December.

On 27 December Pogy sailed on her eighth patrol in the Bonin and Volcano Islands. On 14 January 1945 she made an unsuccessful torpedo attack on a convoy of three freighters. No other opportunity to attack presented itself during the patrol, and the ship returned to Midway 11 February.

Ninth war patrol, March – May 1945
On 12 March Pogy got underway for her ninth patrol in the area south of Tokyo Bay. On 19 April, while on lifeguard station, a B-24 Liberator on patrol strafed and bombed Pogy by mistake, causing considerable damage. On 29 April Pogy rescued ten Army aviators from a downed B-29 (The Queen Bee), and got underway for Saipan to transfer them. On 6 May she departed Saipan for Pearl Harbor arriving 15 May for refit.

Tenth war patrol, July – August 1945
On 2 July Pogy departed Pearl Harbor for the Sea of Japan on her tenth and last war patrol. She made a run under the minefields and patrolled in the "Emperor's private ocean" until V-J Day. Hunting was better on this patrol. On 27 July Pogy sank a large freighter with two torpedoes, damaged a 10,000-ton tanker on 2 August, and on 5 August destroyed the 2,200-ton freighter Kotohirasan Maru. She returned to Midway 21 August with her World War II career completed.

Postwar
She departed Midway 5 September for Panama and then the East Coast of the United States. She arrived New York 3 October.

Pogy was placed out of commission in the U.S. Atlantic Reserve Fleet 20 July 1946 at New London, Conn. She was struck from the Navy List 1 September 1958 and sold 1 May 1959.

Pogy was credited with sinking 62,633 tons of shipping in 16 ships. She received eight battle stars for service in World War II.