The ''Sargo''-class submarines were among the first United States
submarine
A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...
s to be sent into action after the Japanese
attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...
, starting war patrols the day after the attack, having been deployed to the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
in late 1941. Similar to the previous , they were built between 1937 and 1939. With a top speed of 21 knots, a range of (allowing patrols in
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
home waters), and a reliable propulsion plant, along with the ''Salmon''s they were an important step in the development of a true
fleet submarine
A fleet submarine is a submarine with the speed, range, and endurance to operate as part of a navy's battle fleet. Examples of fleet submarines are the British First World War era K class and the American World War II era ''Gato'' class.
The t ...
. In some references, the ''Salmon''s and ''Sargo''s are called the "New S Class", 1st and 2nd Groups.
The ''Sargo''-class submarine had the distinction of being the first US Navy submarine to sink a Japanese ship in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
Design
In most features the ''Sargo''s were a repeat of the ''Salmon''s, except for the return to full
diesel-electric drive for the last four boats and the adoption of the improved ''Sargo''
battery
Battery most often refers to:
* Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power
* Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact
Battery may also refer to:
Energy source
*Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...
design. The first six ''Sargo''s were driven by a composite
direct-drive
A direct-drive mechanism is a mechanism design where the force or torque from a prime mover is transmitted directly to the effector device (such as the drive wheels of a vehicle) without involving any intermediate couplings such as a gear train or ...
and diesel-electric plant (two engines in each mode) in the same manner as the ''Salmon''s. In this arrangement, two main engines in the forward engine room drove
generators. In the after engine room, two side-by-side engines were clutched to
reduction gears which sat forward of the engines, with vibration-isolating hydraulic clutches. Two high-speed
electric motor
An electric motor is an Electric machine, electrical machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a Electromagneti ...
s, driven by the generating engines or batteries, were also connected to each reduction gear. The
Bureau of Steam Engineering The Bureau of Steam Engineering was a bureau of the United States Navy, created by the act of 5 July 1862, receiving some of the duties of the former Bureau of Construction, Equipment and Repair. It became, by the Naval Appropriation Act of 4 June ...
(BuEng) and the
General Board
The General Board of the United States Navy was an advisory body of the United States Navy, somewhat akin to a naval general staff and somewhat not. The General Board was established by general order 544, issued on March 13, 1900 by Secretary ...
desired a full diesel-electric plant, but there were some dissenting opinions, notably Admiral
Thomas C. Hart
Thomas Charles Hart (June 12, 1877July 4, 1971) was an admiral in the United States Navy, whose service extended from the Spanish–American War through World War II. Following his retirement from the navy, he served briefly as a United States Se ...
, the only experienced submariner on the General Board, who pointed out that a full diesel-electric system could be disabled by flooding.
[Friedman, p. 204] Technical problems went against the use of two large
direct-drive
A direct-drive mechanism is a mechanism design where the force or torque from a prime mover is transmitted directly to the effector device (such as the drive wheels of a vehicle) without involving any intermediate couplings such as a gear train or ...
diesels in place of the four-engine composite plant. No engine of suitable power to reach the desired 21-knot speed existed in the US, and the current vibration-isolating hydraulic clutches were not capable of transmitting enough power. It was also not practical to gear two engines to each shaft.
So a full diesel-electric plant was adopted for the last four ''Sargo''s, and remained standard for all subsequent conventionally-powered US submarines.
Four of the class (''Sargo'', ''Saury'', ''Spearfish'', and ''Seadragon'') were equipped with the troublesome
Hooven-Owens-Rentschler
The firm of Hooven, Owens, Rentschler, and Company manufactured steam and diesel engines in Hamilton, Ohio. Because the firm was frequently known by its initials, H.O.R., the ''Hooven'' is sometimes incorrectly rendered as ''Hoover'', and the '' ...
(HOR)
double-acting diesels. An attempt to produce more power from a smaller engine than other contemporary designs, the double-acting system proved unreliable in service. During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, all had their engines replaced with
GM Cleveland Diesel
The Cleveland Diesel Engine Division of General Motors (GM) was a leading research, design and production facility of diesel engines from the 1930s to the 1960s that was based in Cleveland, Ohio. The Cleveland Diesel Engine Division designed sev ...
16-278A engines, probably during their overhauls in early 1943.
BuEng had designed a new
lead-acid battery to resist battle damage, known as the ''Sargo'' battery because it was first installed on and was based on a suggestion by her commissioning
commanding officer
The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...
, Lieutenant E. E. Yeomans. Instead of a single hard rubber case, it had two concentric hard rubber cases with a layer of soft rubber between them. This was to prevent
sulfuric acid
Sulfuric acid (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphuric acid ( Commonwealth spelling), known in antiquity as oil of vitriol, is a mineral acid composed of the elements sulfur, oxygen and hydrogen, with the molecular formu ...
leakage in the event one case cracked during
depth-charging. This remained the standard battery design until replaced with Sargo II and GUPPY batteries in submarines upgraded under the
Greater Underwater Propulsion Power Program
The Greater Underwater Propulsion Power Program (GUPPY) was initiated by the United States Navy after World War II to improve the submerged speed, maneuverability, and endurance of its submarines. (The "Y" in the acronym was added for pronouncea ...
after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. Each battery's capacity was slightly increased by installing 126
cells
Cell most often refers to:
* Cell (biology), the functional basic unit of life
Cell may also refer to:
Locations
* Monastic cell, a small room, hut, or cave in which a religious recluse lives, alternatively the small precursor of a monastery w ...
instead of 120; this also raised the nominal voltage from 250
volt
The volt (symbol: V) is the unit of electric potential, electric potential difference (voltage), and electromotive force in the International System of Units (SI). It is named after the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta (1745–1827).
Defi ...
s to 270 volts, which has been standard in US usage ever since, including the backup batteries of
nuclear submarine
A nuclear submarine is a submarine powered by a nuclear reactor, but not necessarily nuclear-armed. Nuclear submarines have considerable performance advantages over "conventional" (typically diesel-electric) submarines. Nuclear propulsion, ...
s.
The original Mark 21
3-inch (76 mm)/50 caliber deck gun
A deck gun is a type of naval artillery mounted on the deck of a submarine. Most submarine deck guns were open, with or without a shield; however, a few larger submarines placed these guns in a turret.
The main deck gun was a dual-purpose ...
proved to be too light in service. It lacked sufficient punch to finish off crippled or small targets quickly enough to suit the crews. It was replaced by the Mark 9
4-inch (102 mm)/50 caliber gun in 1943-44, in most cases removed from an
S-boat being transferred to training duty.
Ships in class
Service
![Sinking Japanese ship](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Sinking_Japanese_ship.jpg)
From commissioning until late 1941 the first six ''Sargo''s were based first at
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
, later at
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...
. The last four were sent to the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
shortly after commissioning. In October 1941, the remaining ''Sargo''s and most other newer available submarines were transferred to the
Asiatic Fleet
The United States Asiatic Fleet was a fleet of the United States Navy during much of the first half of the 20th century. Before World War II, the fleet patrolled the Philippine Islands. Much of the fleet was destroyed by the Japanese by Februar ...
in the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
as part of a belated effort to reinforce U.S. and
Allied
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
forces in Southeast Asia. The
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
occupation of southern
Indo-China
Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...
and the August 1941 American-British-Dutch retaliatory oil embargo had raised international tensions.
[''Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships'' online at Hazegray.org](_blank)
/ref>
After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...
on 7 December 1941, the submarines of the Asiatic Fleet were the primary striking force available to Admiral
Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...
Thomas C. Hart
Thomas Charles Hart (June 12, 1877July 4, 1971) was an admiral in the United States Navy, whose service extended from the Spanish–American War through World War II. Following his retirement from the navy, he served briefly as a United States Se ...
, the fleet's commander. He was assigned sixteen ''Salmon''s or ''Sargo''s; the entirety of both classes. Seven ''Porpoise''-class and six S-boats rounded out the force.US submarine deployment 7 December 1941
/ref> The Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
did not bomb the Philippines until 10 December 1941, so almost all of the submarines were able to get underway before an attack. ''Sealion'' and ''Seadragon'' were the unlucky exceptions. In overhaul at the Cavite Navy Yard
Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite ( tl, Lalawigan ng Kabite; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Located on the southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest o ...
, ''Sealion'' was damaged beyond repair and was scuttled on 25 December. ''Seadragon'', assisted by and , was able to leave port with emergency repairs and went on to fight for most of the war.
The ''Sargo'' class was very active during the war, sinking 73 ships, including a Japanese submarine. Four were lost, including one to "friendly fire".
of this class sank the Japanese aircraft carrier Chūyō
''Chūyō'' (冲鷹, "hawk which soars") was a ''Taiyō''-class escort carrier originally built as , the first of her class of three passenger-cargo liners built in Japan during the late 1930s. She was requisitioned by the Imperial Japanese N ...
, 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 .
In early 1945 the surviving boats of this class were transferred to training roles for the remainder of the war, eventually being scrapped in 1947-48. was used in the Bikini Atoll
Bikini Atoll ( or ; Marshallese: , , meaning "coconut place"), sometimes known as Eschscholtz Atoll between the 1800s and 1946 is a coral reef in the Marshall Islands consisting of 23 islands surrounding a central lagoon. After the Second ...
atomic weapon tests in 1946. There was negligible damage so she was later expended as a target in 1948. ''Sailfish'' was also due to become a target in the same atomic weapon tests but she was scrapped instead in 1948.
See also
* List of most successful American submarines in World War II
* Allied submarines in the Pacific War
Allied submarines were used extensively during the Pacific War and were a key contributor to the defeat of the Empire of Japan.
During the war, submarines of the United States Navy were responsible for 56% of Japan's merchant marine losses; oth ...
* List of lost United States submarines
These United States submarines were lost either to enemy action or to "storm or perils of the sea."
Before World War II
Additionally:
*, decommissioned as a target, flooded and sank unexpectedly 30 July 1919 in Two Tree Channel near Niantic, C ...
* Unrestricted submarine warfare
Unrestricted submarine warfare is a type of naval warfare in which submarines sink merchant ships such as freighters and tankers without warning, as opposed to attacks per prize rules (also known as "cruiser rules") that call for warships to sea ...
* Torpedo
A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...
* List of submarine classes of the United States Navy
Submarines of the United States Navy are built in classes, using a single design for a number of boats. Minor variations occur as improvements are incorporated into the design, so later boats of a class may be more capable than earlier. Also, boat ...
* List of submarines of the Second World War
This is a list of submarines of World War II, which began with the German invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 and ended with the surrender of Japan on 2 September 1945.
Germany used submarines to devastating effect in the Battle of the At ...
References
Notes
Sources
* Alden, John D., Commander (USN, Ret). ''The Fleet Submarine in the U.S. Navy: A Design and Construction History''. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1979. .
*
* Blair, Clay, Jr. ''Silent Victory: The U.S. Submarine War Against Japan''. New York: Bantam, 1976. .
* Campbell, John ''Naval Weapons of World War Two'' (Naval Institute Press, 1985),
*
* Gardiner, Robert and Chesneau, Roger, ''Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922-1946'', London: Conway Maritime Press, 1980. .
* Hutchinson, Robert, ''Jane's Submarines, War Beneath The Waves, From 1776 To The Present Day'', Harper, 2005, .
* Lenton, H. T. ''American Submarines (Navies of the Second World War)'' (Doubleday, 1973),
* Roscoe, Theodore. ''United States Submarine Operations in World War II''. Annapolis; Naval Institute Press, 1949. .
* Silverstone, Paul H., ''U.S. Warships of World War II'' (Ian Allan, 1965),
* Stern, Robert C. ''U.S. Subs in Action'', Squadron/Signal Publications, 1979. .
*
External links
On Eternal Patrol
website for lost US subs
* Johnston, David
''A Visual Guide to the U.S. Fleet Submarines Part Two: Salmon & Sargo Classes 1936-1945''
(2010) Navsource Naval History website
* https://web.archive.org/web/20140322093118/http://www.fleetsubmarine.com/sublist.html
Pigboats.com pre-1941 submarine photo site
{{WWII US ships
Submarine classes
Sargo class submarine
Sargo class submarine