--- title: "This WWII sub captain went down with his ship to save his crew" description: "The USS Growler was listing at 50-degrees, its bow bent sharply to the side. Its captain did what had to be done to save his" date: "2021-02-22" modified: "2021-02-22" authors: - name: "Chuck Lyons" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/chucklyons/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-history/wwii-growler-captain-went-down-with-his-ship/" categories: - "History" - "War History" - "World War II" --- # This WWII sub captain went down with his ship to save his crew ![]() The USS *Growler* was listing at 50-degrees, its bow bent sharply to the side. Japanese machine gun fire raked the bridge. Two men had already been killed and three more wounded — including the submarine's captain, Cmdr. Howard Gilmore. He was clinging to bridge rail to keep from collapsing. The *Growler* needed to submerge to survive; there was no time to waste. Gilmore cleared the bridge and, too badly injured to save himself, he gave the order. --- Take her down! He sacrificed himself and saved his boat. He had also earned a Medal of Honor, becoming only the second submariner to be so honored and the first of World War II. His body was never found. ![ Gilmore died saving the crew of the Growler]() *Gilmore died saving his crew.* The Selma, Alabama native graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1926. He served on the Battleship USS *Mississippi* before entering the submarine service in 1930 and served on several submarines there before taking command of the newly-built *Growler* the day after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. After her shakedown cruise, the *Growler* played a minor role at the Battle of Midway in June 1942 and then began wartime patrols. Gilmore commanded her on four of those patrols. On his first patrol in July 1942, the *Growler* was near Kiska in the Aleutian Islands when she spotted three Japanese destroyers. Commander Gilmore attacked, sinking one of destroyers, the *Arare,* damaging the other two. The action earned him a Navy Cross. But it's the fourth patrol that is remembered. In early February 1943, the *Growler* was in the area of the Bismarck Islands off the northeastern coast of New Guinea and already sunk 12,000 tons of Japanese shipping and damaged at least one other ship. In the early morning hours of Feb. 7, she was on the surface charging her batteries when the Japanese convoy escort *Hayasaki* spotted her through the darkness and the overcast. The Japanese ship quickly turned to ram the submarine. Gilmore, who was on the bridge at the time, sounded the collision alarm and ordered "left full rudder," which brought the *Growler* on to its own ramming course. The submarine struck the Japanese ship amidships at eleven knots, damaging *Hayasaki*'s plating and her own bow. Eighteen feet of the submarine's bow was bent to port and the forward torpedo tubes were put out of action. She was listing. The *Hayasaki* immediately began raking the *Growler's* bridge with machine gun fire, killing the junior officer of the deck, Ensign W. Williams, and a lookout, Fireman W. F. Kelley. Two other crewmen on the bridge were also severely wounded, one with a serious leg injury and the other with an arm wound. ![ The Growler's bow bent at a 90-degree angle.]() *The Growler's bow bent at a 90-degree angle.* Hanging on as the *­Growler* listed and knowing the *Growler* had to submerge or be lost, Gilmore ordered the bridge cleared. The Quartermaster and Executive Officer Lt. Cmdr. Arnold Schade, went through the hatch and pulled the wounded men through after them. They waited in the control room for Cmdr. Gilmore to follow. Instead, they heard the command: "Take her down!" The *Growler* submerged and was able to avoid further damage. When she later surfaced, there was no sign of the *Hayasaki —* or of Gilmore, Williams, and Kelley. Schade and the remaining crew of the *Growler* were able to hold the submarine together enough to get her back to Brisbane, Australia, arriving on Feb. 17. There, she was dry-docked and underwent extensive repairs before returning to the war under the command of Capt. Schade. *Growler* continued wartime patrols for the next two years but was lost with her crew off the Philippine Islands in November 1944. It was her 11th patrol on the war. Gilmore was awarded a Medal of Honor and additionally honored in September 1943 when a new submarine tender was christened the USS *Howard W. Gilmore* and launched in California. ![ Gilmore's wife accepted his Medal of Honor in his place after his death on the Growler]() *Gilmore's wife accepted his Medal of Honor in his place.* The command, "Take her down!" became a legend in the submarine service. ## Author Check out the stories written by Chuck Lyons. Engage with thought-provoking content that offers unique perspectives on military endeavors.