Insignia Patch from USS Bugara (SS-331)
Title: Insignia Patch, USS Bugara (SS-331)
Accession #: NHHC 2017.001.020
Circa: 1940's
Size: 4.5"
Medium: Fabric
Location: Headquarters Artifact Collection, Naval History and Heritage Command
One World War II-era embroidered insignia patch from the USS Bugara (SS-331). The patch is white with a yellow outline and circular in shape. The patch depicts a submarine with a shark head. The submarine sail is the sharks dorsal fin. The shark has five arms. Two have boxing gloves, two are holding yellow and red torpedoes, and one is holding the horn of a naval mine. A small tab on the bottom of the patch is embroidered in red SS-331. The top of the patch is embroidered in red “Bug,” the boat’s nickname.
Commissioned in November 1944 as a Balao-class submarine, USS Bulgara completed three war patrols in the Pacific Theater during World War II. During her third patrol she was credited with disposing of 57 ships loaded with cargo bound for Japanese ports. In most cases, the native crews of the ships were safely removed from their vessels and put to shore.
USS Bugara also saw action during the Korean and Vietnam wars, before being decommissioned in 1970.
