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USS Bluegill (SS-242) WW2

Fourth War Patrol:  ADM Christie

"The Golden Age of submarine warfare in the Southwest Pacific had definitely come to a close with the end of 1944. Two-thirds of the Japanese merchant fleet had been destroyed, and the remaining bottoms were mostly small stuff, sea trucks and the like. In addition, the submarine hunting-ground was now restricted. Acquisition of air bases in the Philippines and in the Marianas permitted our planes to cover ocean areas previously reached only by submarines. . .

"On Bluegill's fourth [patrol], no enemy vessels were sighted and the patrol was therefore designated 'not successful for the submarine combat insignia.' But she gave valuable assistance to the operation of American forces in the reoccupation of the Philippines through reconnaissance. She was out fifty-three days, steamed 12,131 miles, burned 142,725 gallons of fuel-hardly a pleasure cruise . . ." Admiral Christie

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