Lagarto News

USS Wahoo (SS 238) is launched at Mare Island Navy Yard, Calif., just eight months after her keel was laid. Adm. Gary Roughead, commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet, declared that the sunken submarine recently discovered by divers in the Western Pacific is the World War II submarine USS Wahoo (SS 238). Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet declared Oct. 31 that the sunken submarine recently discovered by divers in the Western Pacific is, indeed, the World War II submarine USS Wahoo (SS 238). "After reviewing the records and information, we are certain USS Wahoo has been located," said Adm. Gary Roughead, the U.S. Pacific Fleet commander.

A plaque placed on the aft capstan of the wreckage in the Gulf of Thailand believed to be that of World War II submarine USS Lagarto (SS 371) is seen in this screen grab of video. U.S. Experts at the Naval Historical Center in Washington, D.C., have confirmed that a World War II submarine wreck found in the Gulf of Thailand last year is USS Lagarto (SS 371). Underwater archeologists at the center completed their examination of evidence obtained in June by Navy divers from USS Salvor (ARS 52) and Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit 1, both based in Pearl Harbor. "We now know for certain that this is Lagarto," said Rear Adm. Jeffrey Cassias, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet submarine force.

The Thailand phase of the exercise Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) series officially began June 20 at the Royal Thai Navy’s (RTN) Lam Tien Naval Base Frigate Squadron 2 pier with a look back at the exercise’s unofficial and solemn beginning June 11. On that day, Sailors from the CARAT task group ship USS Salvor (ARS 52) began six days of dive operations on wreckage in the Gulf of Thailand believed to be that of the lost World War II submarine USS Lagarto (SS 371). “U.S. Navy divers from Salvor, along with a Royal Thai Navy diver, were able to visit the wreck, a necessary step toward positive identification, thereby helping us fulfill our commitment to honor our war dead,” Alexander A. Arvizu, deputy chief of mission at the U.S.

Navy divers completed six days of diving operations June 16 on wreckage in the Gulf of Thailand believed to be that of the lost World War II submarine USS Lagarto (SS 371). Divers will send photographs and video of the submarine to the Naval Historical Center in Washington for further analysis. The divers' observations appear to confirm the discovery made in May 2005 by British wreck diver Jamie MacLeod. "Without a doubt, it's a U.S. submarine, a Balao-class," said U.S. 7th Fleet Diving Officer, Cmdr. Tony San Jose. San Jose and his fellow divers reported identifying twin 5-inch gun mounts both forward and aft, a feature believed to be unique to Lagarto. They also reported finding serial numbers and the word "Manitowoc" engraved on the submarine's propeller.

A rescue and salvage ship USS Salvor (ARS 52) and divers of Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit (MDSU) 1 arrived June 11 at the site in the Gulf of Thailand presumed to be the resting place of the WWII–era USS Lagarto (SS 371) and its crew. In May 2005, British diver Jamie MacLeod reported finding Lagarto, which was last seen May 3, 1945. On May 8, 2006, MacLeod joined U.S. Pacific Fleet Submarine Force Commander Rear Adm. Jeffrey Cassias and families of crew members who served aboard Lagarto at a memorial service in the crew’s honor hosted by the Wisconsin Maritime Museum in Manitowoc, Wis. Over the next several days the divers from Salvor and MDSU-1 will conduct diving operations in an attempt to confirm MacLeod’s discovery…