Sargo class submarine
Encyclopedia
The Sargo-class submarines were the first US submarines to be sent into action after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
, starting war patrols the day after the attack. They were built between 1937 and 1939.
The Sargo-class submarine had the distinction of sinking the first Japanese ship sent to the bottom by US forces in World War II
.
The Sargo class was very active during the war, sinking 73 ships, including a Japanese submarine.
of this class sank the aircraft carrier Chuyo, which was carrying 21 survivors from the submarine ; only one of these prisoners survived the sinking. Sculpin had been one of the ships assisting in the rescue of 33 men when sank during a test dive in 1939; Squalus was refloated and recommissioned as USS Sailfish
.
After the Second World War, boats of this class were moved into a training role before being scrapped. was used in the Bikini Atoll
atomic weapon tests in 1946. There was negligible damage so she was later expended as a target. USS Sailfish
was also due to become a target in the same atomic weapon tests but she was scrapped instead in 1948.
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
, starting war patrols the day after the attack. They were built between 1937 and 1939.
The Sargo-class submarine had the distinction of sinking the first Japanese ship sent to the bottom by US forces in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
The Sargo class was very active during the war, sinking 73 ships, including a Japanese submarine.
of this class sank the aircraft carrier Chuyo, which was carrying 21 survivors from the submarine ; only one of these prisoners survived the sinking. Sculpin had been one of the ships assisting in the rescue of 33 men when sank during a test dive in 1939; Squalus was refloated and recommissioned as USS Sailfish
USS Sailfish (SS-192)
USS Sailfish , a , was originally named Squalus.Her keel was laid on 18 October 1937 by the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, as Squalus, the only ship of the United States Navy named for the squalus. She was launched on 14 September 1938 sponsored by Mrs. Thomas C...
.
After the Second World War, boats of this class were moved into a training role before being scrapped. was used in the Bikini Atoll
Bikini Atoll
Bikini Atoll is an atoll, listed as a World Heritage Site, in the Micronesian Islands of the Pacific Ocean, part of Republic of the Marshall Islands....
atomic weapon tests in 1946. There was negligible damage so she was later expended as a target. USS Sailfish
USS Sailfish (SS-192)
USS Sailfish , a , was originally named Squalus.Her keel was laid on 18 October 1937 by the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, as Squalus, the only ship of the United States Navy named for the squalus. She was launched on 14 September 1938 sponsored by Mrs. Thomas C...
was also due to become a target in the same atomic weapon tests but she was scrapped instead in 1948.
Ships in class
| Name | Hull number | Builder | Laid Down | Launched | Commissioned | Fate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sargo USS Sargo (SS-188) USS Sargo , the lead ship of her class of submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the sargo.Her keel was laid on 12 May 1937 by the Electric Boat Company in Groton, Connecticut. She was launched on 6 June 1938 sponsored by Mrs. Chester W. Nimitz , and commissioned on... |
SS-188 | Electric Boat Electric boat While a significant majority of water vessels are powered by diesel engines, with sail power and gasoline engines also remaining popular, boats powered by electricity have been used for over 120 years. Electric boats were very popular from the 1880s until the 1920s, when the internal combustion... , Groton, CT Groton, Connecticut Groton is a town located on the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 39,907 at the 2000 census.... |
6 June 1938 | Sold for scrap 19 May 1947 to Learner Company of Oakland, CA | |||
| Saury USS Saury (SS-189) USS Saury , a Sargo-class submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for the saury, a long-beaked relative of the flying fish found in the temperate zones of the Atlantic.... |
SS-189 | Electric Boat Electric boat While a significant majority of water vessels are powered by diesel engines, with sail power and gasoline engines also remaining popular, boats powered by electricity have been used for over 120 years. Electric boats were very popular from the 1880s until the 1920s, when the internal combustion... , Groton, CT Groton, Connecticut Groton is a town located on the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 39,907 at the 2000 census.... |
20 August 1938 | Sold for scrap 19 May 1947 to Learner Company of Oakland, CA | |||
| Spearfish USS Spearfish (SS-190) USS Spearfish , a Sargo-class submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for the spearfish, any of several large, powerful, pelagic fishes of the genus Tetrapturus allied to the marlins and sailfishes.... |
SS-190 | Electric Boat Electric boat While a significant majority of water vessels are powered by diesel engines, with sail power and gasoline engines also remaining popular, boats powered by electricity have been used for over 120 years. Electric boats were very popular from the 1880s until the 1920s, when the internal combustion... , Groton, CT Groton, Connecticut Groton is a town located on the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 39,907 at the 2000 census.... |
29 October 1938 | Sold for scrap 19 May 1947 to Learner Company of Oakland, CA | |||
| Sculpin USS Sculpin (SS-191) USS Sculpin , a Sargo-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the sculpin.Her keel was laid down on 7 September 1937 at the Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery, Maine. She was launched on 27 July 1938 sponsored by Mrs. J.R. Defrees, and commissioned on 16 January... |
SS-191 | Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, Maine Kittery, Maine Kittery is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 9,543 at the 2000 census. Home to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on Seavey's Island, Kittery includes Badger's Island, the seaside district of Kittery Point, and part of the Isles of Shoals... |
27 July 1938 | Damaged by depth charges and gunfire from the IJNS Yamagumo 19 November 1943; scuttled | |||
| Squalus | SS-192 | Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, Maine Kittery, Maine Kittery is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 9,543 at the 2000 census. Home to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on Seavey's Island, Kittery includes Badger's Island, the seaside district of Kittery Point, and part of the Isles of Shoals... |
Sank on trials 23 May 1939. Raised and recommissioned as USS Sailfish USS Sailfish (SS-192) USS Sailfish , a , was originally named Squalus.Her keel was laid on 18 October 1937 by the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, as Squalus, the only ship of the United States Navy named for the squalus. She was launched on 14 September 1938 sponsored by Mrs. Thomas C... 9 February 1940 Sold for scrap 18 June 1948 to Luria Brothers and Company of Philadelphia, PA |
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| Swordfish USS Swordfish (SS-193) USS Swordfish , a Sargo-class submarine, was the first submarine of the United States Navy named for the swordfish, a large fish with a long, swordlike beak and a high dorsal fin... |
SS-193 | Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA Vallejo, California Vallejo is the largest city in Solano County, California, United States. The population was 115,942 at the 2010 census. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area on the northeastern shore of San Pablo Bay... |
4 January 1939 | Depth charged by Japanese anti-submarine vessels 12 January 1945 | |||
| Seadragon USS Seadragon (SS-194) USS Seadragon , a Sargo-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the seadragon.Her keel was laid on 18 April 1938 by the Electric Boat Company of Groton, Connecticut. She was christened and launched on 21 April 1939, sponsored by Mrs. J.O... |
SS-194 | Electric Boat Electric boat While a significant majority of water vessels are powered by diesel engines, with sail power and gasoline engines also remaining popular, boats powered by electricity have been used for over 120 years. Electric boats were very popular from the 1880s until the 1920s, when the internal combustion... , Groton, CT Groton, Connecticut Groton is a town located on the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 39,907 at the 2000 census.... |
21 April 1939 | Sold for scrap 2 July 1948 to Luria Brothers and Company of Philadelphia, PA | |||
| Sealion USS Sealion (SS-195) USS Sealion , a Sargo-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the sea lion, any of several large, eared seals native to the Pacific.... |
SS-195 | Electric Boat Electric boat While a significant majority of water vessels are powered by diesel engines, with sail power and gasoline engines also remaining popular, boats powered by electricity have been used for over 120 years. Electric boats were very popular from the 1880s until the 1920s, when the internal combustion... , Groton, CT Groton, Connecticut Groton is a town located on the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 39,907 at the 2000 census.... |
25 May 1939 | Bombed by Japanese aircraft at Cavite Navy Yard 10 December 1941; scuttled 25 December 1941 | |||
| Searaven USS Searaven (SS-196) USS Searaven , a Sargo-class submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for the sea raven, a sculpin of the northern Atlantic coast of America.... |
SS-196 | Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, Maine Kittery, Maine Kittery is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 9,543 at the 2000 census. Home to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on Seavey's Island, Kittery includes Badger's Island, the seaside district of Kittery Point, and part of the Isles of Shoals... |
21 June 1939 | Expended as target in Operation Crossroads Operation Crossroads Operation Crossroads was a series of nuclear weapon tests conducted by the United States at Bikini Atoll in mid-1946. It was the first test of a nuclear weapon after the Trinity nuclear test in July 1945... atomic bomb test at Bikini Atoll Bikini Atoll Bikini Atoll is an atoll, listed as a World Heritage Site, in the Micronesian Islands of the Pacific Ocean, part of Republic of the Marshall Islands.... 11 September 1948 |
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| Seawolf USS Seawolf (SS-197) USS Seawolf , a Sargo-class submarine, was the second submarine of the United States Navy named for the seawolf.Her keel was laid down on 27 September 1938 by the Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery, Maine. She was launched on 15 August 1939 sponsored by Mrs. Edward C. Kalbfus and commissioned on 1... |
SS-197 | Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, Maine Kittery, Maine Kittery is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 9,543 at the 2000 census. Home to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on Seavey's Island, Kittery includes Badger's Island, the seaside district of Kittery Point, and part of the Isles of Shoals... |
15 August 1939 | Sunk by "friendly fire Friendly fire Friendly fire is inadvertent firing towards one's own or otherwise friendly forces while attempting to engage enemy forces, particularly where this results in injury or death. A death resulting from a negligent discharge is not considered friendly fire... " from USS Richard M. Rowell (DE-403) USS Richard M. Rowell (DE-403) USS Richard M. Rowell was a John C. Butler-class destroyer escort acquired by the United States Navy during World War II. The primary purpose of the destroyer escort was to escort and protect ships in convoy, in addition to other tasks as assigned, such as patrol or radar picket... 3 October 1944 |