USN
Porpoise Class Submarine
Displacement
1,330 tons surfaced
Dimensions
300' 60 | 25' | 13' 8"
Armament
1 4" deck gun
2 x 50 cal MG
4 x 30 cal MG
4 bow and 2
stern torpedo tubes, (18) 21" torpedoes
Crew
80
(6 KIA as POWs)
c1936-7
March 1942
Kevin Denlay 2006
Ship History
Her keel was laid down on 25 February 1935 by the Electric Boat Company, Groton, CT. She was launched on 9 May 1936 sponsored by Mrs. Thomas Withers, and commissioned on 19 November 1936 with Lieutenant Commander George C. Crawford in command.
After shakedown, Perch joined the Pacific Fleet Submarine Squadron 6 (SubRon 6) in November 1937. The following spring she was engaged in the annual fleet exercises and completed a survey of the Aleutian Islands and served with the fleet off the East Coast.
In October 1939, Perch departed San Diego for Manila as a division flagship and made a summer cruise in 1940 to Tsingtao and Shanghai. She spent the year preceding the war in operations around the Philippines. Perch rendezvoused with two transports off Shanghai and escorted the Fourth Marines from China to the Philippines.
Wartime History
At the start of the Pacific war, Perch was commanded by Captain David A. Hurt and was based at Cavite Navy Yard. Departed on December 10, 1941 just prior to the destruction of the installation by Japanese bombers. That night, Perch slipped through the Corregidor minefields and scouted between Luzon and Formosa.
Failing to find targets, she moved to Hong Kong. On December 25, 1941 Perch fired four torpedoes at a large merchantman, all missing. A few days later, she torpedoed an 8000-ton Japanese merchant ship, but escorts prevented Perch from observing the kill.
Perch proceeded to Darwin making several unsuccessful attacks en route. After repairs, Perch next patrolled Kendari where she scouted the harbor and made several attempts to get through the narrow entrance to an attack position. After a week of close contact with the enemy, obtaining information, Perch continued to search for targets.
In a night attack on a large merchantman off the eastern coast of Celebes (Sulawesi). Perch was hit in the superstructure, forward of the pressure hull of the conning tower, by a high explosive round which blew away the bridge deck, punctured the antenna trunk and temporarily put her radio out of commission. Her crew, by very courageous effort, made repairs on deck at night in waters heavily patrolled by the enemy, and Perch headed for the Java Sea.
Sinking History
On the evening of March 1, 1942, Perch surfaced thirty miles northwest of Surabaya, Java and started in for an attack on an enemy convoy landing troops to the west. Two enemy destroyers attacked and drove her down with a string of depth charges which caused her to bottom at 135'. Several more depth charge attacks caused extensive damage, putting the starboard motors out of commission and causing extensive flooding throughout the boat. After repairs, Perch surfaced at 2am, but was driven down by destroyers. The loss of oil, and air from damaged ballast tanks, convinced the enemy Perch was breaking up and they went on to look for other kills, allowing her to escape.
With only one engine in commission, the crew made all possible repairs. During the early morning of March 3, 1942, the sub surfaced but was surrounded by two cruisers and three destroyers. As shells straddled the boat, Captain Hurt ordered: "Abandon ship, scuttle the boat." First Lieutenant Kenneth G. Schacht was awarded a Navy Cross for assisting in the scuttling. Perch received one battle star for World War II service.
Fate of the Crew
The entire crew was captured by a Japanese destroyer. Of the fifty-four men and five officers, six died of malnutrition as POWs. The others survived the war.
Shipwreck
After making a sonar contact in November 2006, divers of the MV Empress investigated a wreck north of Surabaya. Diving the wreck the team confirmed it was a submarine and even the plaque on the conning tower. The dive team included: Vidar Skoglie and dive team members Kevin Denlay, Dieter Kops, Mike Gadd, and Craig Challen.
Kevin Denlay adds:
"Disappointingly, as we have found on many of the other Java Sea wrecks we have discovered over the years, visibility on the bottom, below the thermocline, is often very poor, and Perch is no exception. On the few dives we did on Perch visibility varied from between five and fifteen feet effective on the wreck, that is, making out any detail beyond this was impossible. It was also quite dark, although the low light capability of the video camera 'enhances' the light levels so the images don't look as dark as what it really was to the eye."
190'
Discovery
On Eternal Patrol
Discovery
Photos
Coning Tower Plaque
