Albert H. Clark

Albert Hobbs Clark (23 December 1910 - 29 February 1944), was a decorated submarine commander during World War II who reached the rank of Lieutenant Commander in the United States Navy. He was the commander of the when she was presumed lost with all hands.
Background
Albert H. Clark was a 1933 graduate of the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Upon graduating, Clark was assigned to the and later to the . In June 1937 he began submarine training in New London, Connecticut. Upon completion, Clark was assigned to in Honolulu, Hawaii. In July of 1940, Clark was transferred, and became a plank owner on the newly commissioned as the Engineer Officer under the command of Frank Wesley Fenno Jr.. Clark earned his Silver Star on the USS Trout's mission to bring much needed AAA ammunition to the American Forces at Corregidor. In May 1943, Albert H. Clark assumed command of the from Frank Wesley Fenno Jr. and completed several successful war patrols.
On what became Clark's final war patrol in February of 1944, the USS Trout was to patrol the East China Sea. According to Japanese war records, a convoy, Matsu No. 1, was attacked in the area assigned to the USS Trout on 29 February 1944. The convoy was carrying the from Manchuria to Guam. The convoy consisted of four large transport ships escorted by three YÅ«gumo-class destroyers, Asashimo, Kishinami, and Okinami. The USS Trout sank one of the large passenger-cargo ships, the Sakito Maru, which was carrying the . The Asashimo detected the submarine and began to drop depth charges. Oil and debris surfaced, and the Asashimo dropped one final depth charge on this location, 22°40′N 131°45′. It is also possible that one of the USS Trout's XVIII electric torpedos made a circular run and accidentally sank herself, as happened with the . On 7 April 1944, the was presumed missing-in-action with all hands. On 8 April 1945, it was declared missing in action with all hands. Albert H. Clark had been aboard the USS Trout for all eleven war patrols. <ref name="auto"/>
Albert H. Clark's widow, Mary Crane Clark, became the sponsor of the , a Tang class submarine with the same name as her husbands'.

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