Thomas B. Klakring

Who was Thomas B. Klakring?

Thomas Burton Klakring was a United States Navy submarine commander during World War II.

T. B. Klakring, the only child of Colonel and Mrs. Leslie Klakring, was born in Annapolis, Maryland graduated from the United States Naval Academy with the Class of 1927. Lieutenant Commander Klakring commanded USS Guardfish, from her commissioning in May 1942 through her fourth war patrol in March–April 1943.

Guardfish's first war patrol was in the hitherto unpatrolled waters off northeast Honshū and southern Hokkaidō. Klakring worked out a tactic of getting inside of the sea lanes at night — just off the shore — to put his ship in position to attack the many ships moving along the coast. On 4 September, Klakring attacked a convoy off Kuji, sinking two ships; a third which had retreated into the harbor was then hit and sunk from a range of over 7,500 yards. In all, Guardfish sank five major cargo ships with a total tonnage of almost 17,000 tons, and damaged others. It was one of the most successful patrols of the war, and on Guardfish's return, Klakring was decorated with the Navy Cross. In a rare press conference called to publicize the accomplishments of the ordinarily "Silent Service", he embellished his success, spinning a yarn about being close enough to a town to see a horse race being run, "but we were just a little too far away to be sure which horse won."