USS Sailfish (SS-192)

For other ships with the same name, see USS Sailfish.

USS Sailfish (SS-192), off the Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, California, 13 April 1943
History
United States
NameUSS Squalus
Namesakesqualus
Builder
Laid down18 October 1937
Launched14 September 1938
Sponsored byMrs. Thomas C. Hart
Commissioned1 March 1939
Decommissioned15 November 1939
FateSunk and salvaged
Raised: 13 September 1939
RenamedUSS Sailfish, 9 February 1940
Namesakesailfish
Commissioned15 May 1940
Decommissioned27 October 1945
Stricken30 April 1948
Honors and
awards
FateSold for scrap
General characteristics
Class and typeSargo-class composite diesel-hydraulic and diesel-electric submarine[2]
Displacement
  • 1,450 long tons (1,473 t) standard, surfaced[1]
  • 2,350 long tons (2,388 t) submerged[1]
Length310 ft 6 in (94.64 m)[1]
Beam26 ft 10 in (8.18 m)[1]
Draft16 ft 7.5 in (5.067 m)[1]
Installed power
  • 5,500 hp (4,100 kW) surfaced[2]
  • 2,740 hp (2,040 kW) submerged[2]
Propulsion
Speed
  • 21 kn (24 mph; 39 km/h) surfaced[1]
  • 8.75 kn (10.07 mph; 16.21 km/h) submerged[1]
Range11,000 nmi (13,000 mi; 20,000 km) at 10 kn (12 mph; 19 km/h)[1]
Endurance48 hours at 2 kn (2.3 mph; 3.7 km/h) submerged[1]
Test depth250 ft (76 m)[1]
Complement5 officers, 54 enlisted[1]
Armament

USS Sailfish (SS-192), was a US Sargo-class submarine, originally named Squalus. As Squalus, the submarine sank off the coast of New Hampshire during test dives on 23 May 1939. The sinking drowned 26 crew members, but an ensuing rescue operation, using the McCann Rescue Chamber for the first time, saved the lives of the remaining 33 aboard. Squalus was salvaged in late 1939 and recommissioned as Sailfish in May 1940.

As Sailfish, the vessel conducted numerous patrols in the Pacific War during World War II, earning nine battle stars. She was decommissioned in October 1945 and later scrapped. Her conning tower is on display at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine.

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Friedman (1995), pp. 305–311
  2. ^ a b c d e f Bauer, K. Jack; Roberts, Stephen S. (1991). Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775–1990: Major Combatants. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. pp. 269–270. ISBN 0-313-26202-0.
  3. ^ Friedman (1995), pp. 202–204