By Rob Morgan
Ben Hoyle, writing in The Times, described the discovery of the wreck of the USS Stickleback a ‘Tench’ Class submarine lost in the Spring of 1958 in collision with USS Silverstein DE534, off Barber’s Point on the Hawaiian island of O’ahu during an exercise.
The Escort cut the surfacing sub in two, and it sank rapidly, but there were no lives lost, incredibly. The wreck has been found by teams operating as part of the LOST 52 project, intended to discover the wrecks of the 52 US subs lost during World War II ( and the four lost during the Cold War era). Reading through my ‘Conway’s All the World’s Fighting Ships 1922-1946,’ there are indeed a great number of sub losses listed, USS’s Herring, Scorpion, Shark and Trigger, for example. As well as USS Bullhead, sunk on 6th August 1945, and probably the last US sub lost in the war.
As a naval wargamer, I’d heard nothing of the LOST 52 project. It hasn’t cropped up in the newsletter of the Naval Wargames Society at all, but clearly it will be well known to many American members of the SWA.
I’d be very interested to hear more of it, if anyone can help.