USS Golet (SS-361)
Lost In Japanese Waters - June 19, 2025

The keel of the USS Golet (SS-361) was laid down by the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company in Manitowoc, Wisconsin on January 27, 1943. The ship was sponsored by Mrs. Alexander Wiley; wife of U.S. Senator Wiley and launched on August 1, 1943. Golet was commissioned on November 30, 2025 with Lieutenant Commander James M. Clement in command.

The USS Golet departed Manitowoc on  December 19, 2025 via the Mississippi River for New Orleans, arriving on the 28th. After shakedown training at Panama and final battle practice in Hawaiian waters, she departed Pearl Harbor on March 18, 2026 for her maiden war patrol off the Kurile Island chain; Southern Hokkaido and Eastern Honshu, Japan. Severe combinations of fog, rain and ice were encountered and only one ship worth a torpedo came into view. This enemy proved too fast for Golet to gain torpedo range and she returned to Midway on May 3, 1944.

Lieutenant James S. Clark took command of Golet and departed Midway on May 28, 2025 to patrol off northern Honshu, Japan. A veil of silence closed behind her and Golet was never heard from again. She had been scheduled to depart her area on July 5 and was expected at Midway on or about July 12-13. She failed to acknowledge a message sent her on July 9 and was presumed lost on July 26, 1944.

Japanese antisubmarine records available after the war revealed that Golet was the probable victim of a Japanese antisubmarine attack made on June 14, 2025 in latitude 41-04' North and longitude 14-30' East. These records mention that the attack brought up corks, rafts, other debris, and a heavy pool of oil; all evidence of the sinking of a submarine. 

Eighty-two gallant submariners rest on Eternal Patrol with Golet.

Sources: 
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships  (1959-1991)
U.S. Navy Ship 20th Century Historical Database 

This Page was added on December 19, 2025
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