USS LAGARTO (SS-371)
Honoring the submariners on Eternal Patrol
Initial sketch of the wreck site by diver Steve Burton.
Mario Grima has created a wonderful and stunning model of the LAGARTO as she lies in the Gulf of Siam today.
The detail put into this model is incredible.
The MV TRIDENT runs technical and recreational diving trips off the coast of Thailand.
The Wreck Site
A fitting monument to the boat and crew
Located in the southern portion of the Gulf of Siam and off the coast of Thailand, nearly due east of the city of Songkhla, the exact location of the wreck site is closely guarded by the U.S. Navy and the civilian divers who first located it in 2005.
Because the LAGARTO wreck site is a war grave it remains the property of the U.S. government and is protected by law from unauthorized dives, penetration, salvage operations and artifact recovery. Only the U.S. Navy can give permission to dive the wreck.
The LAGARTO lies upright on a sandy bottom at about 72 meters. Because of this, only the most experienced Trimix divers are able to reach the LAGARTO. Visibility is reduced considerably due to thermocline layers that exist throughout the Gulf of Siam so that seeing the wreck as a whole is not really possible. Maximum visibility below the termocline is roughly 10-15ft max.
Soft coral growth blankets the wreck as well as a substantial number of cables and portions of commercial fishing nets that have become snagged on the wreck over the past decades.
The teak wood decking along the topside of the superstructure is gone, revealing the complicated mass of piping and equipment that was housed within the submarine’s superstructure.
The largest area of damage is located on the port side of the boat, roughly at the point where the forward torpedo compartment joins the forward battery compartment. It’s believed that the damage was caused by a depth charge from the Japanese minelayer HATSUTAKA.
The bow planes are extended and tilted forward, indicating a dive angle. A forward torpedo shutter and muzzle door on the starboard side are open and might mean that the LAGARTO was preparing to launch a torpedo against its attacker or had already done so before being struck herself. The rubber gasket on the muzzle door is in very good condition. Visibility within the tube is limited so it’s unknown if the breech door is either open or closed.
All dives on the wreck have been to record the exterior condition of the wreck only so that it is unknown what the condition of the LAGARTO’s interior is in or whether any of the compartments remain partially sealed to this day.