USS CAVALLA (submarine)

Of the 77 Gato Class submarines built during World War Two, the USS Cavalla (known to her crew as "The Lucky Lady") is one of seven in existence in the United States.' Beginning in 1941, Gato Class submarines were built with a high surface speed enabling them to keep up with and scout for the fleet. They had a long-range that enabled them to reach all Pacific waters within the interest sphere of the United States. Between 1941 and 1944, seventy-seven Gato Class submarines were built by four shipyards: Electric Boat Company, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Mare Island Naval Shipyard, and the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company. The USS Cavalla2 (SS244) was built in Groton, Connecticut by the Electric Boat Company. The Gato Class submarines were designed and built to operate in the conditions of the "Hot War" of the 1940s. In 1944-45, Cavalla served in the Pacific on six war patrols, sinking an aircraft carrier, a destroyer, and two cargo ships. She was present in Tokyo Bay during the Japanese surrender ceremony. Cavalla received the Presidential Unit Citation for sinking the Japanese aircraft carrier Shokaku (CV-6) during the Battle of the Philippine Sea. Shokaku had participated in the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. The Cavalla is a good example of the type of ship construction which enabled U.S. shipyards to produce an enormous number of ships efficiently, quickly and economically during the early stages of World War II. As an intact example of a Gato Class submarine, one of only seven remaining in the United States, the ship is nominated under Criteria A and C in the areas of military and architecture, at the national level of significance.

The Electric Boat Company, in Groton, Connecticut, built the Cavalla. Her keel was laid on 4 March 1943; she was launched on 14 November 1943 and commissioned on 29 February 1944. After trials and crew training (about one-third of the crew had no previous submarine experience), Cavalla left New London, CT for Pearl Harbor on 11 April 1944. Crew training continued en route. After arriving in Pearl Harbor on 9 May, Cavalla received her final training exam --- an exercise to conduct simulated attacks against an escorted American convoy heading to Pearl Harbor. Completing this test, Cavalla received orders and departed on her first war patrol on 31 May 1944. Just three months after commissioning, Cavalla and her crew were judged to be ready for combat.