During World War II, the Gato course, and its successor, the Balao class, carried a lot of the responsibility of submarine war inside Pacific. These new fleet submarines had been successful ships that turned out to be fast, strong, well armed, and suited to the long-range patrols required to fight in the Pacific. They waged war up against the Axis abilities, amassing accurate documentation of devastation and sheer killing power that was unrivaled by other land or ocean attack platform. These new fleet submarines enabled the Navy to shift its submarine doctrine from coastal defense to start ocean attacks on enemy warships and convoys critical to enemy logistical help. This doctrine of forward presence and hit warfare by the submarine stays today.
