Willis A. Lent
| Willis A. Lent | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Nickname(s) | "Pilly" |
| Born | January 5, 1904 West Roxbury, Massachusetts |
| Died | August 28, 1959 New London, Connecticut |
| Allegiance |
 United States
|
| Service/branch |
 United States Navy
|
| Years of service | 1925–1955 |
| Rank |
 Rear Admiral
|
| Commands held |
USS Triton (SS-201) USS Grenadier (SS-210) |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards |
Navy Cross (2) Legion of Merit |
| Other work | Electric Boat Division General Dynamics Corporation |
Willis Ashford Lent (January 5, 1904 – August 28, 1959), nicknamed "Pilly", was a rear admiral in the United States Navy. Serving as commanding officer of the Tambor class submarine USS Triton during the Second World War, Lent made the first torpedo attack against the Japanese of the war.
Lent was born in West Roxbury, Massachusetts, and graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1925. On August 15, 1940, he assumed command of Triton (SS-201) as she was commissioned.
Upon the outbreak of World War II, Lieutenant Commander Lent and Triton were assigned to Submarine Division 62.Triton made a training cruise to Midway from August 30 to September 15, then participated in local and fleet operations in the Hawaiian area. On November 19, Lent headed west to conduct a practice war patrol and arrived off Wake Island on November 26. On December 8, he saw columns of smoke rising over the island but assumed it was caused by construction work being done ashore. That night, when he surfaced to charge batteries, he was informed by radio Wake and Pearl Harbor had been bombed and was ordered to stay out of range of Wake's guns. The next morning, Lent observed the Japanese bombing the island. On the night of December 10, he was surfaced, charging batteries, when flashes of light from Wake revealed a destroyer or light cruiser on a parallel course. The submarine was silhouetted against the moon, and the enemy ship turned towards. Lent went deep and began evasive action.
When the Japanese ship slowed astern, Lent came to 120 feet (40 m) and fired four Mark XIV torpedoes – all his stern tubes, the first American submarine torpedo shots of World War II – on sonar bearings (in keeping with prewar doctrine). He heard a dull explosion 58 seconds later and believed one torpedo had hit, then went to 175 feet (50 m) and cleared the area. (No sinking was recorded, and Lent was not credited with one.) After their initial repulse on December 11, the Japanese returned with two aircraft carriers, Hiryū and Sōryū; thanks in part to the confusion at Pearl Harbor, Lent was not informed, and Triton made no attacks on them, so any chance to delay or prevent the invasion was lost, as was a chance (always exceedingly rare) of sinking or damaging a Japanese aircraft carrier. Neither did he make any effort to evacuate the 350 Marines. On December 21, he was ordered to return to Hawaii, arriving at Pearl Harbor on December 31.
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