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Photo in the private collection of Ric Hedman.
A Golden Trout! The crew of Trout works to unload the bulk of the Philippine government treasury consisting of 20 tons of gold bars and silver pesos at Pearl Harbor on March 3, 1942. As the situation in the islands grew desperate, Trout was selected to make a run to Corregidor with 3,500 rounds of assorted ammunition and other supplies. After unloading she was seriously underweight and requested ballast. She was sent the 20 tons of gold and silver along with other securities, outgoing mail, and U.S. State Department dispatches. She departed on patrol and sank two Japanese ship before heading to Pearl Harbor to offload her valuable cargo. This effort by Trout and her crew allowed the Philippine government in exile to remain solvent and to be ready to reassert control once the islands were secured in 1945.
U.S. Navy photo.
This photo was released by the Navy on the day they reported the USS Trout lost, July 22, 1944. It shows the crew of the Trout being decorated for delivering ammunition to the Philippines and removing the Philippine Treasury to the U.S., preventing its capture by the Japanese. The tall officer in the center right wearing the garrison cap is likely RADM Thomas Withers, Jr., Commander Submarine Force Pacific Fleet. The other officers are not known.
Photo in the private collection of Ric Hedman.
Trout returning to Pearl Harbor with Japanese survivors of the Battle of Midway, June 14, 1942. Unfortunately, Trout did not sight any enemy ships, although she was unsuccessfully bombed by a Japanese plane.
Photo 80-G-32217 courtesy of the NHHC.
Trout seen in San Francisco Bay at the conclusion of a much-needed overhaul at Mare Island in late 1943. She has emerged sporting all the latest modifications given to boats at the time, with her fairwater configured in the equivalent of a Gato Mod 3. She was one of the six boats to receive the big and powerful 5"/51 caliber Mk 9 gun, and she has it mounted aft of the fairwater. It was necessary to expand the aft deck outward with a new sponson in order to give the gun crew adequate room to operate the big gun.
U.S. Navy photo.
Another view of Trout after her late 1943 overhaul at the Mare Island Navy Yard.
U.S. Navy photo.
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