Nothing Friendly in the Vicinity: My Patrols on the Submarine USS Guardfish During WWII

the USS Guardfish during World War II

•Fascinating study of the only sinking of a US warship by submarine

friendly fire

Claude Conner weaves a compelling tale of his experiences as a radar technician in the Pacific aboard the USS Guardfish, one of the Navy’s most successful World War II submarines. Tragically, the Guardfish was also the only submarine to sink another American ship in a little-known friendly fire action against the USS Extractor.

This thoroughly researched memoir chronicles the Guardfish’s numerous heroic operations, such as her perilous forays into Japanese-controlled harbours and the daring rescue of personnel from a Japanese-held island. It includes first-hand accounts by a dozen Extractor survivors, who describe the actions leading up to their encounter with the submarine, the actual sinking of the ship, and their rescue and subsequent treatment by Navy officials.

The author examines the chain of events that led to the sinking of the Extractor and provides details of the Court of Inquiry that followed and for which he testified as a witness.