Wahoo
Picture Source: US Navy

Many a submarine tale has been told about action in World War II but nothing equals the true story of the U.S. submarine Wahoo and her captain, Cmdr. Dudley W. "Mushmouth" Morton. Morton was nicknamed "Mushmouth" because while he was at the Naval Academy he liked to spin tall tales. There certainly wasn't any tall tales involved in his feats while captain of the Wahoo, the most famous submarine of World War II. While skipper, Morton had earned THREE Navy Crosses while alive and a FOURTH after his death. He was also awarded the Army Distinguished Service Cross. Morton's executive officer was Cmdr. Richard H. "Dick" O'Kane who himself earned THREE Silver Stars and was promoted to captain of the USS Tang where he sunk 31 ships. O'Kane was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Wahoo off Mare Island Navy Yard
Picture Source: National Archives

What made this boat, the submarine Wahoo, stand out? I guess you would have to say it was the tenacity and ability of its captain, executive officer and men. They would never give up when seeking a target or attempting a mission. In many World War II movies you see a submarine facing an oncoming destroyer and the captain shouts "lets give her a bow shot" and they launch a torpedo. This was actually done first by the Wahoo when an enemy destroyer came at their position. The Wahoo was also the first submarine ever to sink an entire convoy. One of the things that was different on the Wahoo was that the executive officer manned the periscope and he was a great shot.

Cmdr. Dudley “Mushmouth” Morton
Picture Source: US Navy

Morton had been commander of the USS R-5, a submarine stationed in the Atlantic until he was transferred to the Wahoo. He didn't come to the Wahoo as the captain however, he came as the executive officer. The captain was LCDR M.G. Kennedy, but in January of 1943 he assumed command. The amazing thing to note here is that his amazing record was compiled in only about eight months. The patrols were not without problems. On the sixth patrol there was a problem with the torpedoes. Morton had fired ten duds in a row and sent a message back to COMSUBPAC that read "Damn the torpedoes". He was ordered back to base which was Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Morton convinced his commander to let him go back out with some of the new Mark 18 electric torpedoes. The problem was they had not been fully debugged. The Wahoo and Swordfish left for the Sea of Japan both with a mixture of Mark 18 and Mark 14 torpedoes. The Wahoo got to the Sea of Japan on September 20, 1943 and was never heard from again. Mush and his 79 crew members were lost forever.

Wahoo off the Mare Island Navy Yard Again
Picture Source: National Archives

It seems that Morton had decided to try to pass through La Perouse Strait on the surface on October 11, 1943. The reason for this was that the Swordfish had tried to enter submerged a couple of days before and had been depth charged. There was fire from a large gun on the shore so the Wahoo, which had been damaged and was leaking oil, decided to submerge, but aircraft and ships had been alerted to attack the sub.

The Wahoo met its end on October 11, 1943, when it was spotted on the surface by a plane and depth charged. The final tally for the Wahoo was nineteen enemy ships sunk. The Japanese had finally sunk the Wahoo.