SUNFISH SS 281

Ship Name and Designation History

This section lists the names and designations that the ship had during its lifetime. The list is in chronological order.

Gato Class Submarine Keel Laid September 25 1941 - Launched May 2 1942 USS SUNFISH SS-281 Commissioned July 15 1942 - Decommissioned December 26 1945 Laid up in Pacific Reserve Fleet, Mare Island Group Struck from Naval Register May 1 1960 Sold December 11 1960 to Learner & Co., Oakland, CA for scrap

Naval Covers

This section lists active links to the pages displaying covers associated with the ship. There should be a separate set of pages for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Covers should be presented in chronological order (or as best as can be determined).

Since a ship may have many covers, they may be split among many pages so it doesn't take forever for the pages to load. Each page link should be accompanied by a date range for covers on that page.

1. Covers Page 1    (1941-42)

 

Postmarks

This section lists examples of the postmarks used by the ship. There should be a separate set of postmarks for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Within each set, the postmarks should be listed in order of their classification type. If more than one postmark has the same classification, then they should be further sorted by date of earliest known usage.

A postmark should not be included unless accompanied by a close-up image and/or an image of a cover showing that postmark. Date ranges MUST be based ONLY ON COVERS IN THE MUSEUM and are expected to change as more covers are added.
 
>>> If you have a better example for any of the postmarks, please feel free to replace the existing example.

 

Postmark Type --- Killer Bar Text	Date From to Date To	Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image	Thumbnail Link To Cover Image

 

Locy Type 3 (A-BTT) USS Tangier AV-8

1941-09-25 to 1941-09-25

N/A

Keel Laid, cachet by Dr. S. E. Hutnick

 

USPO Slogan Machine Cancel "Mare Island Station" Vallejo, Calif.

1942-05-02 to 1942-05-02

Launching

 

Locy Type 2z*

1944-08-07

A "Thank You for the Cigarettes" card. The ship had postal facilities at the time but this cancel is not identified with the ship, so the card was posted either on another ship or ashore.

 

Other Information

SUNFISH earned nine battle stars for service during World War II

Credited with sinking...
The 3262-ton Japanese Merchant Cargo Ship KOSEI MARU, March 13 1943 off Ryukyu Islands
The 1299-ton Japanese Auxiliary Gunboat EDO MARU, August 13 1943 off Bonin Islands
The 4180-ton Japanese Army Cargo Ship KOZAN MARU, September 4 1943 off Bonin Islands
The 5354-ton Japanese Collier SHINYUBARI MARU, February 23 1944 off Saipan
The 2577-ton Japanese Merchant Passenger/Cargo Ship SHINMEI MARU, July 5 1944 off Kuril Islands
The Japanese Fishing Vessel HOKUYO MARU No. 105, July 7 1944 off Kuril Islands
The Japanese Fishing Vessel KANNON MARU No. 5, July 7 1944 off Kuril Islands
The Japanese Fishing Vessel EBISU MARU, July 7 1944 off Kuril Islands
The Japanese Fishing Vessel KINEI MARU, July 7 1944 off Kuril Islands
The 6284-ton Japanese Army Cargo Ship TAIHEI MARU, July 9 1944 off Araito Island
The 4701-ton Japanese Merchant Tanker CHIHAYA MARU, September 10 1944 off Quelpart Island
The 6933-ton Japanese Army Cargo Ship ETAJIMA MARU, September 13 1944 Yellow Sea
The 6968-ton Japanese Army Transport EDOGAWA MARU, November 18 1944 off Quelpart Island
The 5463-ton Japanese Troop Transport SEISHO MARU, November 18 1944 off Saishu Island
The 3748-ton Japnaese Merchant Cargo Ship DAIREN MARU, November 30 1944 off Korea
The 745-ton Japanese Corvette KAIBOKAN No. 73, April 16 1945 off Honshu
The 1630-ton Japanese Troop Transport MANRYU MARU, April 16 1945 off Honshu
The 1093-ton Japanese Auxiliary Gunboat KAIHO MARU, April 19 1945 off Hokkaido
The 1948-ton Japanese Merchant Cargo Ship TAISEI MARU, April 19 1945 off Hokkaido

NAMESAKE - A plectognath marine fish, having a deep body truncated behind, and high dorsal; and anal fins

 

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