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USS S-40 (SS-145)
Encyclopedia
USS S-40 (SS-145) was a first-group (S-1 or "Holland") S-class submarine
United States S class submarine
The United States' S-class submarines, often simply called S-boats , were the first class of submarines built to a United States Navy design....
of the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
. Her keel was laid down on 5 March 1919 by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation
Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation
Bethlehem Steel Corporation Shipbuilding Division was created in 1905 when Bethlehem Steel Corporation acquired the San Francisco shipyard Union Iron Works in 1905...
in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
. She was launched
Ship naming and launching
The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...
on 5 January 1921 sponsored by Mrs. John H. Rosseter, and commissioned
Ship commissioning
Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...
on 20 November 1923 with Lieutenant Commander E. F. Morrissey in command.
Asiatic Fleet
Assigned to Submarine Division 17 on commissioning, S-40 operated off southern CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
until January 1924, when she proceeded to Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
, thence continued into the Caribbean Sea
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
. Engaging in Fleet Problems II, III, and IV en route to and during her stay there, she returned to San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
, in late March. In May, she completed her final trial runs at San Francisco, then prepared for transfer to the Asiatic Fleet.
_alongside_uss_pigeon_(asr-6),_at_shanghai,_china,_1932.jpg)
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
on 5 November. During the winter of 1925, she conducted exercises in sound and target approaches, crash dives, and torpedo firing in the waters off Luzon
Luzon
Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
. In May, she moved north with her division to Tsingtao
Qingdao
' also known in the West by its postal map spelling Tsingtao, is a major city with a population of over 8.715 million in eastern Shandong province, Eastern China. Its built up area, made of 7 urban districts plus Jimo city, is home to about 4,346,000 inhabitants in 2010.It borders Yantai to the...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, and, through the summer, engaged in operations off the China coast. In September, she returned to the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, and, for the next fifteen years, maintained a schedule of overhaul, exercises, and patrols in the Philippines during the winter and operations off China during the summer.
During the summer of 1940, however, hostilities on the Asiatic mainland brought a change in her schedule and she conducted increasingly extended "familiarization" cruises among the Philippine Islands and in adjacent waters. With 1941, joint United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
-United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
exercises were conducted at Corregidor
Corregidor
Corregidor Island, locally called Isla ng Corregidor, is a lofty island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in southwestern part of Luzon Island in the Philippines. Due to this location, Corregidor was fortified with several coastal artillery and ammunition magazines to defend the entrance of...
, and patrols off likely invasion beaches were stepped up.
First and Second War Patrols, December 1941
On 8 December (7 December east of the International Date LineInternational Date Line
The International Date Line is a generally north-south imaginary line on the surface of the Earth, passing through the middle of the Pacific Ocean, that designates the place where each calendar day begins...
) S-40 was anchored off Sangley Point alongside the submarine tender
Submarine tender
A submarine tender is a type of ship that supplies and supports submarines.Submarines are small compared to most oceangoing vessels, and generally do not have the ability to carry large amounts of food, fuel, torpedoes, and other supplies, nor to carry a full array of maintenance equipment and...
. With the receipt of the news of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
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...
, she was ordered out on patrol. Underway on 9 December, she anchored off Boaya Point, Veradero Bay, on 10 December, and, with a lookout stationed on a nearby hill, watched the approaches to the Verde Island
Verde Island
This article refers to an island, for the body of water see Verde Island Passage.Verde Island is situated along the bodies of Verde Island Passage between the islands of Luzon and Mindoro, Philippines. It was on 1988 when a small village was created through the effort of an European project using...
passage between Mindoro
Mindoro
Mindoro is the seventh-largest island in the Philippines. It is located off the coast of Luzon, and northeast of Palawan. The southern coast of Mindoro forms the northeastern extremum of the Sulu Sea.-History:...
and Luzon
Luzon
Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
. On 12 December, she shifted to an area off Batangas
Batangas
Batangas is a first class province of the Philippines located on the southwestern part of Luzon in the CALABARZON region. Its capital is Batangas City and it is bordered by the provinces of Cavite and Laguna to the north and Quezon to the east. Across the Verde Island Passages to the south is the...
, and, on 14 December, returned to Veradero Bay. On 18 December, she was back at Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
, only to depart again on 19 December to patrol between Botolan Point and Subic Bay
Subic Bay
Subic Bay is a bay forming part of Luzon Sea on the west coast of the island of Luzon in Zambales, Philippines, about 100 kilometers northwest of Manila Bay. Its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility named U.S...
. On 21 December, she headed north to intercept a Japanese force reportedly bound for the Lingayen
Lingayen Gulf
The Lingayen Gulf is an extension of the South China Sea on Luzon in the Philippines stretching . It is framed by the provinces of Pangasinan and La Union and sits between the Zambales Mountains and the Cordillera Central...
area.
Early on 23 December, S-40 sighted the enemy; fired four torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
es, unsuccessfully, at a transport, then, for much of the remainder of the day, remained submerged, avoiding depth charge
Depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...
s dropped by the Japanese screening forces. After dark, she anchored in Agno Bay; made temporary repairs to her hull, engines, pumping system, and port air compressor; then patrolled off Bolinao
Bolinao
Bolinao or Bolinaon may refer to:*Bolinao, Pangasinan*Bolinao language*The Philippine Anchovy , which is known in Cebuano as bolinao....
. On 29 December, she was ordered to head south. Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
and Cavite
Cavite
Cavite is a province of the Philippines located on the southern shores of Manila Bay in the CALABARZON region in Luzon, just 30 kilometers south of Manila. Cavite is surrounded by Laguna to the east, Metro Manila to the northeast, and Batangas to the south...
had become untenable.
Escape from the Philippines
On 30 December, three days before Manila and Cavite fell, S-40 departed Luzon and pointed her bow toward the Netherlands East Indies. By midnight on 8 January 1942, she was off MakassarMakassar
Makassar, is the provincial capital of South Sulawesi, Indonesia, and the largest city on Sulawesi Island. From 1971 to 1999, the city was named Ujung Pandang, after a precolonial fort in the city, and the two names are often used interchangeably...
, whence she was ordered to Balikpapan
Balikpapan
Balikpapan is a seaport city on the eastern coast of the island of Borneo, Indonesia, in the East Kalimantan province, a resource-rich region well known for its timber, mining, and petroleum export products. Two harbors, Semayang and Kariangau , and the Sepinggan International Airport are the main...
for repairs, fuel, and supplies. There, enemy air attacks increased, but repairs were accomplished, fuel was taken on, and limited supplies were received. On 14 January, she took up patrol duties on the North Watcher-Mangkalihat line. By 19 January, her food supplies were again low, but she continued her efforts to impede the Japanese envelopment of the East Indies
East Indies
East Indies is a term used by Europeans from the 16th century onwards to identify what is now known as Indian subcontinent or South Asia, Southeastern Asia, and the islands of Oceania, including the Malay Archipelago and the Philippines...
. On 20 January, she took up patrol off Balikpapan. On 25 January, she was ordered back to Makassar. Thence, on 28 January, she headed for Soerabaja to join the American-British-Dutch-Australian (ABDA) forces operating from that still-Allied base.
Third War Patrol, February 1942
She arrived at Soerabaja on the north coast of Java on 2 February, her crew frustrated by their attempts to intercept enemy shipping, but with information on tides, currents, navigational aids, and Japanese tactics. Nine days later, she got underway to patrol the northern approaches to Makassar City and intercept Japanese reinforcements expected to move through Makassar StraitMakassar Strait
Makassar Strait is a strait between the islands of Borneo and Sulawesi in Indonesia. To the north it joins the Celebes Sea, while to the south it meets the Java Sea.The Mahakam River of Borneo empties into the strait....
and the Flores Sea
Flores Sea
The Flores Sea covers 93,000 square miles of water in Indonesia.- Geography :The seas that border the Flores Sea are the Bali Sea , Java Sea , and the Banda Sea ....
. Arriving on 15 February, she patrolled initially between De Bril bank and the reefs to the south, then shifted to other areas. Her hunting remained unsuccessful.
By 26 February, she was again in need of repairs and was ordered to Exmouth Gulf
Exmouth Gulf
Exmouth Gulf is a gulf in the north west of Western Australia. It lies between North West Cape and the main coastline of Western Australia. It is considered to be part of the region of the North West Shelf and in the Canning Basin area.-Environment:...
on the Western Australia coast. There, she took on needed supplies and continued on to Fremantle
Fremantle, Western Australia
Fremantle is a city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle was the first area settled by the Swan River colonists in 1829...
. On 6 March, she sighted a Japanese submarine, but was able neither to attack nor to transmit a message concerning its presence.
Fourth War Patrol, May 1942
On 9 March, S-40 reached FremantleFremantle, Western Australia
Fremantle is a city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle was the first area settled by the Swan River colonists in 1829...
. During the next month and a half, she underwent overhaul and shifted her base to Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
. On 4 May, she departed the Queensland coast for her fourth war patrol. Ordered into the New Britain
New Britain
New Britain, or Niu Briten, is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from the island of New Guinea by the Dampier and Vitiaz Straits and from New Ireland by St. George's Channel...
-New Ireland
New Ireland (island)
New Ireland is a large island in Papua New Guinea, approximately 7,404 km² in area. It is the largest island of the New Ireland Province, lying northeast of the island of New Britain. Both islands are part of the Bismarck Archipelago, named after Otto von Bismarck, and they are separated by...
area, she reconnoitered Deboyne en route and arrived on station on 16 May. On 3 June, she returned to Brisbane again with information, but still scoreless.
Fifth War Patrol, June 1942
At the end of the month, she was underway again. Initially assigned to intercept enemy traffic into the SalamauaSalamaua
Salamaua was a small town situated on the north-eastern coastline of Papua New Guinea part of Morobe province. The settlement was built on a minor isthmus between the coast with mountains on the inland side and a headland...
-Lae
Lae
Lae, the capital of Morobe Province, is the second-largest city in Papua New Guinea. It is located at the start of the Highlands Highway which is the main land transport corridor from the Highlands region to the coast...
area of New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
, she was ordered to the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
on 2 July to relieve , which had been forced to vacate her position off Tulagi
Tulagi
Tulagi, less commonly Tulaghi, is a small island in the Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Florida Island. The town of the same name on the island Tulagi, less commonly Tulaghi, is a small island (5.5 km by 1 km) in the Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Florida...
. S-40 patrolled between Tulagi
Tulagi
Tulagi, less commonly Tulaghi, is a small island in the Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Florida Island. The town of the same name on the island Tulagi, less commonly Tulaghi, is a small island (5.5 km by 1 km) in the Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Florida...
and Lunga Roads and off Savo Island
Savo Island
Savo Island is a volcanic island in the Solomon Islands group in the South Pacific ocean. It is located to the northeast of the northern tip of Guadalcanal Island at . Politically, Savo Island is a part of the Solomons' Central Province. The indigenous language of Savo is the Savosavo language.The...
; fired on a maru
Japanese ship naming conventions
Japanese ship naming conventions are different from those in the West. Japanese warships have never been named after people. Prior to World War II, Japanese ship naming conventions underwent several changes before being settled.- Merchant ships :...
, but did not score; then shifted to the New Georgia
New Georgia
New Georgia is the largest island of the Western Province of the Solomon Islands.-Geography:This island is located in the New Georgia Group, an archipelago including most of the other larger islands in the province...
-Santa Isabel
Santa Isabel Island
Santa Isabel Island is the longest in the Solomon Islands, South Pacific, and the largest in the group of islands in Isabel Province.-Location and geographic data:...
area to intercept Rabaul
Rabaul
Rabaul is a township in East New Britain province, Papua New Guinea. The town was the provincial capital and most important settlement in the province until it was destroyed in 1994 by falling ash of a volcanic eruption. During the eruption, ash was sent thousands of metres into the air and the...
shipping. Failing to directly impede Japanese traffic there, she returned to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
on 29 July.
Sixth War Patrol, August 1942
On 28 August, S-40 again cleared Moreton BayMoreton Bay
Moreton Bay is a bay on the eastern coast of Australia 45 km from Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of Queensland's most important coastal resources...
and moved north. By 4 September, she was off the Gizo Island anchorage. Thence, she crossed the Solomon Sea
Solomon Sea
The Solomon Sea is a sea located within the Pacific Ocean. It lies between Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. Many major battles were fought there during World War II.-Extent:...
to the D'Entrecasteaux Islands
D'Entrecasteaux Islands
D'Entrecasteaux Islands are situated near the eastern tip of New Guinea in the Solomon Sea in Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea. The group spans a distance of 160 km, has a total land area of approximately 3,100 km² and is separated from the Papua New Guinea mainland by the...
off Papua
Papua (Australian territory)
The Territory of Papua comprised the southeastern quarter of the island of New Guinea from 1883 to 1949. It became a British Protectorate in the year 1884, and four years later it was formally annexed as British New Guinea...
to impede the movement of enemy reinforcements into Milne Bay
Milne Bay
Milne Bay is a large bay in Milne Bay Province, southeastern Papua New Guinea. The bay is named after Sir Alexander Milne.The area was a site of the Battle of Milne Bay in 1942....
. Poor weather and mechanical problems inhibited her hunting; and, still scoreless, she returned to Brisbane on 25 September.
Seventh War Patrol, October 1942
Repairs to S-40’s deteriorating main motor cables and attempts to correct fuel leaks into the after batteryBattery (electricity)
An electrical battery is one or more electrochemical cells that convert stored chemical energy into electrical energy. Since the invention of the first battery in 1800 by Alessandro Volta and especially since the technically improved Daniell cell in 1836, batteries have become a common power...
occupied the next three weeks. On 19 October, she got underway for San Diego and an extensive overhaul. Patrolling in the Gilbert Islands
Gilbert Islands
The Gilbert Islands are a chain of sixteen atolls and coral islands in the Pacific Ocean. They are the main part of Republic of Kiribati and include Tarawa, the site of the country's capital and residence of almost half of the population.-Geography:The atolls and islands of the Gilbert Islands...
en route, she arrived at Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
on 19 November; exchanged her four-inch (102 mm) gun for a three-inch (76 mm) gun from submarine and continued on to the west coast, arriving on 7 December. Delays in the delivery of needed equipment slowed the yard work; but on 4 June 1943, she emerged with air conditioning and more up to date electronic equipment.
Eighth War Patrol, June 1943
On 7 June, she moved north, toward the Aleutian Islands, with 60% of her crew new to the Navy and to submarines. She trained en route to Dutch Harbor, whence she departed on her eighth war patrol on 24 June. Further training exercises were carried out prior to reaching AttuAttu Island
Attu is the westernmost and largest island in the Near Islands group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, making it the westernmost point of land relative to Alaska and the United States. It was the site of the only World War II land battle fought on the incorporated territory of the United States ,...
, where she topped off and departed again on 30 June, heading for the Kuril Islands
Kuril Islands
The Kuril Islands , in Russia's Sakhalin Oblast region, form a volcanic archipelago that stretches approximately northeast from Hokkaidō, Japan, to Kamchatka, Russia, separating the Sea of Okhotsk from the North Pacific Ocean. There are 56 islands and many more minor rocks. It consists of Greater...
. Despite dense fog and heavy seas, she reached the Kamchatka peninsula
Kamchatka Peninsula
The Kamchatka Peninsula is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of . It lies between the Pacific Ocean to the east and the Sea of Okhotsk to the west...
on 3 July and stood down the coast toward Paramushiro.
Japanese fishermen, with their innumerable nets and set lines, hindered her freedom of movement. Dense fog impeded her hunting. On 12 July, she suffered a steering casualty which was temporarily repaired by the crew; and, on 31 July, she put back into Dutch Harbor.
Ninth War Patrol, August 1943
S-40’s ninth war patrol, from 12 August to 10 September, was again conducted in the fog and heavy swells of the northern Kurile Islands, but was cut short by repeated material failures which included the seemingly ever present problems of deterioration of the main power cables and fuel oil leaks into the after battery.Training ship, 1943-1945
After voyage repairs, the S-boatUnited States S class submarine
The United States' S-class submarines, often simply called S-boats , were the first class of submarines built to a United States Navy design....
was ordered to San Diego and training duty. Reporting to Commander, Submarine Squadron 45 on arrival on 3 October, she conducted training operations for the West Coast Sound School and for Fleet Air, West Coast for the remainder of 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...
. Then ordered inactivated, she shifted to San Francisco where she was stripped and decommissioned on 29 October 1945. Struck from the Naval Vessel Register
Naval Vessel Register
The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...
on 13 November 1945, she was sold to the Salco Iron and Metal Company of San Francisco in November 1946 and was scrapped in July 1947.
S-40 earned one battle star during 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...
.