USS Tambor (SS-198), the lead ship of her class of submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for the tambor.
Construction and commissioning Tambor′s keel was laid down on 16 January 1939 by the Electric Boat Company in Groton, Connecticut. She was launched on 20 December 1939, sponsored by Miss Lucia Ellis, and commissioned on 3 June 1940 with Lieutenant commander John W. Murphy Jr. in command.
Service history 1940-1941 After fitting out at New London, Tambor got underway on 6 August 1940 for her shakedown cruise which took her to New York City, Washington, D.C., Morehead City, North Carolina, and Houston, Texas. Following further training off Colón, Panama, the submarine returned to New London, Connecticut, before holding her acceptance trials and undergoing a post-shakedown overhaul at the Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery, Maine. After conducting live-fire trials on the effectiveness of depth charges, the first of their kind in the U.S. Navy, Tambor reported in May 1941 to the Submarine Force, Pacific Fleet, and the command of Rear Admiral Thomas Withers (COMSUBPAC).Blair, p.83. Tambor began a routine peacetime patrol in late November 1941.
World War II December 1941–March 1942 Tambor was off Wake Island when hostilities with Japan broke out with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. She was forced to return to Pearl Harbor with one diesel engine out of commission. Routed back to Mare Island Navy Yard at Mare Island, California, where the damage was repaired, she returned to Pearl Harbor in March 1942.
First war patrol Tambor began her first war patrolWith Raymond A. Spruance, Jr., aboard. Blair, p.215. on 15 March 1942 when she stood out of Pearl Harbor to reconnoiter the areas around Wake Island, Truk, New Ireland, New Britain, and Rabaul. In all, she made nine attacks;Blair, p.215. on 16 April, she fired two torpedoes at tanker Kitami Maru.Uboatnet One hit, and she was credited with a sinking;Blair, p.216. this was not verified by postwar examination of Japanese records.This, known as the Joint Army–Navy Assessment Committee (JANAC), was, however, filled with mistakes. Tambor returned to Pearl Harbor on 12 May, where her skipper criticized the torpedoes.
Second war patrol After refitting, she was then assigned to Task Group 7.1. The group of six submarines sailed for Midway Island on 21 May 1942 to begin patrolling a circle in anticipation of the invasion fleet intelligence had reported was en route there. At 07:15 on 4 June 90 minutes after first reported contact, COMSUBPAC, Admiral Robert H. English, informed his submarines, waiting until after 11:00 to order them to close.Blair, p.241. Running surfaced, Tambor was strafed by aircraftBlair, p.245.
At 02:15 on 5 June, Tambor radioed sighting "four large ships" north of Midway,Blair, p.246. at a range of . The ships were far enough away to make identification difficult, and the subs on patrol had been warned that "friendlies" might be on patrol in that area. Murphy changed course to keep contact until he could be sure of their identity.Schultz, p. 72
Shortly after this sighting, Yamamoto ordered the cruisers to turn north, away from their original course for Midway. Tambor soon sighted them again, at 0238. The sub was now in front of the Japanese ships, which changed heading again, to the northwest. At 0258, Murphy turned due west, hoping to put them between him and the moon so their silhouettes would make them easier to identify. After losing and regaining sight of the cruisers in the dark, Murphy made an educated guess, turning left again, and re-sighted the ships.Schultz, p. 73
At 0400, with the approach of dawn and improving visibility, the general shape of the ships became clear, but it was still not possible to see enough detail to determine exactly whose ships they were. At 0412, Murphy ordered the signalman to use the signal light to send an ID signal. When the response was unintelligible, the sub crash-dived. When there was no attack, the sub was brought to periscope depth, where damage to the cruiser s bow was easily visible.Schultz, p. 73-4
When Tambor had sailed across in front of the line of cruisers in an effort to see them more clearly, the lead ship had sighted the sub and ordered a change of course. Mogami had turned a bit late and had collided with , sailing just in front of her, and 40 feet of her bow was compressed and pushed nearly perpendicular to the rest of the ship. The next day, based on Tambor's report, and following the oil slick, dive bombers found the two damaged cruisers and their destroyer escorts and were able to sink Mikuma—the largest Japanese non-carrier sunk to that point in the war. This proved to be Tambor's best (and among her only) contribution to the battle.Schultz, p. 74-5
The captain ordered the sub to pursue the cruisers. Since surface pursuit would have been suicide, as the cruisers could have easily destroyed Tambor with their guns, the sub was forced to submerge. Since best speed while submerged was only nine knots, and the cruisers were estimated as making seventeen knots, they were soon lost.Schultz, p. 74 Tambor played no further role in the battle.
On 7 June, responding to a radar contact, Tambor dived. An exploding bomb damaged both her periscopes and cracked all four battery blower motors. The bomb probably came from an American B-17; a similar incident had happened the day before, when another B-17 had bombed the submarine USS Grayling, mistaking it for a Japanese cruiser. Tambor returned to Pearl Harbor on 16 June for repairs.Schultz, p. 79-81
Along with several other sub skippers, Lt.Cdr. Murphy was promptly relieved of command, for timidity in the face of the enemy in light of Tambor's failure to close with and attack the enemy, or at least identify and properly shadow the Japanese cruiser force so aircraft could be vectored to the location (a regular task for both Japanese and American submarines and the primary purpose for which Tambor was there at all). Lt.Cdr. Murphy's lack of aggressiveness had hampered Spruance's intelligence of the battle and had played an important role in allowing , and to escape almost certain destruction from air attack. Murphy was sent to a shore post, being replaced in command of Tambor by Lt.Cdr. Steven H. Armbruster.Blair, p.250.Schultz, p. 82
Third war patrol Her next patrol (now in the hands of Stephen H. Ambruster) began on 24 July 1942 at Pearl Harbor, ending on 19 September at Fremantle, Australia. Tambor searched for enemy shipping in the Marshall Islands. On 7 August near Wotje Atoll, she sank the converted net tender Shofaka with one torpedo which broke her in half. Tambor remained in the Marshalls until 19 August when she was ordered to patrol the southern passages to Truk. As there was time to spare before she was to take station there, she prowled through the Caroline Islands. On 21 August near Ponape, the submarine fired a spread of three torpedoes at a freighter and her escort. The first hit the target amidships and the other two aft, blowing off the stern. Shinsei Maru No. Six quickly sank. On 1 September, she fired four torpedoes at a tanker off Truk and damaged it with one hit. She was credited with two ships for 12,000 tons; this was reduced to 5,800 tons postwar.Blair, p.917.
Fourth war patrol Tambor sailed for Hainan Strait on 12 October 1942 and (in part due to torpedo shortages) laid mines. On 3 November, she fired three torpedoes at a freighter, but all missed. The submarine eluded detection and, 30 minutes later, fired two more. One hit amidships, and Chikugo Maru went under by the stern. On 6 November, she fired two torpedoes at a cargo-passenger ship flying the French flag, but both missed. On 10 November, she closed on an unarmed sampan, took its crew on board and sank it by gunfire. Credited with one ship for 10,000 tons (reduced to 2,500 tons postwar),Blair, p.922. Tambor returned to Fremantle on 21 November for refit, during which her deck gun was replaced by a five-inch (127 mm)/25cal gun.
Fifth war patrol From 18 December 1942 to 28 January 1943, Tambor patrolled Sunda Strait between Krakatau and Thartway Island. The only target sighted was an enemy destroyer which she attacked on 1 January 1943. The submarine's spread of four torpedoes missed, and she went deep to avoid the 18 depth charges that followed. On 29 December 1942, Fukken Maru was sunk by a mine laid by Tambor.
Sixth war patrol Tambor sailed from Fremantle on 18 February 1943 to carry out a special mission in the Philippine Islands, in support of "MacArthur's Guerrillas". On 5 March, she landed a small party headed by Lt.Cdr. Charles Parsons with 50,000 rounds of .30 (7.62 mm) ammunition, 20,000 rounds of .45 ACP (11.4 mm) ammunition, and $10,000 in currency on southern Mindanao. On 22 March, she fired three torpedoes at a tankerBlair, p.697. southwest of Apo Island. {This was the Bugen Maru, which was damaged}Uboat.net Seven days later, she scored one hit on a freighter out of three torpedoes fired and believed it sank; it was not confirmed.Blair, p.925. The submarine returned to Fremantle on 14 April for refit in which a 20-millimeter gun was installed forward of the bridge.
Seventh war patrol Tambors seventh patrol (now under Russell Kefauver) took her north of the Malay Barrier from 7 May to 27 June 1943. On 26 May, she fired a spread of three torpedoes at a tanker that all missed. Three days later, three more missed a cargo ship. She tried again several hours later, saw two of the three torpedoes fired score hits, and heard three explosions. As the target was sinking, she fired another spread of three at an accompanying freighter. Some of the crew of Eiski Maru escaped in two lifeboats. On 2 June and on 6 June, she fired spreads of three torpedoes at cargo ships. The first appeared to break in half, and the second seemed to sink; there is no record of the sinkings in Japanese official records. {Eika Maru was sunk 2 June.} On 16 June, Tambor fired her last three torpedoes at a tanker off Cam Ranh Bay but all missed. Her score for the patrol postwar was one ship of 2,500 tons.
Eighth war patrol Tambor stood out of Fremantle for the last time on 20 July 1943 en route to Lombok Strait. On 27 July the Teiken Maru was sunk by a mine laid by the Tamboruboat.net On 3 August, she sighted five cargomen and a destroyer in Palawan Passage. Three shots at a freighter produced two hits, and one fired at another target missed; Japanese records do not indicate any sinking. On 21 August, she sighted an unescorted convoy of three tankers and five freighters. She fired five torpedoes at a pair of freighters, but scored no hits. Two more sped toward a tanker and produced one explosion but no apparent damage. The next day, she sighted another convoy heading in the opposite direction. Making a submerged attack, Tambor fired five torpedoes at a large freighter. Three made perfect hits amidships but all failed to explode, and she sank no ships. The submarine set sail for Midway, arriving 7 September. She transited through Pearl Harbor on her way to San Francisco, on 20 November for major overhaul.
Ninth war patrol Tambor returned to Pearl Harbor on 15 December 1943 and held refresher training during the remainder of the month. She began her ninth war patrol on 5 January 1944. Her assigned area was in the East China Sea. She sighted a Natori-class cruiser on 22 January, but lost contact in a rain squall. Six days later, she contacted a convoy of nine ships heading north and tracked it until 01:56 the next day. She then fired two torpedoes at a cargo ship in a surface attack. Both hit and sent Shuntai Maru down by the bow. An escort headed straight for the submarine and ramming seemed inevitable. Tambor opened fire with her aft 20-millimeter gun and turned hard to port causing the escort to pass astern. After evading the escort, the submarine tried to regain contact with the convoy but failed.