USS ''Sealion'' (SS-195), a ''Sargo''-class submarine, was the first ship of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

to be named for the

sea lion Sea lions are pinnipeds characterized by external ear flaps, long foreflippers, the ability to walk on all fours, short and thick hair, and a big chest and belly. Together with the fur seals, they make up the family Otariidae, eared seals. ...

, any of several large,

eared seal An eared seal or otariid or otary is any member of the marine mammal family Otariidae, one of three groupings of pinnipeds. They comprise 15 extant species in seven genera (another species became extinct in the 1950s) and are commonly known eith ...

s native to the Pacific.

Construction and commissioning

''Sealion''′s

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

on 20 June 1938 by the

Electric Boat An electric boat is a powered watercraft driven by electric motors, which are powered by either on-board battery packs, solar panels or generators. While a significant majority of water vessels are powered by diesel engines, with sail pow ...

Company of Groton,

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

. She was launched on 25 May 1939, sponsored by Mrs. Augusta K. Bloch, wife of

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, ...

Claude C. Bloch, Commander-in-Chief,

United States Fleet The United States Fleet was an organization in the United States Navy from 1922 until after World War II. The acronym CINCUS, pronounced "sink us", was used for Commander in Chief, United States Fleet. This was replaced by COMINCH in December 1941 ...

, and commissioned on 27 November 1939.

Service history

Following

shakedown Shakedown may refer to: * Shakedown (continuum mechanics), a type of plastic deformation * Shakedown (testing) or a shakedown cruise, a period of testing undergone by a ship, airplane or other craft before being declared operational * Extortion, ...

, ''Sealion'', assigned to Submarine

Division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

17 (SubDiv 17), prepared for overseas deployment. In the spring of 1940, she sailed, with her division for the

Philippine Islands 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 ...

, arriving at

Cavite 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 ...

in the fall to commence operations as a unit of the Asiatic Fleet. Into October 1941, she ranged from

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

into the Sulu Archipelago, then, with her sister ship '' Seadragon'', another submarine in SubDiv 202, she prepared for a regular 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 ...

. By 8 December, her yard period had begun; and, two days later, she took two direct hits in the Japanese air raid which demolished the navy yard. The first bomb struck the aft end of her conning tower and exploded outside the hull, over the control room. The second smashed through a main ballast tank and caused the pressure hull to explode in the aft engine room, killing the four men, Sterling Cecil Foster, Melvin Donald O'Connell, Ernest Ephrom Ogilvie, and Vallentyne Lester Paul, then working there. In addition, one crewman, Howard Firth, died while a POW. ''Sealion'' flooded immediately and settled down by the stern with 40% of her main deck underwater and a 15-degree list to starboard. The destruction of the navy yard made repairs impossible, and she was ordered destroyed. All salvageable equipment was taken off,

depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth ...

s were placed inside, and on 25 December, the explosives were set off to prevent her from being made useful to the enemy.

Successor

Eli Thomas Reich Vice admiral (United States), Vice Admiral Eli Thomas Reich (March 20, 1913 in New York City, New York – November 30, 1999 in Arlington, Virginia) was a highly decorated United States Navy officer and World War II submarine commander — ...

, who was

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and

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

on ''Sealion'' when it was sunk, assumed command of the second in March 1944. Four of the six torpedoes that ''Sealion II'' fired to sink the carried the names Foster, O'Connell, Paul and Ogilvie—the men who had been killed in the bombing of the first ''Sealion'' three years earlier.

In popular culture

The sinking of ''Sealion'' was incorporated into the plot of the 1959

Cary Grant Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English-American actor. He was known for his Mid-Atlantic accent, debonair demeanor, light-hearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing. He was one o ...

film ''

Operation Petticoat ''Operation Petticoat'' is a 1959 American World War II submarine comedy film in Eastmancolor from Universal-International, produced by Robert Arthur, directed by Blake Edwards, that stars Cary Grant and Tony Curtis. The film tells in fla ...

'', where the fictional submarine ''Sea Tiger'', also based at

, suffers a similar fate, although in the film she is re-floated and ordered to

Cebu Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 ...

for a complete refit, thereby setting the stage for the film's storyline. In a graphic short story in '' El Alamein no Shinden'', ''Sealion'' stops the German invasion of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Operation Sealion Operation Sea Lion, also written as Operation Sealion (german: Unternehmen Seelöwe), was Nazi Germany's code name for the plan for an invasion of the United Kingdom during the Battle of Britain in the Second World War. Following the Battle o ...

, after Germans fire on her by accident while the

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was still a

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References

External links

On Eternal Patrol: USS ''Sealion''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sealion (Ss-195) Sargo-class submarines World War II submarines of the United States Submarines sunk by aircraft Lost submarines of the United States Ships built in Groton, Connecticut 1939 ships Maritime incidents in December 1941 Ships sunk by Japanese aircraft