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S-38 (SS 143) is another of the Sugar Boats that saw service during World War II. She sank one of only three Japanese ships sunk by American submarines during the first month of the war. |
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S-39 (SS 144) made four War Patrols and is credited with the sinking of a 5000 ton freighter and a 5000 ton tanker. She struck a submerged reef in August, 1942 and was abandoned. The crew was rescued by HMAS Katoomba and taken to Townsville, Australia. |
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This is an earlier picture of the S-39 taken while in dry dock. |
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The S-39 bow-on returning to port showing typical blunt bow of the Sugar Boats. The R boats, an earlier design were very similar in appearance but only 186 feet in length and equipped with 18 inch torpedo tubes vice 21 inch. |
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The following S-39 photographs are courtesy of Tom Parks who has also written a firsthand account of Life Aboard an S-Boat. This is S-39 surfacing. |
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Another crew shot from Tom Parks. This one is of the S-39 radiomen. The sailor at the right side of the picture is Howell B. Rice. He was on S-39 when it went on the rocks. He rode the S-40 back to the States from Australia and retired as a RMC. Howell is 80 years old.
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This is a shot of the Engineering Gang on the S-39. Tom Parks is at the lower left of the photo. |
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The crew of the S-39 takes a well deserved Salt Water shower break topside. |
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This plaque contains the instructions for using head (rest room) facilities onboard the S-39. Not everyone remembered to close all the proper valves each time. The results were quite a mess to clean up. |
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A nice shot of the USS S-40 - - Bow-on with the crew on deck. |
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John Clear donated these pics of the S-40 (SS 145). The S-40 was part the Asiatic Fleet based in
Manila. The first graphic also shows what appears to be the USS Monaghan DD-32, a three-stack destroyer and what could be an Admirals Barge. |
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John's second pic shows S-40 with S-41 (SS 146) in the background. |
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The S-42 (SS 147) returning to the submarine base at Brisbane, Australia. The S-42 sank a 4,400 ton Japanese minelayer off New Ireland in May, 1942. Shown here with her crew relaxing on deck. |
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This photo and several others were contributed by Shipmate Ed Lyons. This one is particularly interesting and I'll reprint the caption on the back exactly as written. Caption:
A novel experiment in which three railroad locomotives pulled a submarine out of the ocean was successfully completed at the Portsmouth, NH, Navy Yard when the submarine S-42 which has been under repairs since it went aground two years ago, was floated from Dry Dock. Cables were used to connect it with three B & M locomotives nearly 1000 yards away. The trio of locomotives moved at a signal and the giant submarine was drawn up a steep incline into the Franklin House. ( I certainly got a kick out of the giant submarine comment! There is also an old four stacker tied up to the left of picture. |
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The S Class boat with the best wartime record was S-44 (SS 149). She made five war patrols and sank three ship's, including the Japanese heavy cruiser KAKO. S-44 also damaged a destroyer type vessel. She was sunk on 7 October 1943, in a gun battle with a Japanese destroyer. The Japanese destroyer picked up only two men. Both survived the war. |
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Another Shot of the S-44 showing the typical conning tower of the S Boat Class |
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The S-44 (SS 149) leaving port and heading for sea. This photo is one of three taken from the Subvets WWII calendar and sent to me by shipmate George Arnold.
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Yet another shot of the S-44, this time surfacing off the Aleutians in 1943. |
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The S-45 (SS 150) was a group three boat with a length of 225 feet. This photo is courtesy of Ron Martini. The only information I have on S-45 so far, is that she was scrapped sometime between 1945 and 1947. |
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This is a much better photo of the S-45 (SS 150) from Volume II of Submarine Veterans of World War II. I'm not sure where it was taken. |
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The S-47 (SS 158) is shown modified for war. She has been fitted with a 3 inch 50 caliber deck gun and a 20-mm gun has been added to the conning tower. Radar has also been added. |
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Another photo from Ed Lyons collection. This photograph is in color and has been marked up by the newspaper copy department. During Builders Trials while diving near the Bridgeport,
Connecticut Light on December 7th, a manhole plate in one of the aft ballast tanks was left unsecured, and S-48 sank in 60 feet of water. The crew, contractor's personnel, and naval observers brought the bow to the surface and escaped through a torpedo tube to the Standard Oil Tug NO.28 which had answered their distress call. If you look close you can see a crewmember escaping from the port torpedo tube.
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The S-48 (SS 159) surfaces during exercises. S-48 survived the war, but not the budget. She was scrapped in 1946. |
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The S-48 pier-side - full length view. This shot shows a structure on the after deck. S-1 is the only S Boat listed as fitted for float planes, however this sure looks like a hanger structure. |
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The S-49 (SS-150). Shipmate John Clear has exposed a real mystery on this one.
The reference books state that the S-49 was disposed of in 1931 and scrapped or sunk (two differing versions). John has in his possession a "Welcome Aboard" brochure stating that the "Submarine S-49" is owned and exhibited by a Capt. Chrestensen and has no
connection in any way with the United States Navy." He evidently acquired her in 1931 as an educational exhibit. If anyone knows the story behind this one, please let John and myself know.
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S-50 (SS 161) is shown here, along side the rescue vessel Falcon pumping air down to the stricken S-51(SS 162) in a vain attempt to save the crew. They were already dead at this time, but that wasn't known until later. S-50 was scrapped before the war. |
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S-51 (SS 162) was sunk in a collision with the City of Rome on September 5, 1925. Four crewmembers managed to get clear, all the others perished. The S-51 is the focus of a rousing sea tale about salvage on the high seas by Rear Admiral USN ret. Edward Eldridge. |
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The two sister-ships S-50 (SS 161) and S-51(SS 162) pass each other during exercises. |
