USS Cod

## USS Cod (SS/AGSS/IXSS-224)

USS Cod

**USS *Cod* (SS/AGSS/IXSS-224)** is a *Gato*-class submarine, the only vessel of the United States Navy to be named for the cod, an important and very popular food fish of the North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans. She was launched on 21 March 1943, and commissioned on 21 June 1943.

*Cod* is now a National Historic Landmark, preserved as a museum ship and memorial permanently moored in Cleveland, Ohio, and is open to visitors daily from May to November.

*Cod*'s keel was laid down by the Electric Boat Company at Groton, Connecticut, on 21 July 1942. The submarine's four main Cleveland Model 16-248 V16 diesel engines and one Cleveland Model 8-268 auxiliary diesel engine were built by General Motors Cleveland Diesel Engine Division on Cleveland's west side. She was launched on 21 March 1943, sponsored by Mrs. G.M. Mahoney, and commissioned on 21 June 1943 with Commander James C. Dempsey, USN in command. Commander Dempsey had already won fame by sinking the first Japanese destroyer lost in World War II while in command of the submarine USS *S-37* (SS-142).

### WW2 Service

On 30 August 1943, the American Type C1-B cargo ship SS *Alcoa Patriot* opened gunfire on *Cod* in the Caribbean Sea at 12°25′N 076°03′W, about 120 nautical miles (220 km; 140 mi) north-northwest of Baranquilla, Colombia, and 330 nautical miles (610 km; 380 mi) east of the northern entrance to the Panama Canal. Less than three hours later, *Alcoa Patrio* again sighted *Cod* and fired on her at 12°02′N 076°04′W, about 105 nautical miles (194 km; 121 mi) northwest of Baranquilla and 310 nautical miles (570 km; 360 mi) east of the northern entrance to the Panama Canal. *Cod* suffered no damage or casualties in either incident.

*Cod* arrived in Brisbane, Australia, on 2 October 1943 to prepare for her first war patrol. She sailed from there 20 days later. Penetrating the South China Sea, she contacted few targets, and launched an attack only once, on 29 November, with unobserved results. She returned to Fremantle, Australia, to refit from 16 December 1943 to 11 January 1944.

*Cod* put to sea for her second war patrol in the South China Sea, off Java, and off Halmahera. On 16 February, she surfaced to sink a sampan by gunfire, and on 23 February, torpedoed a Japanese merchantman. She sent another to the bottom on 27 February, *Taisoku Maru* (2,473 tons) and two days later attacked a third, only to be forced deep by a concentrated depth charging delivered by a Japanese escort ship.

Refitting at Fremantle again from 13 March – 6 April 1944, *Cod* sailed to the Sulu Sea and the South China Sea off Luzon for her third war patrol. On 10 May, she attacked a heavily escorted convoy of 32 ships and sank the destroyer *Karukaya* and cargo merchantman *Shohei Maru* (7,256 tons) before the escorts drove her down with depth charges. She returned to Fremantle to replenish on 1 June 1944.

*Cod* was put to sea again 3 July on her fourth war patrol. She ranged from the coast of Luzon to Java. She sank the converted net tender, *Seiko Maru* (708 tons) on 3 August, and a landing craft, *LSV-129*, on 14 August, and, once more successful, returned to Fremantle 25 August.

*Cod* put to sea on her fifth war patrol 18 September 1944, bound for Philippine waters. She made her first contact, a cargo ship, *Tatsushiro Maru* (6,886 tons) on 5 October, and sank it. Two days later, she inflicted heavy damage on a tanker. Contacting a large convoy on 25 October, *Cod* launched several attacks without success. With all her torpedoes expended, she continued to shadow the convoy for another day to report its position. In November she took up a lifeguard station off Luzon, ready to rescue carrier pilots carrying out the series of air strikes on Japanese bases which paved the way for the Battle of Leyte later that month.

*Cod* returned to Pearl Harbor Naval Base on 20 November 1944, and sailed on to a stateside overhaul at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, returning to Pearl Harbor on 7 March 1945.

On 24 March she sailed from Pearl Harbor for the East China Sea on her sixth war patrol. Assigned primarily to lifeguard duty, she used her deck gun to sink a tugboat and its tow on 17 April, rescuing three survivors, and on 24 April launched an attack on a convoy which resulted in the most severe depth charging of her career. The next day, she sent the minesweeper *W-41* to the bottom. On 26 April *Cod* was threatened by a fire in the aft torpedo room, but the ship's crew brought the fire under control and manually launched a torpedo already in its tube before the fire could detonate it. QM2c Lawrence E. Foley and S1c Andrew G. Johnson were washed overboard while freeing the torpedo room hatch. S1c Foley was recovered the next morning, but QM2c Johnson drowned during the night. This was *Cod*'s only fatality during World War II.

After refitting at Guam between 29 May and 26 June 1945, *Cod* put out for the Gulf of Siam and the coast of Indo-China on her seventh war patrol. On 9 and 10 July she went to the rescue of a grounded Dutch submarine, *O-19*, taking its crew on board and destroying the Dutch submarine when it could not be gotten off the reef. This was the only international submarine-to-submarine rescue in history. After returning the Dutch sailors to U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay, between 21 July and 1 August *Cod* made 20 gunfire attacks on the junks, motor sampans, and barges which were all that remained to supply the Japanese at Singapore. After inspecting each contact to rescue civilian crew, *Cod* sank it by gunfire and torpedoes, sending to the bottom a total of 23. On 1 August, an enemy plane strafed *Cod*, forcing her to dive, leaving one of her boarding parties behind. The men were rescued two days later by USS *Blenny* (SS-324).

When *Cod* returned to Fremantle 13 August 1945, the crew of *O-19* was waiting to throw a party for their rescuers. During that celebration, the two crews learned of the Japanese surrender. To symbolize that moment, another symbol was added to *Cod*'s battle flag: the name *O-19* under a martini glass.

*Cod* sailed for home on 31 August. Arriving at Naval Submarine Base New London, on 3 November after a visit to Miami, Florida, *Cod* sailed to the Philadelphia Navy Yard for a overhaul, returning to New London, Connecticut where she was decommissioned and placed in reserve 22 June 1946.

### Postwar

*Cod* was mothballed in 1946, *Cod* was recommissioned in 1951 to participate in NATO anti-submarine training exercises. During the Cold War, *Cod* traveled to St. John's, Newfoundland, as well as Cuba and South America.

*Cod* was decommissioned in 1954 February and placed in reserve. In 1959 she was towed through the St. Lawrence Seaway to Cleveland, Ohio and was used as a training vessel. The *Cod* served as a training platform during the reservists' weekend drills. The *Cod* was reclassified first as an Auxiliary Submarine (AGSS-224) on 1 December 1962, and later as a Unclassified Miscellaneous Submarine (IXSS-224) on 30 June 1971. The *Cod* was in commission, but classed as "in commission in reserve". On 15 December 1971, the *Cod* was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register.