USS Lagarto Submarine Formally Identified

Posted on June 18th, 2006.

The submarine discovered in the Gulf Of Thailand last year by a commercial diver has been formally identified by the US Navy as the USS Lagarto.

From the Honolulu Star Bulletin:

Navy divers have confirmed the location of a World War II submarine believed to have been sunk by a Japanese minelayer 61 years ago in the Gulf of Thailand.

Lt. Cmdr. Jeff Davis, spokesman of the Pacific Fleet Submarine Force at Pearl Harbor, said USS Lagarto was first discovered in May 2005 by a commercial diver. It was one of 52 submarines lost during the Pacific war.

Last month, Navy divers participating in an annual naval exercise confirmed the discovery first made by British wreck diver Jamie McLeod.

McLeod used records from “fishermen in the area where they lost a lot of nets,” Davis said. “He assumed that something on the bottom was catching the nets.

“On his first dive he found the Lagarto sitting upright.”

The 1,526-ton Balao-class diesel sub is in 275 feet of water. [read more]

There’s also coverage on CNN via AP which covers the reaction of the family of one of the crewmembers who lost their life when the Lagarto went down.

Previously: Two WWII ‘human torpedoes’ believed to be lying off Phuket ; Pattaya Diving: The Wreck Of The Steamship Suddhadib ; Thai Wreck Diver

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