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by Thomas Holian
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Anyone happening to
glance towards the American fleet-type submarine USS Gudgeon
(SS-211) during the night of Sunday, 27 December 1942, as she lay moored
to the dock at Fremantle, Australia, might have observed an unusual
sight. Seven mess boys boarded the submarine, saluted the colors, and
then immediately proceeded down the hatch. No sooner were they below
decks than Gudgeon, captained by LCDR William Stovall, Jr., slid
away from the dock and quietly maneuvered out to sea.
The “mess boys” were
in fact disguised Filipino soldiers and intelligence officers, led by
Major Jesus Villamor, U.S. Army. Two days earlier, Gudgeon’s crew
had loaded her with a ton of equipment specially ordered for the mission
their passengers were about to embark upon. Gudgeon’s top-
secret task: to deliver the soldiers and their gear to Mindanao and
Panay, two key Philippine islands, to help bolster the Philippine
guerilla forces resisting the Japanese occupation, without being
detected.
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The
fleet-type submarine USS Gudgeon
(SS-211) in San Francisco Bay, California in August 1943. Gudgeon
was sent on the first official guerrilla submarine mission to the
Philippines, and later completed one more. Gudgeon’s CO on the
second occasion concluded his official report by stating: “As long as a
torpedo shortage exists, it seems feasible and highly desirable that
every submarine bound for the Philippines or the South China Sea carry
what men and equipment it can to [the Philippine guerrilla] troops who
are on the spot and capable of seriously harassing the enemy.”
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One year before Gudgeon
slipped out of Fremantle, General Douglas MacArthur, responsible for the
defense of the Philippine Islands, was forced to declare the capital,
Manila, an open city in the face of Japanese invasion forces. At his new headquarters
on the fortified island of Corregidor in Manila Bay, MacArthur searched
for effective ways to fight back against the wave of Japanese invaders
threatening to take over the island nation. The general quickly realized
that, should the invaders secure the whole country, the best hope for
retaking the islands would be to enlist the support of native forces to
harass the enemy while the U.S. military prepared for its
counter-offensive. Soon enough, messengers were sent out to encourage
loyal Filipinos to set up guerrilla units to gather intelligence and keep
the Japanese forces distracted. Unfortunately for MacArthur, it soon
became clear that these guerrilla forces were doomed to failure in their
initial state of preparation. Brave and loyal though they may have been,
they did not have the strong leadership necessary to perform meaningful
operations. Nor did they have any means for receiving badly-needed
supplies from outside the country.
A solution to the
latter problem began to take shape in MacArthur’s mind as he watched
submarines slink into the small anchorage at Corregidor during the
Japanese siege of that stronghold. The boats were on special missions to
deliver supplies and to evacuate people and equipment while under
constant threat from Japanese air and surface attack. The first boat to
arrive was USS Seawolf (SS-197), commanded by LCDR Frederick
“Fearless Freddy” Warder. Warder’s greatest concern was about mines in
Manila Bay. The U.S. Navy had mined the area in anticipation of the
Japanese invasion, and the locations of the mines were not well
documented. Worse, with the Japanese now in control, nobody knew if they
had mined the bay as well. Warder, guessing that the Japanese didn’t
expect a counter-attack soon, gambled that they had not mined the area.
He also assumed that the Japanese did not anticipate American submarines
operating behind their lines. Both gambles paid off, and after Warder
delivered his cargo of ammunition, he was able to leave Corregidor with
25 rescued Americans (mostly pilots), 16 torpedoes, and various spare
submarine parts. Impressed by Gudgeon’s success, General
MacArthur began to wonder whether similar submarine missions could be
used to supply Filipino guerrillas.
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“Fearless
Freddy” Warder (on the right), CO of USS Seawolf (SS-197) during
the early stages of the guerrilla campaign, was the first to sneak
much-needed ammunition and supplies to the defenders on Corregidor.
Warder is shown here with Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz at the U.S. Naval
Reserve Training Center, Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1961. By this time, Warder
had risen to the rank of Rear Admiral.
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Under direct orders
from President Roosevelt, General MacArthur was finally evacuated from
Corregidor for Australia in March 1942. The submarine resupply missions
continued until the fall of Corregidor in May, but during this interim,
MacArthur had begun hearing that meaningful groups of Filipino guerrillas
had formed and were awaiting supplies and instructions. Remembering his
experience in Corregidor, MacArthur started inquiring about whether
submarines could be used in top-secret supply missions to the Philippines.
His staff informed him that the standard fleet-type boats could carry
between five and 10 tons of supplies, plus six passengers, when leaving
Australia on regular combat patrols. In view of the sizable requests
MacArthur was receiving from his guerrillas, he pushed for a better
alternative. His staff suggested he ask for the services of the Navy’s
two much larger transport-type submarines, USS Narwhal (SS-167)
and USS Nautilus (SS-168). To MacArthur’s dismay, he learned
that those submarines were so old and in such disrepair that Narwhal
would not be available until November 1943, and Nautilus needed
a complete overhaul before she could put back to sea. Instead, ADM
Chester Nimitz suggested that, with a modified wartime weapon load-out,
the fleet-type submarines could carry up to 34 tons of cargo and 25
passengers, and would be better suited to the narrow passages in and
around the islands anyway. MacArthur agreed with this approach, and as
recounted above, Gudgeon was underway for the Philippines by
late December.
After departing
Fremantle, Gudgeon set out towards her destination on Mindanao,
running on the surface but diving regularly only to maintain her trim and
to avoid Japanese patrols. As they approached the archipelago, Major Villamor
informed LCDR Stovall that there was a change in plans. Villamor had
apparently received intelligence just before departing Fremantle that
Japanese patrols had increased in the original landing area. The new
destination was on the island of Negros. Furthermore, Villamor announced
he and his men would not use the 18-foot dinghy that had been lashed to
the exterior of the boat for the beach landing, but would rather put
ashore in the inflatable rafts they had practiced with. Stovall was not
pleased with these last-minute revelations, especially since he could
have taken a shorter route to Negros, and the now-unneeded dinghy had
adversely affected his diving characteristics. However, he agreed to the
changes, provided that periscope reconnaissance of the shore proved the
landing could be made safely for both the landing party and the
submarine. The first night, high winds and seas prohibited approaching
the original landing site, so the submerged Gudgeon moved
quietly along the coast into the next day, scanning for a new location.
That night, another likely choice was negated after a number of
mysterious lights suddenly appeared on the beach. Subsequently, one of
Villamor’s men identified them as Filipino night fishermen. Finally on
the third night, 14 January 1943, a deserted beach was identified, and
Villamor successfully loaded his men and supplies into the rafts and
landed ashore.
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