USS Lagarto (SS-371), a , was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for the lagarto, a lizard fish.
Construction and commissioning Lagarto′s keel was laid down on 12 January 1944 by the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company of Manitowoc, Wisconsin. She was launched on 28 May 1944, sponsored by Emily Taft Douglas, Congresswoman from Illinois, and later United States Senator from Illinois, and commissioned on 14 October 1944 with Commander Frank D. Latta in command. Latta was a veteran of nine war patrols and holder of the Navy Cross, earned while commanding officer of the submarine .
Operational history November–December 1944 Floated high and dry in a floating drydock down the Mississippi River, among the islands and channels of which her captain had first "felt the call of the sea" as "a mere youth", Lagarto departed New Orleans, Louisiana, on 12 November 1944, for Panama, escorted by the submarine chaser . Releasing her escort on 15 November, Lagarto reported to Commander, Panama Sea Frontier, to begin her shakedown two days later. Captain John G. Johns supervised the boat's training during the period between 20 November and 5 December 1944. Sadly, during that period, on 3 December, Chief Machinist's Mate Pat Cole died of coronary thrombosis while Lagarto lay at Saboya Anchorage, off Perlas Island, Panama.
Clearing Balboa, Canal Zone, on 9 December 1944, Lagarto reached Pearl Harbor on Christmas Day 1944. The following day, she commenced a period of training (supervised by Captain Jesse L. Hull for its duration) and a special availability. The latter saw the installation of a second gun and replacement of the 20 mm with two 40 mm mounts, installation of additional topside ready-use lockers, eight topside mounts for .50 cal (12.7 mm) machine guns, in addition to other internal work, including the alteration of the small arms magazine to accommodate additional ammunition stowage, bringing the boat's total capacity to 220 rounds. Additionally, a Panama Bay sound test having revealed a "singing" port propeller, that was replaced. The special training and availability period concluded on 23 January 1945.
January – March 1945 Lagarto, accompanied by , departed Pearl Harbor on 24 January 1945, escorted initially by . Releasing their escort four and a half hours out, the two boats proceeded in company, conducting dives and drills daily and acting as targets for each other on alternate days. Ultimately, the pair reached the Marianas on 4 February, exchanging recognition signals with friendly planes as they neared Saipan. Escorted in by the infantry landing craft on 5 February, Lagarto moored in a nest alongside as she lay alongside in Tanapag Harbor. Haddock moored outboard.
Tragedy struck the next day, however, when an automobile accident on Saipan resulted in serious injuries to two of Lagartos more experienced officers: Lieutenant Walter R. Shaw, a "mustang" (commissioned from the enlisted ranks) veteran of three war patrols, and Ensign Allen G. Brewington, who, like Shaw, was a mustang but a veteran of nine patrols, including one in Haddock for which he had earned the Silver Star. In addition, the mishap incapacitated three of Haddocks officers, including Commander John P. "Beetle" Roach, her skipper and a Naval Academy classmate of Lagartos commanding officer. Consequently, Lieutenant Robert J. Williams (five war patrols) and Lieutenant, junior grade Walter B. Phelps (four war patrols) arrived by air from Guam, reporting on board Lagarto late in the forenoon watch on 7 February to replace Shaw and Brewington.
Under way during the first dog watch on 7 February 1945, escorted by the motor minesweeper , "Latta's Lancers" (Task Group 17.13) formed column—Lagarto, Haddock, and —and headed for the Bonin Islands to destroy "picket boats" in advance of the carrier strikes planned to be launched by Task Force 38 in mid-month. Releasing YMS-426 at midnight, Lagarto decoded a dispatch a little over two hours into the mid watch on 8 February, however, communicating the sad tidings that Lieutenant Shaw had died ("His loss was a serious blow to the Lagarto," wrote Captain Willard J. Suits, Commander, Submarine Squadron 22, "and the submarine service.") of the injuries suffered in the automobile accident on the 6th. At noon the same day (8 February), while Lagarto mourned her loss, Commander Latta informed the "wolfpack" that its being behind schedule would not permit coordinated practice firing.
12 – 13 February Entering the assigned patrol area on 11 February 1945, "Latta's Lancers" commenced searching for their quarry. A quarter of an hour into the first dog watch on 12 February, Lagarto sighted four B-29s; contacting two over her VHF (very high frequency) radio equipment, she "received [the] dope on [the] picket vessels" they sought. Haddock likewise obtained contact data from the Superfortresses. Thus forewarned, Haddock obtained the first radar contact an hour before the end of the first watch on 12 February; opening the range, she commenced tracking what proved to be the "guard boats" (converted trawlers) No.8 Kotoshiro Maru (109 tons) and No.3 Showa Maru (76 tons), neither vessel under way.
"With excellent SCR (Set, Complete, Radio) communication," Commander Latta "outlined [the] plan to [the] other skippers as easily as if we were in the same wardroom". He ordered Sennet to westward, maintaining contact with her SJ radar, while Lagarto kept in touch with Haddock in like fashion. With the coming of the mid watch on 13 February 1945, the Japanese craft still lay-to, "apparently not alerted." Consequently, Latta ordered Haddock to break contact and his boat formed a line of bearing on Sennet. Lagarto began opening to westward at 04:15, and at 05:40 began heading in on the surface toward the last known position of No.8 Kotoshiro Maru and No.3 Showa Maru. With Sennet on the left flank and Haddock on the right, and Lagarto as guide in the center, the boats some apart, Latta planned to close to , then turn right about 50 degrees, to put the seas and wind in a most favorable position and still close the range, allocating Sennet the picket to the north, Haddock the one to the south; Lagarto, meanwhile, would direct the fire to whichever vessel "appeared to be offering the most opposition."
At 06:20 on 13 February 1945, Lagarto manned her battle surface stations, and opened fire with her number one gun 12 minutes later on the clearly unsuspecting enemy that lay "nicely outlined against [the] red eastern sky" distant. "Japs began jabbering in high gear at 4,475 KCS!" Latta reported subsequently, as one of the guard boats managed to transmit a dispatch as chaos descended suddenly upon her: "Gun attack by submarines in position 30-00N, 136-30E...” Lagartos photographer seemed elated (in a "happy daze," the commanding officer reported) at the apparently photogenic aspect of the action he was recording, repeating "Oh boy, Oh boy!"
No such elation seized the enemy, however, who determinedly fought back against his heavier adversaries, as the action progressed, with whatever caliber weapon lay at hand. No.8 Kotoshiro Maru and No.3 Showa Maru began turning to the northward, returning fire with what appeared to be approximately "40-millimeter size" weapons. Lagarto recorded "numerous splashes within of ship..." Lagarto, followed by Sennet and Haddock, concentrated her fire upon No.8 Kotoshiro Maru, the leading and northerly vessel as she appeared to be laying a smoke screen to obscure her smaller sister; Haddock silenced the lead boat's forward gun. Inside of ten minutes, the Americans' fire began to tell, as the first quarry began to burn; smoke began obscuring her from view. Haddock, meanwhile, shifted fire to No.3 Showa Maru, noting one particularly defiant Japanese sailor firing back with a rifle, while Sennet, being blanked out by Lagarto, swung left in a full circle and fell in astern of the pack commander's boat, shifting her fire to Haddocks target as well.
As No.3 Showa Maru began to burn, however, the smoke cleared away from the larger guard boat, revealing her still under way and full of fight. Sennet "commenced hot pursuit" of No.8 Kotoshiro Maru. Lagarto likewise closed the range with the larger patrol vessel, opening up with her 40-millimeter guns at ; by 06:45, No.8 Kotoshiro Maru guns had fallen silent and she wallowed in the sea, burning fiercely, while No.3 Showa Maru likewise lay in extremis. Haddock, having expended the last of her ammunition, headed for the latter, lying riddled and burning, to finish her off, but No.3 Showa Maru sank before the submariners could man her 40-millimeter guns. Haddock circled the wreckage several times "to see if we could pick up any Japs or material but neither could be found." Sennet neared No.8 Kotoshiro Marus side "to see if anything worth salvaging was left", but apparently found it "too hot" and pulled clear. Latta ordered her to sink the wreck. Sennet hastened No.8 Kotoshiro Marus demise with "a couple rounds of 5" from close range."
"Latta's Lancers" having summarily disposed of the two guard boats (there were no survivors from either Japanese vessel) with no loss to themselves, Lagarto, Haddock, and Sennet formed a scouting line and continued their search. A little less than four hours later, a lookout in Lagarto spotted a patrolling "Betty" (Mitsubishi G4M Type 0 land attack plane) crossing astern, heading for Haddock; Lagarto submerged; Haddock spotted the Betty and did likewise; both boats logged the presence of explosions that, fortunately, caused no damage.
During the first dog watch on 13 February 1945, a lookout in Haddock, despite poor visibility conditions, spotted two more guard boats lying-to about distant. Sending a contact report to her two pack-mates, Haddock maintained contact as the day went on. Lagarto exchanged calls with Sennet on the SJ, and ordered that boat to close Haddock. "Our choice of direction is biased", Latta later explained, "neither boat [Lagarto nor Sennet] having a sight in two days". At 22:49 Lagarto contacted Haddock by the SJ. "When within range of good SCR communication [such as had facilitated the destruction of No.8 Kotoshiro Maru and No.3 Showa Maru] [Latta] outlined to both skippers a plan previously proposed by Commander [George E.] Porter [Jr., Sennet commanding officer.]" Since Haddock had expended the last of her ammunition in the engagement with the two pickets that morning, Latta ordered her to maintain contact while Lagarto and Sennet opened to the westward as before. Those two boats would strike at dawn with gunfire and Haddock would make a close range submerged torpedo attack. Ironically, Haddock skipper, Commander William H. Brockman Jr., had arrived at the same solution independently.
14 February Lagarto began her easterly approach for the attack at 05:50 on 14 February 1945. "No likelihood of bright eastern sky today", her commanding officer later recounted, "all heavy gray overcast and seas less favorable to gun firing." Going to "battle surface" 15 minutes later, Lagarto opened fire on the right-hand vessel at , swinging to the right to bring both of her mounts to bear, "cold seas washing over [the] gun crews." The Japanese fought back more spiritedly than the day before. "Return fire heavier than yesterday", Latta noted in his patrol report, "but targets slower getting under way." Sennet reported numerous holes in her superstructure and one man wounded from the "extremely accurate" fire, but Lagarto emerged from the encounter unscathed. Haddock fired one torpedo at at one of the guard boats, but missed. Lagarto and Sennet, having expended the last of their ammunition, broke off the action by 07:00 and stood away from the scene of the action, leaving behind one guard boat, No.3 Kanno Maru (98 tons), damaged.
20 February