Snook Lost, Trigger Sunk

WED 28 MAR 1945
Pacific
Off Okinawa, minesweeper Skylark (AM-63) is sunk by mine, 26°20'N, 127°40'E; attack cargo ship Wyandot (AKA-92) is damaged by near-misses of bombs, 26°00'N, 127°00'E; medium landing ship LSM-188 is damaged by kamikaze; infantry landing craft (gunboat) LCI(G)-588 is damaged by assault demolition boat.

Landing craft repair ship Agenor (ARL-3) is damaged in collisions with landing craft off Iwo Jima, 24°46'N, 141°19'E.

Submarine Blackfin (SS-322) is damaged by depth charges off the southeast coast of French Indochina, and is forced to terminate her patrol.

Submarines and USAAF planes begin attacks on Japanese convoy HI-88-J moving up the coast of French Indochina; submarine Bluegill (SS-242) damages tanker Honan Maru (ex-British War Sirdar) off Cape Varella, 12°40'N, 109°30'E; Honan Maru is beached to permit salvage (see 29 March). USAAF B-24 sinks merchant cargo ship Asogawa Maru off Nha Trang, 12°32'N, 109°22'E.

Submarine Snook (SS-279) departs Guam for her ninth war patrol; she is contacted by Tigrone (SS-419) on 8 April 1945, but she is never seen again.*

Submarine Threadfin (SS-410) sinks Japanese escort vessel Mikura off Kyushu, 31°45'N, 131°44'E.

Submarine Tirante (SS-420) sinks Japanese fishing boat Nase Maru west of Oniki Cape, southwest coast of Kyushu, 32°15'N, 29°55'E.

Submarine Trigger (SS-237) is sunk by Japanese patrol vessel Mikura, Coast Defense Vessel No.33, and Coast Defense Vessel No.59 in Nansei Shoto, 32°16'N, 132°05'E.†

Floating workshop YR-43, being towed to Kodiak by Army tug LT 373, breaks free from her towline and runs aground two and half miles south of Zaikof Point, Montague Island; rescue tug ATR-68 and Coast Guard lighthouse tender Cedar (WAGL-207) are sent from Kodiak, while tender Bramble (WAGL-392) is dispatched from Seward to assist. Army transport Toloa brings YR-43's crew on board and takes the men to Dutch Harbor.

Planes from carrier Hornet (CV-12) sink Japanese Coast Defense Vessel No.33 south of Kyushu, 31°45'N, 131°45'E.

USAAF B-24 damages Japanese Coast Defense Vessel No.102 and Coast Defense Vessel No.106 (near-misses) off Keelung, Formosa.

USAAF B-24s (Fifth Air Force) sink Japanese army cargo ship Meiho Maru off north coast of Formosa, 25°00'N, 121°00'E.

USAAF B-24s (13th Air Force) attack Japanese shipping in the Celebes, sinking minesweeper W.11 off Makassar, 05°06'S, 119°14'E, and Patrol Boat No. 108 off Maniang Island 04°14'S, 121°28'E.

Japanese auxiliary submarine chasers Cha 167 and Cha 175 are sunk by aircraft, east of Fukashima.

USAAF B-24 damages Japanese cargo ship Seito Maru off North Laut Island 03°14'S, 116°13'E.

Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser Cha 178 is sunk by mine, 34°02'N, 130°54'E; cargo ship Tensei Maru is sunk by mine in Wakamatsu harbor.

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*While no definitive explanation exists for Snook's loss, there are three possibilities: (1) she is sunk by Japanese naval aircraft (256th, 453rd and 951st Air Flotilla) on 9 April 1945 near the Shuzan Islands; (2) she is sunk by patrol-escort vessel Okinawa, Patrol-Escort Vessel No.8, Patrol-Escort Vessel No. 32 and Patrol-Escort Vessel No. 52 after being detected by planes from the afore-mentioned naval air flotillas; or (3) she is possibly sunk by Japanese submarine I 56 while Snook was operating on lifeguard duty (her last assignment) in the Nansei Shoto region. She is listed as overdue, presumed lost, on 16 May 1945.

†She is listed as overdue, presumed lost, on 1 May 1945.