USS Cavalla (SS-244) was deemed the "Lucky Lady" as she was commissioned on February 29, 1944 in a leap year. However, USS Cavalla is most famous for tracking a large Japanese task force on her maiden patrol in June 1944, which earned her the Presidential Unit Citation. The information the Cavalla relayed to the U.S. Navy Command was invaluable as it contributed significantly to the United States victory in the Battle of the Philippine Sea--the famous "Marianas Turkey Shoot" on June 19-20, 1944. USS Cavalla continued her pursuit of the task force and caught the state-of-the-art Japanese carrier Shokaku landing planes. Cavalla quickly fired a spread of six torpedoes, hitting Shokaku three times and sending her to the bottom in 11-50' N, 137-57' E. After severe depth charging by three Japanese destroyers, Cavalla escaped to continue her service.
As we remember and honor the sacrifice of the brave men on the USS Cavalla, below is a first-hand account of those fateful days in June 1944, from the diary of Torpedoman's Mate 3rd Class, Ben Vivona of Middletown, CT:
19 June 1944: On sight of the first ship we submerged and manned battle stations. We soon found out it was a large Jap[anese] task force so we dove to 150 feet so they could pass over us. Their escorts were pinging all over the ocean, searching for sub(marine)s. We counted them. They had five large aircraft carriers, three battleships, about fifteen light and heavy cruisers and about thirty destroyers. The sound man really got a workout reporting their bearings, speeds, and types. Our hearts were in our mouths in fear of them picking us up with their damn pinging. It seems down here that they did not miss an inch of this ocean, but luck was with us again.
20 June 1944: We spot another Jap[anese] task force and they are heading right towards us. Two cruisers and one large carrier surrounded by three zig zagging tin cans [destroyers]. It's broad daylight and the Captain is making quick looks so we won't get spotted, and decides to make a run on the carrier which is loaded down with planes.---Down in the forward room the boys are all excited, the outer doors on all six [torpedo] tubes are open. We are just waiting for the words for the fish [torpedoes] to go. (Captain) "fire one", "fire two", "fire three", "rig for depth charges." "Take her down 350 feet".
We had been spotted by one of the cans [destroyers] and had to fire four, five, and six [torpedoes] at a terrific down angle, as the fish [torpedoes] were armed and too dangerous to keep in the tubes during the depth charge attack that was sure to come.
As we are heading down we hear a sharp crack like a stick hitting a table, followed by a loud muffled roar. It is repeated in a few seconds and then repeated again. Three good hits then suddenly all hell broke loose and the depth charges really started to come down on us.
The first one dropped right over my head as I was locking the door on #1 [torpedo] tube. I fell clear across the room and into the bilges. All the other boys were already lying down so I stayed right where I was. They were really giving us a beating which sounded like someone hitting a big steel drum with a sledgehammer. The overhead was falling down on us and the roar of the dynamited waters was a scare in itself. We thought that our number was up then, and most of us were silently praying.
The outer sound door on the QB and QC broke open and flooded the forward room up to our waists before we could secure it. We dove under the carrier to escape the charges and I believe it saved us. When the carrier started to break up over our heads we had to scram out of there in a hurry. The Jap[anese] were mad as hornets and were sure trying like hell to get us.
We just got word that the after engine room is flooded to the deck plates, and the maneuvering room is the same. It sure looks bad for us, especially if the generators get flooded. No news from the battery rooms. It will be an honor to go with real brave boys. I am not afraid to die but it is this waiting and the feeling that it is coming that scares me.
They are laying a beautiful pattern and my boy "Stan" is breaking off pieces of matches and putting them into a pile that we will count later if we can. I am proud of him for his nerve. The reload crew is lying down trying to sleep. They all look like ghosts and we are all sweating like hell with the ventilation cut off and the added pressure of the water in the room.
A can [destroyer] is heading right for us now, and as it goes over it sounds like six horses on a tin roof, the clatter of their screws [are] very scary. ______ [no name given] has jumped up shaking his fists at them and yelling, "Oh God! Don't drop them now." I hope that he doesn't get hysterical as we will have to put him to sleep.
Luck was with us again and he passed right over. All in all, we got 105 [depth] charges dropped on us, and we sure breathed easier when they stopped.
This account and others like it, help us remember our heroes whose sacrifice we honor by recounting their tales. The USS Cavalla (SS-244) proudly stands at the Galveston Naval Museum at Seawolf Park in Galveston, Texas as a memorial to the brave men and women who served and serve in harms way. Visit this important piece of history!
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