Accession NumberP472Title (extended title only)Plaque - USS BugaraDescriptionSmall wooden plaque with raised brass plate with Ships name, number and motif Date6th May 1966ProvenanceUSS Bugara (SS-331), a Balao-class submarine in commission from 1944 to 1970, was a ship of the United States Navy named for the bugara, a multi-coloured fish found along the coast of California.
Bugara's World War II operations extended from 21 February to 17 August 1945, during which she completed three war patrols in the Flores Sea, Java Sea, South China Sea and Gulf of Siam.
Bugara later served in the Korean War and the Vietnam War.Relevance to the CityBugara first visited Fremantle during World War Two. On 21 April 1945 she met her escort and proceeded to Fremantle, where she ended her patrol and began a regular refit, which included the installation of a second 5-inch (127 mm)/25-caliber gun. The 2nd visit was on 17 August 1945 when Bugara arrived at Fremantle, concluding her final war patrol. After a few days, she proceeded to Subic Bay on Luzon in the Philippine Islands, joining the other submarines of her squadron there. She operated from Subic Bay until January 1946, when she received orders to proceed to Pearl Harbor and then continue on to San Diego, California. The 3rd occasion was when she arrived in Fremantle on 18 June 1948. After a four-day stay, she put to sea once again on 22 June 1948 bound for Guam in the Mariana Islands. The fourth visit was in 1966. On 1 May 1966, while transiting the Lombok Strait southbound to the Indian Ocean, Bugara honoured her sister ship USS Bullhead (SS-332), lost on 6 August 1945 during World War II, with a wreath-laying ceremony. Bugara then made her visit to Fremantle, returning as the U.S. Pacific Fleet Submarine Force representative for the annual commemoration of Australia's celebration of the anniversary of the Battle of the Coral Sea, which had occurred during World War II from 4 to 8 May 1942. This was when the plaque was gifted to the City of Fremantle by Commander Stoehr
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