Hello and welcome to episode 203 of the unauthorized history of the Pacific War podcast.

My name is Seth Peridon, historian and deputy director of the Mississippi Armed Forces Museum here at Camp Shelby. And with me, as always, it's my esteemed co-host, retired Navy Captain Bill Toaddy, former skipper of the Fast Attack Submarine U.S.S. Indianapolis, Commodore of Submarine Squadron 3 in Pearl Harbor, and many, many other postings. How are you this afternoon, Bill?

I'm still doing great, Seth. And you? You're doing okay? I'm doing just dandy. I never get to ask you that question. You always ask me. I'm fine. Fine as wine is this. So this is our show's

third episode of its second season. Our first episode of season two aired a couple of weeks ago when Bill and I had retired Admiral Thomas Fargo on the show to give an introductory talk on U.S. Pacific submarines. Fleet boats, pig boats, silent service, whatever you want to call them, a service that is obviously very near and dear to

Bill's heart. Now, this season will not be all about subs, but there will be several, several

episodes about submarines, but we felt it was right to pick up kind of where we left off, especially

with last week's talk with Bill doing our submarine 101 episode. And this week

we're going to talk about a legendary boat with its legendary crew led by its legendary skipper.

It's a submarine that is named after a fish like all U.S. World War II fleet boats were. The submarine

and the fish, it's named after, are one of the

appropriately matched pairs. The fish is a tropical fish that is considered to be a valuable

and prized catch by sportsmen. Its elongated body is iridescent blue with silvery blue bars

along its slender side. The fish has razor-sharp teeth. Its growth is rapid, and it is among the fastest and

most voracious eaters in the ocean. It tends to be a loner, solitary. When hooked, it is known

to be a fighter, a highly prized catch, if you can get one. The fish puts up a vicious fight

and is known for its speed and strength on its run on the first hook.

All of these adjectives describe both the boat and its aquatic namesake.

The fish and the legendary U.S. fleet boat are both called Wahoo.

So, Bill, with that, let's talk about...

As we go through our submarine episodes, I'm not sure we want to, in every case, give an expose on the fish, like the USS carp. We'll skip that one, okay?

But this one in particular is fitting, isn't it?

It is. It really is.

...