Porpoise class submarines (1934)

US Navy Submersibles, 3 sub-classes (1933-45):
USS Porpoise, Pike | Shark, Tarpon | Perch, Pickerel, Permit, Plunger, Pollack, Pompano

WW2 US submarines:

O class | R class | S class | Barracuda class | USS Argonaut | Narwhal class | USS Dolphin | Cachalot class | Porpoise class | Salmon class | Sargo class | Tambor class | Mackerel class | Gato class | Tench class | Balao class

The porpoise class are the first of a serie of ten submarines built on the same basic specifications, the Porpoise, Shark and Perch groups, separated by most authors and seen here in one go for practical reasons. They were also called the “P class” and inaugurated a number of innovations and specific trades and features that would be incorporated on later Salmon, Sargo (S class), Tambor (T class), as well as the wartime Gato, Balao, and Tench classes. They followed the Cachalot as the first post-London treaty subs, capped by tonnage. All but three of the P class were forward deployed to the Philippines in late 1939 and were on the frontline by October 1941 with all sixteen Salmon and Sargo class boats, all underway prior to the December attack.
War experience showed they were not optimized for combat with a weak armament and too large conning tower fairwater. They were modnized with their CT reduced in size and forward and after sections cut away for AA platforms, radars and new sonars installed, more and better torpedoes as well as improved engines. They were quite active and by 1945, all six surviving were sent to New London as training subs, four scrapped as late as 1957.

Development

The design of the Porpoise class followed the Cachalots and had nothing to do with the “V-boats” and continued to test previous solutions already developed for USS Dolphin, but shrunk down to fit treaty restrictions of London signed by the US Government on 22 April 1930. It went further than the Treaty of Washington of 1922, for the details see the previous Cachalot class. In short, trhey were restricted to 2,000 tons (2,032 metric tons) surfaced (standard) on a global tonnage now capped at 52,700 tons (53,543 metric tons).

So between the S-boats still around and the massive V-Boats, some being 4,000t behemoth cruisers, the tonnage left was not considerable and thus limited the USN to a class of perhaps eight ships befire replacements of S-class boats could be ordered in the late 1930s. The previous design was worked out by Joseph W. Paige from the Navy’s Bureau of Construction and Repair (BuC&R) to maximize effectiveness in a Pacific campaign scenario. Electric Boat was contracted for detailed arrangement of the first two boats (Cachalot and Cuttlefish). The second was built by EB at Groton in the connecticut while USS Cachalot was ordered to Portsmouth Navy Yard. They were delivered relatively late compared to their laying down dates and in the meantime, two new series were ordered (the Porpoise and Shark) to test minor enhancements and innovations.

In fact, the four submarines Porpoise and Shark groups were authorized in the same Fiscal Year 1934. The two Porpoise group were developed by the Bureau of Construction & Repair at Portsmouth Navy Yard, which was faster to deliver Cachalot than EB. It was a full double hull design and an enlarged Cachalot whereas the Shark group were developed by Electric Boat and followed a partial double hull design with single hull ends following the Dolphin design (SS-169).
The next six Perch group were authorized for construction in Fiscal Year 1935. The Navy compared both classes on paper and decided the Electric Boat design was the better of the two, and all six boats of the Perch class were built to the partial double hull from Electric Boat. All groups shared the same armament and propulsion and basically had the same operating characteristics.
In a nutshell, difference

Design of the class

Hull and general design

So, construction methods differed at first between the Portsmouth (Porpoise) and Electric Boat/Groton (Shark) and the next Perch class were divided between the two yards, the first serie by EB and last three by Portsmouth were all based on the preferred admiralty EB hull design, with the five boats built at the government owned Portsmouth Navy Yard and Mare Island Navy Yard being the last ever built to a riveted construction method. Welding was used in non-critical areas, riveting for the most important ones in the inner and outer hulls. Both conservatism and Great Depression consequences whereas the five boats built by Electric Boat were comparatively the most innovative as the first all welded submarines of the USN. Next classes were all of welded construction.

On average they differed in size, c300 feet (91 m) long and displacing 1,934 tons submerged for the first four boats, and 1,998 tons for the later ones when submerged.

Powerplant

The USN wet dream to match the speed of Battleship was still there, but a distant one due to size constraints. Reaching 21-knot could not be achieved with the diesel technology of the time, steam powered ones failed miserably (British K class) so there was no room for manoeuver to install more diesels and so 18 knots (33 km/h) was the max achievable. They still managed to reach 19 to 19.5 knots still, nut light on trials. This 18 knots cap was to improve reliability at lower cruising speeds. What was more important for the Pacific, was range. The Perch class went from 6,000 nautical miles (11,000 km) to 11,000 nautical miles (20,000 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h), almost double while having around 350-400 tonnes fuel oil, allowing them to patrol in Japanese home waters and remain there. This was a clear innovation that proved handy for latter class and instrumental for Pacific operations in WW2.

The boats also had an improved equipment. The Tambor class of 1940 which followed had a troublesome diesel-electric drive in that the four main diesel engines drove only electric generators supplying power to high-speed electric motors geared to the propeller shafts in that these engines were not connected to the propeller shafts. The diffcut mastery of large batteries meant flashover and arcing and the loss of 360 hp (270 kW) in transmission through the electrical system that was not properly answered.
The Winton 16-201A 16-cylinder diesels proved troublesome, until replaced with 12-278As models and USS Pompano (SS-182) ended as the only one to test the Hooven-Owens-Rentschler Model 89DA. This was quite an innovative double acting diesel engine, but the experience was not repeated as it gave excessive vibration patrly due to faulty forging on some parts. The lack of funding prewar prevented replacement, which was done in wartime with the trusted Fairbanks-Morse 38A8 units in 1942 alongside scores of other modifications:

Indeed the 1942-43 refits, albeit extensive, improved these boats considerably, with the most sptectacular change being an answer to critcs about they being underarmed for their size. Some received an additional pair of external bow torpedo tubes, Porpoise, Pike, Tarpon, Pickerel, and Permit. Their Mark 6 3 inch (76 mm)/50 caliber deck gun was kept from previous classes until replaced by the Mark 21 model. The mount had a better angle to be used as anti-aircraft gun, but this was rarely used in combat.
USS Plunger tested the Mark 9 4 inch (102 mm)/50 caliber gun in 1943. Intially they also had two watercooled M2 Browning .50 caliber machine guns placed on the “cigarette deck” and aft end of the conning tower fairwater, the other on the main deck forward. Both were taken below when submerging, one operation that proved problematic to escape.
Their large bulky conning tower fairwater inherited from previous classes had a an enclosed but free-flooding wheelhouse and steering station forward enabling more direct surfaced navigation and steering. They had two periscopes fitted initially, one ending below in the control room and the other into the conning tower. These 30 foot periscopes proved to be too short.
The 1942-43 refit saw the removal of the conning tower fairwater, replaced by a new common cutout model, lower, with a H type support mast and not only taller, 34 foot persicopes, but a new navigation radar, air warning radar (see below) and two platform for 20 mm Oerlikon guns fore and aft, that were waterproof enabling the sub to dive faster. The also received two more torpedoes and a better sonar, later two new models.

Porpoise group:

The Porpoise Group had four Winton diesel-generators and two electric motors for respectively 4,300 hp and 2,085 hp total. This ensured a top speed of 19 knots and 10 knots underwater.
They carried 347 tonnes of diesel oil for an endurance, of 10,000 nautical miles at 10 knots and 42 knots underwater at 5 knots.

Shark group:

The Shark group were about the same, powered by 4 Winton diesel-generators and 2 electric motors for 4,300 hp surfaced and 2,085 hp underwater, but were a bit faster at 19.5 knots surfaced, same 8 knots underwater. Range was noted the same as well based on a similar capacity of 347 tonnes, 10,000 nautical miles surfaced or 42 nautical miles underwater.

Perch group:

The Perch group diverged between those built at Electric Boats (SS-179-178) and those in Portsmouth (SS-179-181), but with perks:
SS176, 178, 178 but also SS-179, a single portmouth boat followed the previous class with four four Winton diesel-generators and two electric motors. SS180 differed by having four Fairbank-Morse diesel-generators and two 2 electric motors and S181, last in class tested a mix of diesel generators, four Hoover, Owens, and Rentschler units plus 2 electric motors for a total of 4300 hp surfaced and 2366 hp underwater, top speed of 19.25 knots surfaced and 8 knots underwater, and carrying 373 tonnes of fuel oil, for an endurance similarly rated of 10,000 nautical miles at ten knots and 42 nautical miles at 5 knots.

Pompano was the only one fitted with H.O.R. (Hooven-Owens-Rentschler) 8-cylinder double-acting engines, license-built versions of the MAN auxiliary engines of the cruiser Leipzig. Due to limited space inside, double-acting engines were preferred for compacity, bu they proved a complete failure and were wrecked in trials due to escessive vibrations even before leaving the Mare Island. She was laid up for eight months until 1938 for more tests and trials until it was revealed the conversion from mtric to imperial led to design sub-parts that were not of the right size. The gines were replaced altogether. They, too howeve rproved also unsatisfactory and were replaced by Fairbanks-Morse engines in 1942.

Apart tolerances, the only issue was the imbalance in force on each side of the piston. Pompanio was strill completed when the the Salmon-class were ordered and they had a 9-cylinder development of the same H.O.R. engine. This new arrangement was design to re-balance the engine and reduce vibration. Yet it was still troublesome and they too swapped to the General Motors 16-248 2-stroke V16 Diesels. Other Electric Boat such as Sargo and Seadragon had the same 9-cylinder H.O.R. engines and were also re-engined. These types of diesels were considered a failure altogether.

Armament

3-inch/50-caliber gun Mk 17/18

This proven ordnance went right back to the O class and its 3 inch (76 mm)/23 caliber gun, non-retractable in later batches. The new 50 caliber model became pretty standard, with a design going back to 1898 when designed, Mark 6 for the Electric Boat models. The 3″/50-caliber Marks 17 and 18 were installed on the Cachalot class, first used on R-class submarines launched in 1918–1919.
The Mark 17 guns had a Mark 11 mounting and the Mark 18 guns had the Mark 18 mounting. Importantly enough, the gun was located aft of the conning tower. Image: 3-in/50 Mark 18 specs and sheet, src HNSA via navweaps.

The Porpoise like the Cachalot class had four tubes in the bow and two in the stern and from 1942, six in the bow (+ two external). They carried initially 16 torpedoes, between the 4 in the bow iternal tubes, two in th stern tubes and their reloads, plus in 1942 two more not-reloadable in the outer hull forward.

Mark 10

These boats were capable of firing the 21-inches Mark 10 21″ (53.3 cm) Mark 10, a 1917 design entering service in 1918. From 1927 these were the Mod 3, last designed by Bliss and manufactured by the Naval Torpedo Station at Newport. They equipped R and S boats, most V Boats, The Cachalot, Porpoise and others, and soldiered in World War II as a trusted straight course unlike the infamous Mark 14. Before the latter had its defaults ironed out in 1942-43, the Mark 10 was in high demand and stocks starting to dwindle down rapidly. Production was maintained until 1943.
⚙ specifications Mark 10 Mod 3
Weight: 2,215 lbs. (1,005 kg)
Dimensions: 183 in (4.953 m)
Propulsion: Wet-heater
Range/speed setting: 3,500 yards (3,200 m) / 36 knots
Warhead: 497 lbs. (225 kg) TNT or 485 lbs. (220 kg) Torpex
Guidance: Mark 13 Mod 1 gyro

Mark 14

In 1941 she carried the Mark 14, entering service in 1930. Designed replacement for the Mark 10, this was the new standard. Unfortunately the model was infamous for its legendary unreliability, explaining the poor results obtained in 1942 and until mid to late 1943; Long story short, the Mark 14 was a revolutionary new model that was tailored to use a gryriscope combined with a magnetic pistol. The principle was not to detonate on impact, but use magnetoc proximity of the enemy hull to explode ideally under the hull of the target. This way, it was easier to break its hull instead of just making contact below the waterline. These torpedoes were designed at the Naval Torpedo Station Newport, Rhode Island from 1930 and considered state of the art, benefiting from a $143,000 budget for its development. Production was pushed forward after testings, and at 20 ft 6 in (6.25 m), it was incompatible with older submarines’ 15 ft 3 in (4.65 m) torpedo tubes, like the R and O classes. It was also the best performer, capable of 4500 yards at 46 knots (85 km/h).
Lots of promises, but the war proved that testings had not been thorough and the rate of misses compared to the Mark 10 became obvious in reports in 1942, this infuriated many captains that disabled the magnetic pistol, but did not solve the problem as it was proved later that their too fragile impact fuse was also faulty.
Responsibility lied with the Bureau of Ordnance, which specified an unrealistically rigid magnetic exploder sensitivity setting while not providing enough funding to a feeble testing program. BuOrd had a har time later accepting it and enable a new serie of tests, which were mostly made on private initiatives.
Only by late 1943 and early 1944 most problems had been alleged fore and worked out, so that the 1944 Mark 14 at least allowed captains to claim far more kills. The “mark 14 affair” sparkled a lot of controversy postwar and it’s not over.

⚙ specifications Mark 14 TORPEDO
Weight: Mod 0: 3,000 lbs. (1,361 kg), Mod 3: 3,061 lbs. (1,388 kg)
Dimensions: 20 ft 6 in (6.248 m)
Propulsion: Wet-heater steam turbine
Range/speed setting: 4,500 yards (4,100 m)/46 knots, 9,000 yards (8,200 m)/31 knots or 30.5 knots
Warhead Mod 0: 507 lbs. (230 kg) TNT, Mod 3: 668 lbs. (303 kg) TPX
Guidance: Mark 12 Mod 3 gyro

These Porpoise class boats also had the classic two 0.5 cal. liquid cooled Browning light Machine guns as saw earlier, used as AA defence and they were not replaced by 20 mm Oerlikon gun before 1942.

Sensors

QC sonar: The QC/JK gear was located in the Conning Tower, companion units with the QC gear as active/passive sonar and JK gear (passive only). Raides and lowered by a hydraulic system, training by electric motor controlled by handle in the operating station.
JK sonar: The JK/QC combination projector is mounted portside. The JK face is just like QB. The QC face contains small nickel tubes, which change size when a sound wave strikes this face. (The NM projector, mounted on the hull centerline in the forward trim tank, is used only for echo sounding.)
Se the full reference here

Modernizations

In 1942-1943, both porpoise and Pike had their CT was rebuilt with two 20mm/70 Mk 4 added and two more extraernal 21 inches or 533 mm TT added and reserve of 18 torpedoes total. The SD, SJ radars were also added. In 1945 their Oerlikons were upgraded to the Mk 10, and they had the QC and JK sonars.
In 1942-1943, Tarpon was rebuilt along ther same lines, and was upgraded for its sonar later the same way.
In 1942, Pickerel and Permit received their extra two external 533 mm TTs total 18 torpedoes.
In September 1942, USS Pompano received new Fairbank-Morsed iesel-generators.
In 1942-1943 remaining subs had their CT was rebuilt as above. Their Oerlikon guns were upgraded to the Mk 10, and they received the QC and JK sonars.

After shakedown, she crossed the Panama Canal to join the Pacific Fleet at San Diego, 1 September 1936. After armament qualif. on the west coast she took part in Fleet Problem XVIII off Pearl Harbor on April–May 1937, before an extensive overhaul at Mare Island. In January 1938 she was again at Pearl Harbor for fleet exercises, on 19 November 1939 she was sent to Manila as tensions rose, joining the Asiatic Fleet. From December 1939 to December 1941, she drilled with the rest of Asiatic Fleet sub fleet (which included a majority of S-class boats).
On 7 December 1941, Porpoise under Cap. Joseph A. Callaghan was at Olongap in refit, engines overhauled, battery out. Her teams were joined by the crew, recalled in emergency to complete work in record time and she headed for Manila on 20 December, and on the 22th departed for her first war patrol from 22 December 1941 to 31 January 1942 in Lingayen Gulf and South China Sea, French Indochina, via Balikpapan, Borneo seeing oil wells being destroyed by the Dutch. She spotted and attacked two Japanese ships without result and ended in Surabaya, Java.
Her second war patrol was in the Netherlands East Indies since the Philippines were about to fell, from 9 February to 30 March 1942, hitting a Japanese cargo ship and ended her patrol in Fremantle, Western Australia. She sailed for Pearl Harbor and then the Netherlands East Indies for a third war patrol from 26 April to 17 June 1942 and another unsuccessful attack on a cargo, plus rescuing five airme on Ju Island. She had a major overhaul at Mare Island, and was based at Pearl Harbor for her 4th war patrol from 30 November 1942 to 15 January 1943 as far as Honshū. On 1 January 1943, she sank Renzan Maru and sailed for Midway. Her 5th war patrol from 6 February to 15 April 1943 was to the Jaluit Atoll, sinking Koa Maru on 4 April.
After refit at Pearl Harbor, her 6th patrol from 20 June to 28 July 1943 brough her to Taroa Island (Marshall Islands) to gather intel, and she hit two cargo ship and later sank Mikage Maru on 19 July 1943.
She had leaky fuel oil tanks and so she sailed on 12 August 1943 to New London, the first training sub in her class fired upon by trigger happy gunners from an allied tanker underway on 13 August. She started her new career in September 1943, with an overhaul at Philadelphia May-June 1944, and decommissioned on 15 November 1945 at Boston, reserve until 8 May 1947, joining the 8th Naval District to train Naval Reserve personnel in Houston, Texas. She was stricken on 13 August 1956, sold for BU 14 May 1957. She won 5 battle stars.

After an Atlantic shakedown she left Rhode Island on 10 February 1937 for the Panama Canal and NS San Diego. In 1937-1938, she was in erxercises near Hawaii and like her sister in Manila Bay on 1 December 1939, in Submarine Squadron 5 (SubRon 5), Cavite. On 20 June 1940, she patrolled off the coast of China (Shanghai-Tsingtao), back on 24 August.
Her first War patrol started on 8 December to guard sea lanes between Manila and Hong Kong. In her second, from Manila on 31 December 1941 she had her first attack on 12 January, the Japanese minelayer Shirataka but was not able to have a good position. She ended in Port Darwin on 24 January 1942.
Her third war patrol from 5 February to 28 March saw her to the Alor Islands 20- 24 February, Lombok Strait 28 February.
Her fourth War patrol from Fremantle on 19 April, saw her in the Palau Islands and off Wake Island and she arrived at Honolulu on 25 May.
Her firth patrol was from 30 May to 9 June 1942, north of Oahu. Her 6th started after an overhaul at Mare Island, as picket boat to guide bombers to Wake Island in December, escaping a severe attack on 14 January 1943. Her 7th patrol from Pearl Harbor on 31 March 1943, saw her sighting and attacking targets off Truk from 12–14 April, shelling Satawan Island on the 25th. Her 8th started also from Pearl Harbor on 22 July 1943 and she sank 2,022-ton Japanese cargo ship Shoju Maru near Marcus Island, 5 August 1943. On 6 August she attacked and damaged a 22,500 ton Kasuga-class aircraft carrier. On the 22th she sighted a Japanese convoy and attacked it at night, damaging two, one being the 2,500 ton Gosei-class freighter and 4,000 ton freighter. She was sent via Pearl to New London on 3 November 1943 for a new carrer as TS until decommissioned on 15 November 1945 in Boston, Massachusetts later Naval Reserve TS at Baltimore from September 1946 until stricken on 17 February 1956, sold 14 January 1957.

Commissioned on 25 January 1936 after a shakedown in the North Atlantic-Caribbean she crossed the Panama Canal for San Diego on 4 March 1937. She spent the ext years in training and navy problems in SubRon 6 and after a regular overhaul at Mare Island she left San Diego on 16 December 1938 for Pearl Harbor and SubRon 4. On 3 December 1940 she sailed for the Asiatic Fleet in Manila. She left Manila on 9 December 1941 and patrolled Tayabas Bay until ordered back to Manila on 19 December to carry Admiral Thomas C. Hart (CiC Asiatic Fleet) to Soerabaja in Java.
On 6 January 1942, Shark was surprised, torpedoed and evaded narrowly torpedoed from an IJN sub. Next she sailed for Ambon Island (Japanese invasion expected). On 27 January she was sent to the Molucca Passage, east of Lifamatola and Bangka Strait. On 2 February 1942 she was back at Soerabaja after being depth-charged off Tifore Island, after damaging a Japanese ship. On 7 February, she spotted and chased a cargo heading northwest. Captain Shane reported this was was recalled but filed to report again after being ordered on 8 February to Makassar Strait. On 7 March 1942, Shark was presumed lost, struck on 24 June 1942, first U.S. submarine sunk by the IJN, perhaps by Yamakaze.

USS Tarpon was laid down at Groton, Connecticut (Electric Boat) in 1933, launched on 4 September 1935, commissioned on 12 March 1936. She was deployed to San Diego and Pearl Harbor with SubDiv 13 and then SubDiv 14 when transferred in October 1939, to the Philippines, joining the six old S-boats at Manila. The unit then became SubRon 5. In October 1941, SubDivs 15 and 16 were transferred from Pearl Harbor to Manila for a total of 29 subs in five divisions, Tarpon in SubDiv 203.
In December, 18 submarines departed the Philippines for a first war patrols, including Tarpon under Lt. Comdr. Lewis Wallace, which sailed to the southeastern Luzon and she had a few encounters but no favorable firing angles, sailing on 11 January 1942 to Darwin in Australia.
Her 2nd patrol started on 25 January to the Moluccas. On the 30th, she sighted a convoy, too well guarded. On 1 February, Tarpon fired four torpedoes at a freighter and made three hits, but never confirmed. On 11 February Tarpon was illuminated by searchlight, dived, went deep but was shaken by four depth charges. She lost her bow planes, rudder angle indicator, port annunciator but survived. On 23 February–24 February she ran aground in Boling Strait, west of Flores and managed to be refloated after Jettisoning everything. The officer went ashore on Adonara, and contacted a Dutch missionary, which informed him of the high tide; Long story short she was back to Fremantle on 5 March.
Tarpon made her third patrol on 28 March, being back at Pearl Harbor on 17 May, no contacts but an hospital ship. Next she sailed for Oahu and patrolled around during the Battle of Midway from 30 May to 9 June, no contact. She had an overhaul at San Francisco until 30 September. On 22 October she started her 5th patrol from Pearl Harbor to Bougainville, no contact as she ended in Midway on 10 December.
She had a refit at Pearl Harbor unil 10 January 1943 and departed with Tom Wogan in command for the south of Honshū. At 21:30 on 1 February south of Mikura-jima, she fired four torpedoes, scored one hit. She sank the 10,935-ton passenger-cargo ship Fushimi Maru. On 8 February, she made a large radar contact, fired four torpedoes, all hit the Tatsuta Maru, bound for Truk. She ended in Midway on 25 February after the highest-scoring patrol so far.
Her 7th patrol was from 29 March to 15 May, no contacts but she destroyed the radio station at Taroa.
On 30 July, Tarpon was back in home waters and on 16 August, she reported a Japanese task force with IJN Taiyo but could not attack. On the 21st, she spotted two large, cargo ships, fired three, damaged both. She fired on anther leaving Mikura-jima bu missed. On 4 September, she sank a patrol ship. She was back at Midway on 8 September.

Her 9th war patrol brought her off Honshū from 1 October to 3 November and on the 16th, off Yokohama she sighted a large auxiliary tracked her until 01:56 and attacked with four torpedoes, took one hit, but she chased off USS Tarpon. She submerged, manoeuvered, and manage to hit her in the stern, then another until she exploded. Postwar examination showed she sank the German raider Michel (Schiff 28), only one to sunk by a US submarine in the Pacific.
Four days later, she spotted an aircraft carrier and a destroyer, fired four torpedoes bu missed. On the 23 October had a large contect, fired five Mark 14, which passed under the freighter. She was back at Pearl Harbor on 3 November.
Her 8th patrol for gathering intel of various atolls in the Marshalls from 4 December 1943 to 12 January 1944. She spotted but missed an inter-island tanker.
From 19 June to 8 August, she was in lifeguard duty off Truk, no rescues. On 14 July, she fired thre on an inter-island freighter, missed, but was chased off by a large ASW ship. On the 25th, radar contact, small convoy, fired three at the largest, missed, closed to engage with her deck guns but it jammed, she withdrew to clear the gun and returned to crippl the enemy ship bu was outgunned and broke off. Her 9th and last war patrol was from 31 August to 14 October, lifeguard duty off Truk. Back to Pearl Harbor, she was ordered the New London based as TS on 17 January 1945.
She was decommissioned at Boston on 15 November 1945. In 1947, Naval Reserve TS, New Orleans, 8th Naval District until stricken on 5 September 1956. Foundered in deep water while under tow. 7 battle stars.

She was commissioned on 19 November 1936 and after shakedown in the North Atlantic she joined the Pacific Fleet’s SubRon 6 in November 1937 and took partt in annual fleet problem, aking a survey of the Aleutian Islands, Bering Sea on 28 February. Spring of 1939 saw her on the East Coast. By October 1939, she left San Diego, for Manila as division flagship, cruising to Tsingtao and Shanghai and stayed in the Philippines. Back to Pearl Harbor, escorted transports off Shanghai and 4th Marine Regiment from China to the Philippines.
From 8 December 1941 under command of David A. Hurt she was in Cavite Navy Yard and departed for her first patorl on 10 December seeing the destruction of Cavite by Japanese bombers. She went though the Corregidor minefields and patrolled between Luzon and Formosa. Then Hong Kong, and on 25 December launched four torpedoes at a merchant ship, missed. A few days later, another, probably Nojima Maru but she was chased off before seeing the kill. Next she headed for Darwin, Australia, with attacks en route. She also patrolled in Kendari, Celebes.
In a night attack on a merchant off the eastern Celebes, she was hit in the superstructure, (HE round) which razed her bridge deck with repairs made later at night, after which she headed for the Java Sea.
By 1 March she was northwest of Surabaya, spotting a Japanese convoy and start_ng position until driven off by IJN Amatsukaze and Hatsukaze forcing her to dive to 135 feet (41 m). She wa damaged and repaired, surfacing on 2 March, driven down again and loosing oil with damaged ballast tanks making the Japanese believe she had been sunk and they left.
With a single diesel she was repaired, but was spotted and had to dive again on 3 March, surfaced again for further repairs until spotting two IJN cruisers and three destroyers spotting her and starting firing. Unable to dive again captain Hurt orered to abandon ship and scuttle her. She was stricken on 24 June 1942. All 54 captured, 5 survived the camps. 1 battle star.

She was commissioned on 26 January 1937 under Lt. Leon J. Huffman in command and after shakedown, training off New London she sailed out on 26 October 1937 to Cuba and Panama on 9 November, then joined the Pacific Fleet, San Diego, and Pearl. In 1940 she was sent to the Asiatic Fleet and vigorous training. In December 1941 under Commander Barton E. Bacon, Jr. she was off French Indochina when starting her first war patrol off Cam Ranh Bay, Tourane, tracking a Japanese submarine and destroyer, lost in rain squalls. 19 December, spotted, missed a small Japanese patrol craft (5 torpedoes), back to Manila Bay 29 December.
2nd patrol was from 31 December 1941–29 January 1942 between Manila and Surabaya, sank Kanko Maru on 10 January 1942. 3rdr patrol was 7 February–19 March, Malay Barrier. 4th (15 April–6 June) Philippines, no hit. 5th patrol was from 10 July to 26 August from Brisbane, to Pearl Harbor for refit and the Mariana Islands, damaged a freighter. Under Cdr Augustus H. Alston, Jr., she started her 6th patrol (22 January–3 March 1943) in the Kurile Islands and Tokyo-Kiska lanes. 16 attacks, only sank Tateyama Maru and two sampans. 7th patrol from Pearl Harbor, 18 March 1943 via Midway Island (22), eastern coast, northern Honshū, but never heard from again. First lost in the Central Pacific, stricken 19 August 1943. Japanese logs credit Submarine Chaser Number 13 on 3 April and Fukuei Maru on 7 April or an aircraft on 3 April 1943 with Shiragami and Bunzan Maru dropping 36 depth charges, seeing a lot off oil floating. She won 3 battle stars.

USS Permit, on of the most decorated subs. of her class, was commissioned on 17 March 1937 under Lt. Charles O. Humphreys and after shakedown, operated from Portsmouth until 29 November 1937, headed for the Pacific via Panama Canal on 10 December, West Coast, San Diego, 18 December to SubRon 6. 22 months Eastern Pacific, training from California to the Aleutians and Hawaii. October 1939 sent to the Philippines, Asiatic Fleet. She trained hard under Lt. Cdr. Adrian M. Hurst and made her first patrol on the west coast of Luzon 11-20 December 1941. 22-27 was her second patrol. On the 28th she carried Admiral Thomas C. Hart’s staff at Mariveles Bay, to Surabaya on 6 February 1942 making her 3rd patorl en route. She left Surabaya for her 4th patrol on 22 February and on the 19th returne to Corregidor besieged.

On 13 March, she sank the scuttled PT-32 of Sqn 3. Sh closed to the “Rock” on 15–16 March, to take on board 40 officers including 36 cryptanalysts from CAST, dischargiung her torpedoes to make room. She had a refit at Fremantle after minor damage (depht charged by 3 IJN destroyers on 18 March). She started her 5th patorl on 5 May, off Makassar, Balikpapan, and 6th while underway to Pearl Harbor 12 July to 30 August and back home for a major overhaul at Mare Island Navy Yard from 9 September. Her 7th patrol was off Honshū (5 February-16 March 1943). On 8 March, she spotted and attacked attacked a 9-ship convoy, sinking Hisashima Maru (2 hits) and was back at Midway Island on 6 April for her 8th patrol in shipping lanes from the Mariana Islands to Truk. No kill, was back at Pearl Harbor on 25 May. 7 July spotted, launched 2 torpedoes, sank Banshu Maru Number 33. Spotted a day later another convoy to the Korean coast, 2 torpedoes, sank Showa Maru.

At 18:30 on 9 July 1943, she mistook z Soviet oceanographic research ship (Seiner No. 20) for a Japanese vessel and fired on her some 27 nm off Kaiba and Todosima Island. When realizeing her mistake she offered help, rescued 12 survivors, including five women. Escorted by USS Kane (APD-18) she entered Dutch Harbor, Aleutian to transfere survivors on 17 July. On 20 July 1943 she joined a pack with USS Lapon (SS-260) and USS Plunger (SS-179) at Midway for a deep penetration in the Sea of Japan. Back she tranisted via Dutch Harbor to Pearl Harbor, 27 July. 23 August saw her in intel in the Marshall Islands. Off Kwajalein she was attacked twice on 3 and 9 September. She spotted and damaged several vessels, was back at Pearl Harbor on 24 September. Next patrol was in the Caroline Islands Jan-March 1944.
Her 12th patrol was the same but as lifeguard duty during the air strikes on Truk from 7 May to 1 June 1944. On 28 May she was mistook by a PV-1 Ventura from VB-148, damaging her with a depth charge (no casualties). Her 13th patrol started from Majuro Atoll on 30 June, ended in Brisbane on 13 August. On 21 September she relieved Tarpon off Truk, on 11 November she completed her 14th and last war patrol at Pearl Harbor. After refit she went home for a true overhaul on 23 Feb. 1945 at Philadelphia Navy Yard and sailed for New London, Connecticut to act as schoolship until 30 October, inactivated at Boston Naval Shipyard, decommissioned on 15 November 1945, stricken 26 July 1956, sold for scrap on 28 June 1958. She won 10 battle stars.

She was commissioned 19 November 1936 under Lt. George L. Russell in SubRon 10 and departed Gravesend Bay on 15 April 1937 for her shakedown cruise to the Canal Zone and Guayaquil and after Nov. post-shakedown alterations she sailed for San Diego and SubDiv 14, SubRon 6. Next she joined USS Holland (AS–3) and five Porpoise-class boats on 15 March 1938 to Dutch Harbor in Alaska. She returned to Panama and Hawaii and on 30 November 1941 was prepared in Pearl Harbor and then off Diamond Head on 7 December. Plunger was the most decorated in her class at 14 battle stars.

First and second war patrols took part between December 1941 and July 1942 under Capt. David Charles White a week after the Pearl Harbor attack, short due to a pressure hull leak and back again on 14 December. With USS Gudgeon (SS-211) and Pollack (SS-180) she sailed to Kii Suido, Japan Inland Sea and to industrial bases with on board Mark 14 torpedoes with Mark VI magnetic exploder and an SD radar set. Plunger was seen by a Japanese destroyer which later detected her by sonar, she took 24 depth charges. This sent her back to Pearl Harbor for repairs. She sank cargo ship Eizon Maru 18 January 1942 still. While docked on the Marine Railway on 17 February 1942, she slid off the trolley to the floor, salvaged and refloated, and she started her second patrol from 5 June to 15 July off Shanghai. She sank the 4,700-ton cargo ship Ukai Maru No. 5 (30 June) and Unyo Maru No. 3 (2 July), ending at Midway on 15 June. She nearly sank Asama Maru and S.S. Conte Verde which exchanged prisoners. The route was known but Capt. Dave White failed to receive these messages and on 30 June, picked up Conte Verde, ready to fire just as the communications officer just decoded the 5th immunity message, rushing up into the conning tower. Still, a pho was taken through the periscope from 800 yards.

On 12 October she left Pearl Harbor for her 3rd patrol in the path of the “Tokyo Express.” On 2 November off Maringe Lagoon, lookouts sighted an airplane so she submerged, only to reach the bottom via an uncharted reef at 52 feet. She lost her sound gear and damaged her bottom. She returned due to oil and or air leaks, repaired in Brisbane, and she went back to Guadalcanal and off Munda. And on 16-17 December she past four destroyers, spotting two unloading at Munda Bar, fired all torpes, see two exploding. She was back at Pearl Harbor on 12 January.

In her net patorl she sank Taihosan Maru 12 March, Tatsutake Maru and Kinai Maru 10 May and June, joined USS Lapon (SS-260) and Permit (SS-178) in the inland sea and Sea of Okhotsk, back to Midway on 26 July, out on 6 August for the Sea of Okhotsk. Plunger sank the 3,404-ton Seitai Maru (20 August) and 4,655-ton Ryokai Maru (22 August.) and was back at Pearl Harbor on 5 September. By October she was in the Marshalls area and on lifeguard duties, picking one aviator on 15 November when a Zero strafed her and injurd the XO and five officers on watch. By January 1944 she had several close calls and heavy ASW attacks while off the Japanese main islands but she sank Toyo Maru No. 5 and Toyo Maru No. 8 (2 February), Kimishima Maru (23 February) and back to Pearl Harbor 8 March, then out again on 8 May for the Bonin Islands and in July, around Truk.
On 19 September 1944 she had her overhaul and was ordered home on 15 February 1945, New London as TS until 25 October, taking part in New Haven for Navy Day celebrations and inactivated at Boston Navy Yard, decommissioned 15 November 1945. She served with the Naval Reserve at Brooklyn from May 1946 until 8 May 1952, Jacksonville and New York in February 1954, stricken 6 July 1956, sold 22 April 1957.

Pollack was commissioned 15 January 1937 and left Portsmouth on 7 June 1937 for a Caribbean shakedown until 4 September. On 29 November she left for San Diego, with 11 months of maneuvers with SubDiv 13 of the Scouting Force. She arrived at Pearl Harbor on 28 October 1939 and remained there apart an overhaul at Mare Island until 7 December at sea this day. She arrived two days later and was prepared for her first patrol, under Stanley P. Moseley, departing with USS Gudgeon on 13 December for Honshū, arriving first of the USN on 31 December. She torpedoed and damaged the 2,700-ton cargo ship Heijo Maru on 5 January 1942 and sank the 2,250-ton cargo ship Unkai Maru No. 1, first officially confirmed kill by a US sub. On 9 January she sank the 5,387-ton freighter Teian Maru and was back at Pearl Harbor on 21 January. She left for her second patrol on 18 February to Nagasaki via Formosa and 11 March torpedoed and sank the 1,454-ton cargo ship Fukushu Maru an by midnight, two sampans with gunfire, then the 5,266-ton Baikal Maru with gunfire later, and back to Pearl Harbor on 8 April.
She started her 3rd patorl on 2 May for the home islands duelling surfaced with a 600-ton patrol vessel and back to Pearl on 16 June. Next she had 4 months of overhaul at Pearl Harbor and started her new patrol on 10 Octobe to Midway, and the approaches to Truk before the battles in the Solomon Islands. No contacts, she was back to Pearl Harbor on 29 November.
5th patrol was in the home islands, departing on 31 December, sighted one target on 21 January 1943, fired four torpedoes from 2,400 yards (2,200 m), no kill certified, back to Pearl on, 10 February 1943. For her 6th patrol she was in the Gilbert and Marshall Islands. Underway back on 6 March she caught a freighter between Jaluit and Makin on 20 March, damaged. She ended at Midway on 18 April.
For her 7th patrol, she left on 10 May to Ailuk Atoll and Wotje Atoll and the Schischmarev Strait. On 18 May she sank the 3,110-ton ex-gunboat Terushima Maru. Off Jaluit Atoll she sank the 5,350-ton converted light cruiser Bangkok Maru with 1,200 troops for Tarawa but was depht charged and damaged. She was back at Pearl on 25 June, out on 20 July, for her 8th patrol off the east coast of Kyūshū and on 6 August caught a convoy, launched torps but missed. On 27 August she sank the 3,520-ton Taifuku Maru. On 3 September she sank the 3,521-ton Tagonoura Maru and was back on 16 September.
She left Pearl Harbor on 28 February 1944 for the Nanpō Islands and in a night surface attack sank the 1,327-ton patrol boat Hakuyo Maru. On 25 March she sank the 300-ton No. 13-class Submarine Chaser No. 54, damaged two freighters. On 3 April she sank the Tosei Maru and was bacl to Midway on 11 April. Her 10th patrol saw her back to Nanpō Islands, sank the 1,270-ton destroyer IJN Asanagi but took a fierce counter-attack, back to Pearl Harbor on 7 June for repairs. She started her 11th patrol on 15 July via Majuro, Marshalls, in lifeguard station during the raid on Woleai on 1 August and Yap 4–5 August, patrolling the Yap-Palau area and bombarded the phosphate plant on Fais Island on 27-30 August. She was strafed by confused B-24 Liberators off Yap (no damage) and was back to Brisbane on 12 September 1944.
After a refit she sailed on 6 October for exercises with HMAS Geelong until 10 October and headed for Pearl via the Schouten Islands, on 18 November for training off Oahu and left on 25 January 1945 with USS Permit for New London base to serve as training ship from 14 June, the decommissioned on 21 September, stricken 29 October 1946, sold 2 February 1947, being honored for her 10 battle stars.

Pompano was commissioned on 12 June 1937 bu received new engines in 1938 after failed trials and entered service the last of her sisters. She operated out of Mare Island, West Coast until December 1941 unlike the others sent to the Philippines, and only arrived Pearl Harbor, two days after the attack, then prepared and sailing again on 18 December 1941 for her first war patrol in the eastern Marshall Islands, for a planned aircraft carrier strike. There was a close call on 20 December (mistook for an IJN sub by a Catalina). She was at Wake Island on 1 January 1942 and made recce of Japanese positions, and on 8 January, she inspected Bikar and other islands as well as later the harbor at Wotje. On 12 January she spotted IJN Yawata and four escorts, fired four Mark 14, with two hits, Yawate broke up. 5 days later she managed to enter the channel fired on a ptrol boats but her torpedeso exploded prematurely so she waited until her target was 1,000 yards (910 m) and fired, but again the torpedoes missed but she escaped her depth charging.
She went off Maloelap, and sailed for Pzarl on 24 January, arriving on 31 January.
Her second patorl started on 20 April 1942 with a stock of Mark 10 torpedoes, and refueled at Midway so to be on 7 May in the sea lanes west of Okinawa and East China Sea. On 24 May, she sank a large sampan by gunfire. A day later she torpedoed Tokyo Maru. She then patorlled between Japan and the East Indies, and caught a convoy on 30 May, waited until it was 750 yd away, and sank Atsuta Maru with two more Mark 10 torpedoes. Her fuel getting low she sailed not at Midway but eastward and on 3 June, sank an inter-island steamer and the followinf sday, while underway to the Mariana Islands, she sank a trawler with gunfire. As she learned of the result of the Battle of Midway, with remants fleeing toward Japan she took up a position in interception, but no contact. On 13 June she headed back to Midway for refueling, and on the 18th was back in Pearl Harbor. On 16,500 tons of kills postwar, 8,900 were confirmed.
She had a refit and under her new captain Willis M. Thomas leaving Pearl on 19 July for Japan and on 3 August, she was at 4 miles (7.5 km) of the Japanese coast, on 7 August, launched four and missed a large freighter. She was spotted on the 9th by a destroyer and heavily depth charged also running aground twice, destroying her sonar. Her battery almost exhausted she surfaced just 1,000 yd (910 m) from shore but there was noone and she escaped. On 12 August she was about to fire on a freighter when spotted by another enemy destroyer, fired two seeing the DD hit in the periscope at 700 yd (640 m). The freighter was hit by another. She missed on 21 August (convoy escort efficient). On 23 August she attacked a large passenger freighter, three misses, and the latter replied with her deck gun. When surfacing later she spotted a destroyer 7,000 yd (6,400 m) away and escaped. While en roure towards Midway about 500-mile (800 km) from Tokyo she spotted and sunk by gunfire Naval Auxiliary 163, which took one hour. She was back on 8 September, then Pearl Harbor on the 12th.
After overhaul at Mare Island (new engines notably) she was ready on 18 December and sailed for Pearl, starting her 4th patrol on 16 January 1943 to the Marshalls and Kwajalein, then Truk, damaging a tanker on 30 January, missing another on 4 February. She spotted another off the Marshalls on 18 February, two hits but she escaped. She gaathered intel at Rongerik, Rongelap, and Bikini Atoll, heading for Midway on the 28th and left on 19 March for Tokyo, 26 days on station. Sighted four torpedo targets and the IJN Shokaku. Fired six at 4,000 yd (3,700 m), credited with damage but denied postwar. Back to Midway on 5 May, then Pearl.
On 6 June she headed for Nagoya, via Midway, reaching her area on 19 June and patorlling traffic lanes. on July 4, she sank a ship already damaged by USS Harder. She spotted a convoy on the 5, no hit. On 7 July she spotted two destroyers which caught her surfaced and launched their torpedoes. On 10 July she missed a tanker due to two erratic Mark 14s and missed a freighter but sank a sampan with gunfire on 17 July. She was back at Midway on 28 July, leaving after R&R on 20 August for Hokkaidō and Honshū but never heard from again. She still sank Akama Maru on 3 September, Taiko Maru on 25 September. It’s likely newly-laid mines in the vicinity sank her, probably on 27 September).

Read More/Src

Books

Friedman, Norman (1995). U.S. Submarines Through 1945: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis NIP
Bauer, K. Jack; Roberts, Stephen S. (1991). Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775–1990 Greenwood Press.
Whitman, Edward C. “The Navy’s Variegated V-Class: Out of One, Many?” Undersea Warfare, Fall 2003, Issue 20
Alden, John D., Commander, USN (retired). The Fleet Submarine in the U.S. Navy Annapolis NIP 1979
Johnston, “No More Heads or Tails”, pp. 53–54
Blair, Clay, Jr. Silent Victory. New York: Bantam, 1976
Lenton, H. T. American Submarines (Navies of the Second World War) Doubleday, 1973
Silverstone, Paul H. U.S. Warships of World War II Ian Allan, 1965
Schlesman, Bruce and Roberts, Stephen S., “Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775–1990: Major Combatants” Greenwood Press, 1991
Johnston, David, “No More Heads or Tails: The Adoption of Welding in U.S. Navy Submarines” The Submarine Review, June 2020
Campbell, John Naval Weapons of World War Two. Naval Institute Press, 1985
Whitman, Edward C. “The Navy’s Variegated V-Class: Out of One, Many?” Undersea Warfare, Fall 2003, Issue 20
Gardiner, Robert, Conway’s All the World’s Fighting Ships 1922–1946, Conway Maritime Press, 1980.

Links

http://navypedia.org/ships/usa/us_ss_porpoise.htm
http://navypedia.org/ships/usa/us_ss_shark.htm
http://navypedia.org/ships/usa/us_ss_perch.htm
https://web.archive.org/web/20160204153223/http://pigboats.com/subs/173.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20160204143224/http://pigboats.com/subs/174.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20160204153114/http://pigboats.com/subs/176.html
http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNUS_3-50_mk10-22.php
http://www.zerobeat.net/submarine/sub-sonar.html

Model Kits

None