Commander James Wiggins "Red" Coe (June 13, 1909 – September 28, 1943) (missing), January 8, 1946 (presumed dead) was an American submariner. A submarine ace, Coe commanded and during operations in the Pacific theatre of World War II. After a number of successful patrols, Coe and the Cisco failed to return from patrol in November 1943, and her captain and crew were presumed dead in 1946. Early life and career Born in Richmond, Indiana, Coe attended Morton High School and then the US Naval Academy and Annapolis, Maryland. Commissioned in June 1930, he served aboard and then . From 1931 he commenced training in submarines, and served on in 1933, followed by in 1935 and in 1937. After two years back in the United States as an instructor, he took command of in January 1940 and, after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, he commanded her during three war patrols in the Southeast Asia. On March 4, 1942, Coe commanded S-39 when she attacked and sank a Japanese tanker in Sunda Strait. Coe transferred to the USS Skipjack in March 1942. Skipjack Coe commanded Skipjack for three war patrols (Skipjack'''s third, forth and fifth) during which he sank four Japanese merchant ships and damaged another. While in command of the Skipjack, he wrote a letter to his superiors in the supply division complaining about a lack of toilet paper aboard his vessel. Included in the memorandum was "a sample of the desired material" to help supply identify the item being requested, while commenting that in the meantime, "personnel during this period has become accustomed to the use of “Ersatz” the vast amount of incoming non-essential paper work" and closing with the remark that "in order to cooperate in war effort at small local sacrifice, the SKIPJACK desires no further action to be taken until the end of current war which has created a situation aptly described as “War is Hell”." The letter later served as inspiration for a scene in the 1959 comedy film Operation Petticoat. Coe's letter and the roll of toilet paper are preserved at the Submarine Force Library and Museum in Groton, Connecticut. Coe also fired the first Mark 14 torpedo to be shot with its magnetic influence disabled as part of a new test run ordered by Rear-Admiral Charles A. Lockwood, which took place off of King George Sound in June 1942. USS Cisco and death Coe