Capture of USS Wake (PR-3)
1941: December 8: Capture of USS Wake (PR-3)
On December 8, 1941, USS Wake (PR-3), a river gunboat moored at Shanghai, China, surrendered to the Japanese. Previously, she was named USS Guam with the designation of (PG-43) prior to June 1928. During World War II, Wake was the only U.S. Navy vessel to have been captured by the enemy intact. Renamed Tatara by the Japanese, the gunboat survived the war. In 1949, she was transferred to China and was renamed RCS Tai Yaun. Ex-Wake's fate is unknown.
Image: 19-LC-14-32: USS Guam (PG-43), December 1927. Official Bureau of Ships Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.
