Oct. 24, 1944 saw the loss of 3 US submarines, all for different reasons. The USS Tang SS-306 sank when one
of her own torpedoes ran a circle and hit her stern (see daily event story from 2005). The USS Darter SS-227
ran aground on Bombay Shoal at Palawan Island. Running at 17 knots there was no chance of getting the boat
back into the sea so the crew destroyed her equipment and abandoned the boat. They were picked up by the
USS Dace SS-247 then Dace, along with Rock SS-274 and Nautilus SS-168, shelled and destroyed the wreck.
Japanese pilots later bombed the wreck, probably thinking she had just grounded. It is reported that the
wreck is still visible today.
The last boat lost was the USS Shark SS-314. She had sailed from Saipan on Oct. 3 in company with USS Seadragon SS-194 and USS Blackfish SS-221 for a patrol in the Philippine Sea. On Oct. 22 Shark sent a signal stating she made contact with a four ship convoy, nothing else was heard until Seadragon got a message from Shark on the 24th. The message stated she was going to attack a lone freighter, that was the last contact ever made with the Shark. After the war Japanese records indicate the possibility that the destroyer Harukaze sank the Shark on that day however this has not been confirmed. To date the wreck of the Shark and the 87 men on board has not been located, leaving the exact cause of her loss a mystery.
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