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The ''Sargo''-class submarines were among the first United States
submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...
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 Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Territory of ...
, starting war patrols the day after the attack, having been deployed to the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
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 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 ...
. 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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.


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 design. The first six ''Sargo''s were driven by a composite direct-drive 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 a 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 electromagnetic coil, wire winding to gene ...
s, driven by the generating engines or batteries, were also connected to each reduction gear. The Bureau of Steam Engineering (BuEng) and the General Board desired a full diesel-electric plant, but there were some dissenting opinions, notably Admiral Thomas C. Hart, 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 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 (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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, all had their engines replaced with GM Cleveland Diesel 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 commander, 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 give ...
, 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 (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth spelling), known in antiquity as oil of vitriol, is a mineral acid composed of the elements sulfur, oxygen, ...
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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. Each battery's capacity was slightly increased by installing 126 cells instead of 120; this also raised the nominal voltage from 250
volt The volt (symbol: V) is the unit of electric potential, Voltage#Galvani potential vs. electrochemical potential, electric potential difference (voltage), and electromotive force in the International System of Units, International System of Uni ...
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 w ...
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.


Boats in class


Service

From commissioning until late 1941 the first six ''Sargo''s were based first at
San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
, 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 Reci ...
. The last four were sent to the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
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, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
as part of a belated effort to reinforce U.S. and Allied forces in Southeast Asia. The Japanese occupation of southern
Indo-China Mainland Southeast Asia (historically known as Indochina and the Indochinese Peninsula) 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 th ...
and the August 1941 American-British-Dutch retaliatory oil embargo had raised international tensions.''Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships'' online at Hazegray.org
/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 Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Territory of ...
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 many 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. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...
Thomas C. Hart, 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 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, ''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'', 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 language, Marshallese: , , ), known as Eschscholtz Atoll between the 19th century and 1946, is a coral reef in the Marshall Islands consisting of 23 islands surrounding a central lagoon. The atoll is at the no ...
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; ot ...
*
List of lost United States submarines A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...
*
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. The use of unrestricted submarine warfare has had significant impacts on international relations in ...
*
Torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...
* List of submarine classes of the United States Navy * List of submarines of the Second World War


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''
(2024) PigBoats.COM * https://web.archive.org/web/20140322093118/http://www.fleetsubmarine.com/sublist.html




PigBoats.COM Submarine Classes page


{{WWII US ships Submarine classes Sargo class submarine Sargo class submarine