Submarine Restoration Uncovers Sole Surviving Part of Lost WWII Sister Ship USS Trigger

During a $3.5 million preservation project on the USS Silversides in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, restorers discovered a flood valve stamped with 'TRIGGER L-792-228, F [R or B] -47-STBD,' which likely belonged to the USS Trigger, a sister submarine that sank in 1945. The valve, found on the port side despite being labeled for the starboard side, is possibly the only surviving component of the Trigger. The Silversides, a 312-foot submarine that sank at least 23 enemy vessels during WWII, has been a floating museum in Muskegon, Michigan, since 1987. The discovery was made by experts from Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding. Scott Hardin, the museum's vessel curator, called it the 'coolest find yet' and noted it could be the only surviving Trigger part. Rick Connole, whose father David Connole was the Trigger's final commanding officer, suggests that parts were swapped during construction at the Mare Island Navy Yard in California. The Trigger, commissioned on January 30, 1942, was named after the triggerfish and sank 27 enemy ships, earning 11 battle stars and the Presidential Unit Citation. It was lost on March 28, 1945, in the East China Sea during its 12th war patrol, with 89 men aboard. The Silversides was one of four nearby submarines that heard the attack. The museum plans to remove and preserve the valve.