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vicinity, and the enemy conscious of their Battle. Passing from Pearl Harbor to Fre-
presence, as they undoubtedly were, the at- mantle, Western Australia for her fourth
tack which was not on SANDLANCE might patrol, GUDGEON patrolled the Truk area
easily have been on a false contact. enroute. Here she sank three freighters and
a freighter-transport, all of fairly large
The probability as to the cause for GUD- size. Her fifth patrol was in the Bismarck
GEON's loss is that she was depth-charged, Archipelago, and resulted in the sinking
bombed, or both. The attack of 12 May oc- of three freighters and damage to another.
curred slightly south of GUDGEON's area,
but it was not unusual for submarines to GUDGEON patrolled Davao Gulf, Ambon
leave their areas temporarily for tactical Isla·ad and Timor Island on her sixth patrol.
reasons. Since the anti-submarine measures She made no attacks on this patrol, but did
in the Marianas were so intense, it is not reconnoiter the latter two islands. In the
unlikely that GUDGEON would be unable Java Sea and Strait of Makassar on her
to transmit a receipt for the message of 10 seventh patrol, GUDGEON sank two tank-
May for several days. All of these conclus- ers and two freighters and damaged a third
ions are presumptive, and there is a great freghter. Her eighth patrol covered a pas-
likelihood that GUDGEON was lost during sage from Fremantle to Pearl with princi-
an unrecorded enemy attack. pal patrol in the Philippine areas. She sank
the largest (17,500 ton) transport ship the
During her first eleven patrols, GUDG- Japanese had, a small freighter-transport,
EON was a most active submarine. She a trawler, and damaged a freighter. GUD-
sank 25 ships, for 166,400 tons, and dam- GEON patrolled Saipan and Rota on her
aged 8 more, for 41,900 tons. She started ninth run, and sank a freighter and dam-
for the Empire but four days after the at- aged another freighter and patrol craft.
tack at Pearl Harbor, and there sank a The East China Sea north of Formosa was
freighter and a submarine. By sinking the GUDGEON's area during her tenth war
Japanese submarine 1-173 on 27 January patrol. She sank a large transport, a small
1942, GUDGEON became the first United freighter, and the coastal defense vessel
States submarine_ in history to sink an WAKAMIYA on ·23 November 1943. She
enemy combatant ship. She patrolled the also damaged a large tanker. In the same
South China Sea in her second war run and area for her eleventh patrol, this vessel
sank a large freighter-transport and a sank a large transport and a sampan, and
medium freighter. Her third patrol was as damaged a second sampan. GUDGEON was
member of the forces fighting the Battle of awarded the Presidential Unjt Citation for
Midw2y. She inflicted no damage in the the period covering her first eight patrols.

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