>From the “Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships,” (1963) Vol. 2, p.289. DORADO Dorado: A dolphin fish. SS-248 Displacement: 1,526 t. Length: 311’9” Beam: 27’3” Draft: 15’3” Speed: 20 k. Complement: 60 Armament: 1 3”; 10 21” torpedo tubes Class: GATO DORADO (SS-248) was launched 23 May 1943 by Electric Boat Co., Groton, Conn.; sponsored by Mrs. E. G. Allen; and commissioned 28 August 1943, Lieutenant Commander E. C. Schneider in command. DORADO sailed from New London 6 October 1943, for the Canal Zone but never arrived. Air searches were begun immediately after her scheduled date of arrival 14 October. Widely scattered oil slicks with occasional debris were found and later investigation revealed that a patrol plane from Guantanamo Ray delivered a surprise attack on an unidentified submarine on 12 October and was later fired upon by another unidentified submarine. A German submarine was known to be operating near the scene of these two contacts, but the actual fate of DORADO remains unknown. [The aforementioned German submarine, U-214, laid 15 mines on 13 October 1943 off Colon, Panama and it is possible DORADO struck one of these. Harry Holmes, “The Last Patrol,” p.74 Kenneth Wynn, “U-boat Operations of World War II, Vol. 1; Career Histories, U-1 to U-510,” p.158] Transcribed by Michael Hansen mhansen2@home.com