The Submarine USS Wahoo Home Page (SS 238)

Multimedia archive regarding America's most famous World War II submarine
Mush Morton Wahoo Bell Wahoo Journey Icon Wahoo Frontal Mush with Cary Grant
Anecdotes
Commemorations
Gato Class Family
Searching for Wahoo
Life and Times of Wahoo
Photos and Videos


Journey to find the USS Wahoo

Wahoo Journey Icon

The Journey to Find USS Wahoo: the official story

The official account of locating Wahoo (SS-238) co-authored by Captain Thomas Logue (USN) and Bryan MacKinnon - published in Undersea Warfare Magazine

Navy.mil October 31, 2006: News: Navy Confirms the Wahoo has been found! Check here for information and photos
Wahoo
                Underwater Photo September 2006: News: The location of the Wahoo confirmed! Check here for information and photos

Anecdotes: Personal Notes about Wahoo from Family, Friends, and Adversaries

Mush Morton Personal Anecdotes about the Wahoo
From Family and friends of Mush Morton and the Wahoo Crew.
Japanese WWII Sub Vets Japanese WWII Submarine Veterans
In the year 2000, a group of Japanese WWII veterans met over lunch in Tokyo to recollect and share their wartime experiences and their theories about Wahoo's final hours.
Dalton
              Keeter Wahoo Crewman Dalton Keeter's Diary
Dalton Keeter was on all but one of Wahoo's seven patrols and was lost with her on the final one.  It was his atlas that he had bought for his daughter that provided the crucial maps that assisted Wahoo on her extraordinary third patrol.


Wahoo: her life and times

3rd War Report Icon

The Wahoo War Patrol Reports

Full text of Wahoo's six patrol reports and notes about the seventh.

First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Notes about the Wahoo's 7th patrol
Palau Region Map The controversy over Wahoo's third mission
During the Wahoo's historic third mission, an event took place that has been a source of controversy ever since.
Wahoo
              Under Attack

The Sinking of the Wahoo



Multimedia: Photos and Videos


Wahoo Underwater
              Photo The Journey to find the USS Wahoo Video 14 minutes
A journey of more than 60 years, the search to find American's most famous WWII Submarine, the USS Wahoo (SS-238), culminated in 2005-2006 when she was located off the north coast of Hokkaido, Japan in Russian waters by a multinational and multidisciplinary group. Wahoo, led by its tenacious skipper Dudley "Mush" Morton and executive officer Richard O'Kane, revolutionized American submarine doctrine during the middle of the second world war.

George Logue at Sea

Wahoo Peace Memorial Videos Clips multiple videos
These video clips are excerpts from two broadcasts on Japanese television news covering the Wahoo Peace Memorial Dedication.
Mush
                with Cary Grant Wahoo Photo Album Multiple photos with descriptions
A collection of personal and public photos about the Wahoo, its crew, and its fate.  Submissions are encouraged.
Wahoo
                Under Attack Wahoo final battle photos Multiple photos with descriptions
During the summer of the year 2000, researcher Keiko Takada worked with personnel at the Japan National Institute for Defense Studies to uncover the documents detailing the final hours of the Wahoo. Some, such as the photos, where misfiled under the wrong date which may explain why they've not come to light before. The MacKinnon Organization has obtained permission to publish these on this web site.  Further duplication is not permitted without permission from the Japan National Institute for Defense Studies.
I saw
              your flagpole today I saw your flagpole today - A family story during wartime  Video 2 minutes
Famed American World War II skipper Dudley "Mush" Morton writes home to his family revealing the location of his latest war patrol of the USS Wahoo (SS-238) in 1943 in a way only his family would understand. This short video is part of the James Avent China memories series featured at www.mackinnon.org
Morton Wedding Mush and Harriet  Video Video 3 minutes 27 seconds
Famed American WWII submarine skipper Dudley "Mush" Morton  met his future wife Harriet in 1934 in Tsingtao (Qingdao), China. When they married in 1936, Mush was still a rising officer in the United States Navy and USS Wahoo (SS-238) submarine fame was still seven years away. Harriet Nelson of Illinois was visiting her sister Jeanette in Tsingtao. Jeanette was married to James Avent, a Tennessee native and a Standard Oil manager who had been in China since 1919.
Wahoo
              Memorial USS Wahoo Peace Memorial Dedication Documentary Video 25 minutes 40 seconds
The USS Wahoo Peace Memorial was dedicated at Cape Soya, Hokkaido, Japan in 1995. Wahoo, American's most famous WWII Submarine, was attacked and sunk by Japanese air and naval forces in La Perouse Strait on October 11, 1943, several kilometers north of the memorial. This documentary, narrated by George Logue in English and who lost his brother on Wahoo, is a Japanese production and tells the story of the cenotaph which is joint Japanese-American memorial to the Wahoo (SS-238), her crew, and the Japanese ships and lives lost during the attacks by Wahoo. It features interviews of key participants in creating the memorial.

Wahoo
                  Rememberance in 1945

Frank Avent's Wahoo Photo Archive
In  2005, Mush Morton's grand nephew Frank Avent sent a trove of WWII related photos. 24 photos in in all, they were stored in an envelope addressed to Morton's sister in law, Jeanette Avent of Sewanee Tennessee and sent from the Nashville Banner Newspaper. The postmark is May 12, 1953. The range from stock issue of unknown submarines to touching photos of Morton's children at the Memorial Ceremony after her loss.



Commemorations

Wahoo Bell The Bowfin Submarine Museum

USS Bowfin Submarine Museum & Park is dedicated to the preservation of USS Bowfin and submarine artifacts that represent the history of US submarines. Wahoo is prominently featured here.  https://www.bowfin.org/

Enemies Past, Friends
                  Today

Wahoo Peace Memorial Dedication Notes
Hinomaru
A memorial to the Japanese who sleep from Wahoo Attack

At least twenty Japanese Ships and their Crew are in eternal sleep after giving their lives for their country. Old enemies now meet as brothers such that our countries will have lasting peace.




Gato Class Submarine


Typical Gato Class illustration and photos
Wahoo, like most of the US's WWII submarines, were Gato or immediate successor class submarines of the Balao and Tench.  What did they look like both inside and out?


Wahoo Web Family
The Wahoo is referenced on the web in countless locations. Here are some of the key ones:

www.usswahoo.org The MacKinnon Organization's Wahoo Archive
www.usswahoo.com
USS Wahoo (SS-565). The second USS Wahoo.
www.warfish.com Paul Crozier's Legends of the Deep site
www.oneternalpatrol.com Dedicated to all men lost while serving in the U.S. Submarine Force
Wikipedia
Wikipedia entry for USS Wahoo.


Credits
The people who made this presentation possible

BACK TO HOME Author: Bryan MacKinnon, http://www.mackinnon.org/