History of USS Sennet
On 08 March 1944, the keel was laid for a Balao class fleet submarine, hull number 408, in Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine. On 06 June 1944 the hull was launched with Mrs. Roscoe W. Downs, a five star WWII mother, acting as the sponsor. On 22 August 1944, less than seven months after the keel was laid, the boat was accepted by the Navy and commissioned USS SENNET.
Commanded by Commander G. E. Porter, SENNET underwent a training period from August until 18 September 1944 off Portsmouth, New Hampshire, which included submerged and surfaced practice approaches on a target vessel, battle surface practice, practice dives, emergency drills, and ship handling drills. Training exercises were continued at New London, Connecticut, in Long Island Sound, and off Balboa, Canal Zone as the submarine proceeded to the Pacific war zone. On 29 November 1944, she was detached from the Atlantic Fleet and became a member of the Pacific Fleet enroute Pearl Harbor. After loading weapons and supplies in Pearl Harbor, SENNET departed on her first war patrol on 5 January 1945.
From Pearl Harbor, SENNET pointed her long nose toward Midway Island, paused there for minor repairs on the 9th, and got underway on the following day for a patrol area north of the Bonin Islands. Arriving in the patrol area on the 21st of January, SENNET made a night surface attack. No hits were scored in this attack, however the period from 22 to 26 January proved more lucrative. One 550 ton picket boat was sunk and one 500 ton picket boat was damaged. SENNET departed station on the 28th and put in at Saipan on the 31st. The submarine combat insignia was awarded SENNET's officers and crew for the successful completion of this patrol.
SENNET departed Saipan on 7 February 1945 for her second war patrol in company with the submarines HADDOCK and LEGARTO, the mission of this co-ordinated group being to destroy Jap picket boats in open waters south of the Japanese Empire. Arriving in the designated area on 11 February, the three subs wasted no time in getting to the task at hand. Less than two days after arrival, they knocked off two 300 ton picket boats by combined gunfire. On the 15th, SENNET parted company and went to patrol off Kij Suido.
The following day she sunk an 1800 ton Fubuki class Jap destrpyer with two torpedos from her stern tubes. 16 Februrary to 5 March was a period of poor hunting for SENNET during which time she engaged in the dull routine of patrolling on station. She put in at Guam on 9 March thus completing her second patrol. The submarine combat insignia was awarded SENNET's officers and crew for successful completion of this patrol.
On 3 April 1944, SENNET got underway for her third patrol and arrived back in the Kij Suido area on the 9th. On the 16th SENNET fired four torpedos at Jap PT boats but got no hits. Two days later she ran into trouble and was forced to dive when a Jap plane gave her a going over in a strafing attack. SENNET struck back the following day by sinking a medium AK (5,200 tons) and one escort in a submerged approach off Kij Suido. On the 22nd while acting as life guard for an air strike, SENNET attempted to pick up a fighter pilot who bailed out nearby, but he drowned before she could get to him. On the 28th she sunk a naval cable layer (3,000 tons) in a submerged approach off Miki Saki. SENNET's luck ran out on the first day of May when she missed a Jap destroyer with five torpedos and took a bad shaking up when the perturbed Jap dropped several depth charges too close for comfort.
On 16 May she tied up at Pearl Harbor completing her third war patrol, for which her officers and crew were awarded the combat insignia for successful completion of the patrol. During her first three war patrols, SENNET sank 5,101 tons of Japanese shiping. While in Pearl, Lieutenant Commander C.R. Clark, USN, relieved Commander G.E. Porter as Commanding Officer of SENNET on 30 May 1945.
SENNET's fourth war patrol brought outstanding fame to the ship and her new skipper. SENNET got underway for her fourth war patrol on 1 July 1945 and arrived in Guam on the 13th. There she conducted special training until the 16th then took departure for Tsushima Straits and the Sea of Japan. On station in the Sea of Japan, SENNET participated in a convoy shooting that lasted from 27 July to 30 July 1945. In a night surface approach off Henaski Saki on the 27th, she sank one large AK (7,500 tons) with three torpedos. The following morning she made a submerged attack on a group of three merchant vessels off Shiuse Saki. Two of them were sunk, one a 7,500 ton AK and the other a small 2,000 ton AK. The third merchant managed to dodge SENNET's torpedos and escape. Two days later, on the 30th of July, a large 7,500 ton AK was sunk in a submerged approach off Matsuta Misaki. On the 31st SENNET departed station and the Sea of Japan through La Ferouse Straits. This was the last full-fledged convoy battle of the Pacific Campaign.
Arriving in Saipan on August 9th, SENNET completed her fourth war patrol and her officers and crew were again awarded the submarine combat insignia. SENNET's daring entry into the Sea of Japan, the "Emperor's Back Yard," was made submerged through the Tsushima Straits, an area known to be protected by a dense minefield. For this feat Lcdr. Clark was awarded the Navy Cross, and SENNET's entire crew became members of the "Mighty Mine Dodgers Society," an organization founded by Vice Admiral C. A. Lockwood, the Commander Submarine Force, Pacific Fleet, to honor those submariners who successfully penetrated enemy minefields.
During her comparatively short war career, SENNET made four war
patrols, sinking eleven ships totaling 35,700 tons and damaging one
ship of 500 tons. She earned four battle stars on the
Asiatic-Pacific Area Service Medal for participation in the
following operations:
With the cessation of hostilities, SENNET returned to the Atlantic Fleet and was assigned to operate at New London, Connecticut. In June 1946, she was reassigned to Submarine Squadron Six stationed in Balboa, Canal Zone. On 10 December 1946, SENNET got underway as part of OPERATION HIGHJUMP, the third Antarctic expedition under Admiral Byrd. Commanded by J. B. Icenhower during this operation, SENNET penetrated large ice fields gathering valuable hydrographic and operational information on arctic operations. The technicolor movie, "The Secret Land," filmed during this operation shows SENNET struggling through the dense ice floes. On 4 February 1947, SENNET headed north and visited Wellington, New Zealand; Papaete, Tahiti; Lima, Peru; Port-a-Prince, Haiti; Port-a-Spain, Trinidad; and Havana, Cuba enroute home to Balboa in the Canal Zone.
In 1948 Commander Francis T. Cooper, USN, relieved Commander Icenhower as Commanding Officer. In 1949 SENNET was again reassigned; this time to Key West, Florida. The following year, Commander Henry L. Vaughn relieved as Commanding Officer
In 1951 SENNET was converted to a Fleet Snorkel Submarine by the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. This conversion allowed SENNET to operate her diesel engines while submerged.
On 3 May 1952, Commander Julius I. Schocken, USN, relieved Commander Vaughn as Commanding Officer. During this period SENNET continued to conduct training of submarine and anti-submarine personnel at Key West and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Commander Schocken was relieved as Commanding Officer by Lieutenant Commander Robert W. Netting on 6 July 1954, and preparations were begun for a deployment with the U.S. SIXTH Fleet in the Mediterranean. SENNET operated with the United States SIXTH Fleet in the Mediterranean from November 1954 through January 1955, and from April 1960 through July 1960.
In August 1963, SENNET was assigned to participate in UNITAS IV, an operation in South American waters, involving units of a number of South American Navies and Air Forces. UNITAS IV also provided an opportunity for SENNET's crew to visit many South American countries and to learn more about the cities, peoples, cultures, and customs of our neighbors to the south.
SENNET spent most of 1964 providing services to other commands in the Mid-Atlantic area. However, a two month period was spent in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba providing submarine services to the Fleet Training Group. 1965 again found SENNET providing services in the Mid-Atlantic area with a short visit to Curacao, Dutch West Indies.
Again in 1966 and 1967, SENNET made two trips to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to provide services to the Fleet Training Group. From August to December 1967, SENNET circumnavigated the South American continent for a second time during her participation in Operation UNITAS VIII.
SENNET was decommissioned on 02 December 1968. After decommissioning, she rendered one last vital service to the Navy by becoming a valuable source of much-need spare parts and repair items for other Atlantic Fleet submarines. On 15 June 1973 SENNET was sold for scrapping.