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	USS Golet (SS-361)
History
United States
Name	USS Golet
Namesake	Golet, an alternative name for the Dolly Varden trout
Builder	Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company, Manitowoc, Wisconsin
Laid down	27 January 1943
Launched	1 August 1943
Commissioned	30 November 1943
Fate	Sunk by Japanese vessels northwest of Honshū, 14 June 1944. All 82 crew lost
General characteristics
Class and type	Gato-class diesel-electric submarine
Displacement	1,525 tons (1,549 t) surfaced; 2,424 tons (2,460 t) submerged;
Length	311 ft 9 in (95.02 m)
Beam	27 ft 3 in (8.31 m)
Draft	17 ft 0 in (5.18 m) maximum
Propulsion	4 × General Motors Model 16-278A V16 diesel engines driving electrical generators; 2 × 126-cell Sargo batteries; 4 × high-speed General Electric electric motors with reduction gears; 2 × propellers; 5,400 shp (4.0 MW) surfaced; 2,740 shp (2.0 MW) submerged; 252-cell Gould battery;
Speed	20.25 knots (23.30 mph; 37.50 km/h) surfaced; 8.75 knots (10.07 mph; 16.21 km/h) submerged;
Range	11,000 nautical miles (13,000 mi; 20,000 km) surfaced at 10 knots (12 mph; 19 km/h)
Endurance	48 hours at 2 knots (2.3 mph; 3.7 km/h) submerged; 75 days on patrol;
Test depth	300 ft (90 m)
Complement	6 officers, 54 enlisted (peace); 80-85 (war);
Armament	10 × 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes (six forward, four aft; 24 torpedoes); one 3 in (76 mm)/50 caliber deck gun; two .30 cal (7.62 mm) machineguns;

USS Golet (SS-361), a Gato-class submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for the golet, a California trout.

Construction and commissioning

Golet initially was ordered as a unit of the Balao class, but her builder, the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company, did not receive the drawings for the Balao class from the Electric Boat Company in time to build Golet or the submarines USS Guavina (SS-362), USS Guitarro (SS-363), and USS Hammerhead (SS-364) to the new design, so they were built as Gato-class submarines. Thus, in some references, these four submarines are listed as units of the Balao-class.^[6]

War bond purchases by the people of Shreveport, Louisiana, and Cadddo Parish, Louisiana, funded Golet′s construction.^[7] Her keel was laid down by the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company of Manitowoc, Wisconsin. She was launched on 1 August 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Wiley, wife of United States Senator Alexander Wiley of Wisconsin, and commissioned on 30 November 1943.

Operational history

Golet departed Manitowoc 19 December 1943 via the Mississippi River for New Orleans, Louisiana, arriving 28 December. After shakedown training at Panama and final battle practice in Hawaiian waters Golet departed Pearl Harbor on 18 March 1944 for her maiden war patrol.

First Patrol: 18 March 1944

Golet departed Pearl Harbor on 18 March 1944 for her maiden war patrol off the Kurile Islands chain, Southern Hokkaidō and Eastern Honshū, Japan. Severe combinations of fog, rain, and ice were encountered and only one ship worth a torpedo came into view. This enemy proved too fast for Golet to close to torpedo range; she returned to Midway Island on 3 May 1944.

Second Patrol: 28 May 1944

Lieutenant Commander James S. Clark took command of Golet, departed Midway Island on 28 May 1944 to patrol off northern Honshū, Japan, and was never heard from again.

Golet had been scheduled to depart her area on 5 July and was expected at Midway Island about 12 July or 13 July. She failed to acknowledge a message sent her on 9 July and was presumed lost 26 July 1944.

Fate: 14 June 1944

Japanese antisubmarine records available after the war revealed that Golet was the probable victim of a Japanese antisubmarine attack made 14 June 1944. These records mention that the attack brought up cork, rafts, and other debris and a heavy pool of oil, all evidence of the sinking of a submarine.

Commemoration

Commissioning Crew: 30 November 1943

A plaque at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, lists the members of Golet′s commissioning crew on 30 November 1943 and provides a brief history of Golet′s career.

Memorial: 9 March 2013

A memorial to Golet and her crew is located in Metairie, Louisiana. Its inscription reads:

U.S.S. Golet SS-361 A submarine built by Manitowoc shipbuilding Co of Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Funds for this boat were raised by the citizens of Caddo Parish Louisiana. Launched one August 1943, her second patrol under the command of LCDR. James S. Clark was sunk by enemy depth charges on 14 June 1944. All hands were lost – 82 men. May God rest their souls.

The memorial also lists her crew at the time of her sinking, all of whom were lost.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Friedman, Norman (1995). U.S. Submarines Through 1945: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute. pp. 285–304. ISBN 1-55750-263-3.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Bauer, K. Jack; Roberts, Stephen S. (1991). Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775-1990: Major Combatants. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. pp. 271–273. ISBN 0-313-26202-0.
^ Lenton, H. T. American Submarines (Doubleday, 1973), p.78.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Lenton, p.79.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305-311
^ Friedman 1995, p. 209
^ "Golet (SS 361)". NHHC. Retrieved 9 August 2021.