USS Argonaut (SM-1)
![]() USS Argonaut underway.
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History | |
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Name | USS Argonaut |
Builder | Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine[1] |
Laid down | 1 May 1925[1] |
Launched | 10 November 1927[1] |
Commissioned | 2 April 1928[1] |
Fate | Sunk by Japanese destroyers off Rabaul on 10 January 1943[2] |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | V-4 (Argonaut)-class composite direct-drive |
Displacement | |
Length | 358 ft (109 m) () |
Beam | 33 ft 9.5 in (10.300 m)[3] |
Draft | 16 ft .25 in (4.8832 m)[3] |
Propulsion |
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Speed | |
Range | 8,000 nmi (9,200 mi; 15,000 km) at 10 kn (12 mph; 19 km/h);[3] 18,000 nmi (21,000 mi; 33,000 km) @ 10 kn (12 mph; 19 km/h) with fuel in main ballast tanks[3] |
Endurance | 10 hours @ 5 kn (5.8 mph; 9.3 km/h)[3] |
Test depth | 300 ft (91 m)[3] |
Capacity | 173,875 US gal (658,190 L) diesel fuel[10] |
Complement |
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Armament |
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Notes | Two Battle stars |
USS Argonaut (V-4/SF-7/SM-1/A-1/APS-1/SS-166) was a
Design
V-4 was the first of the second generation of
The engine specifications as built were two
A more successful propulsion improvement in V-4 was the replacement of earlier submarines' pairs of 60-
For the first time in U.S. submarine construction, the Portsmouth Navy Yard utilized welding during the assembly process. Led by Navy welding expert James W. Owens, welding was used in non-critical areas such as the superstructure, piping brackets, and support framing. V-4 ended up being built to a mixed method construction, with both the inner and outer hulls still riveted. Owens was eager to expand the use of welding in ship construction, and its use on V-4 was entirely successful. All subsequent submarines built for the USN used welding to some extent, with the method adopted in whole in 1936.[12]
Designed primarily as a minelayer, and built at a cost of US$6,150,000,[9] V-4 was the first and only such specialized type ever built by the United States. She had four torpedo tubes forward and two minelaying tubes aft. At the time of construction, V-4 was the largest submarine ever built in the U.S., and was the largest in U.S. Navy service for 30 years.[9]
Her minelaying arrangements were "highly ingenious, but extremely complicated",[9] filling two aft compartments.[9] A compensating tube ran down the center of the two spaces, to make up for the lost weight as mines were laid, as well as to store eight additional mines.[9] The other mines were racked in three groups around this tube, two in the fore compartment, one aft,[9] with a hydraulically driven rotating cage between them.[9] Mines were moved by hydraulic worm shafts, the aft racks connecting directly to the launch tubes,[9] which had vertically sliding hydraulic doors[9] (rather than the usual hinged ones of torpedo tubes). Each launch tube was normally loaded with four mines,[9] and a water 'round mines (WRM) tube flooded to compensate as they were laid, then pumped into the compensating tube.[13] Eight mines could be laid in 10 minutes.[14]
Interwar period
Following commissioning, V-4 served with Submarine Division 12 based at Newport, Rhode Island.
She proved perennially underpowered, but engine replacement was postponed by war,[9] and her MAN diesels were a constant source of trouble.[15]
In January–February 1929, V-4 underwent a series of trials off
In 1931, the V-4 was heavily featured in Seas Beneath, an American action film directed by John Ford. The V-4 was repainted to appear as a World War I German submarine, the fictional 'U-172'.
V-4 was renamed Argonaut on 19 February 1931, and redesignated SM-1 (submarine, minelayer) on 1 July. On 30 June 1932, she arrived at Pearl Harbor, where she was assigned to SubDiv 7. She carried out minelaying operations, patrol duty, and other routine work. In October 1934 and again in May 1939, Argonaut took part in joint Army-Navy exercises in the Hawaiian operating area. Argonaut became the flagship of Submarine Squadron 4 (SubRon 4). The submarine returned to the West Coast in April 1941 to participate in fleet tactical exercises.
World War II
On 28 November 1941 Argonaut, commanded by
Argonaut's dehumidifiers were ineffective at preventing condensation, which caused electrical fires making various pieces of electrical machinery inoperative. Three crewmen were sick with high fevers, but President Roosevelt's mention of Argonaut's contribution to the war effort in a radio speech encouraged Barchet to resist the temptation to abort the patrol. By trimming the submarine 17 tons heavy, the crew was able to reduce diving time to 52 seconds by skillfully coordinated pumping between fore and aft ballast tanks; but that time was still considered too slow to avoid hostile aircraft. Argonaut successfully rendezvoused with USS Litchfield at 06:00 20 January 1942, so the destroyer could escort her back to Pearl Harbor.[17]
Conversion to troop transport
On 22 January 1942, she returned to Pearl Harbor and, after a brief stop, proceeded to Mare Island Naval Shipyard for major overhaul. While there, her diesels were replaced with General Motors Winton 12-258Ss totaling 4,800 hp (3,600 kW)[14] with hydraulic drive through reduction gears,[7] and her minelaying gear was removed to prepare for conversion to a troop transport submarine.[9] The auxiliary diesel generator was replaced by a 300 kW (400 hp) GM Winton 8-268A and a 150 kW (200 hp) GM Winton 4-268A.[7] She was also fitted with a Torpedo Data Computer[14] (lack of which likely inhibited her ability to score with torpedoes), new electronics,[14] and two external stern torpedo tubes on the after casing, along with two stern deck stowage tubes. It appears she was not fitted with bow external torpedo tubes, as were Narwhal and Nautilus, as photos taken after the refit do not show them.[14][18][19] On return to Pearl Harbor, the conversion to a troop transport submarine was "hastily" finished.[14]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/56/Makin_Island_Raid%2C_August_1942.jpg/220px-Makin_Island_Raid%2C_August_1942.jpg)
Argonaut returned to action in the South Pacific in August.
Sinking
Argonaut arrived back in Pearl Harbor on 26 August. Her
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/USS_Argonaut_ships_bell.gif/220px-USS_Argonaut_ships_bell.gif)
Japanese reports made available at the end of the war recorded a depth charge attack followed by gunfire, at which time they "destroyed the top of the sub".
On the basis of the report given by the USAAF flier who witnessed the attack in which Argonaut sank, she was credited with damaging a Japanese destroyer on her last patrol. (Postwar, the
Before her crew left for their third war patrol, they donated Argonaut's bell. Nearly 20 months after her loss, the Submarine Memorial Chapel was built and dedicated on the Submarine Base in Pearl Harbor. The bell hanging in her steeple comes from Argonaut, and still rings today for services.
Awards
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American Defense Service Medal with "FLEET" clasp |
battle stars
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World War II Victory Medal |
See also
- HMS M3 – British minelaying submarine of same period.
References
- ^ ISBN 1-55750-263-3.
- ^ ISBN 0-313-26202-0.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305–311
- ^ Alden, John D., Commander, USN (retired). The Fleet Submarine in the U.S. Navy (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1979), p. 211.
- ^ a b c d U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 259
- ^ a b c d Alden, p. 211.
- ^ a b c d Friedman, p. 176
- ^ Lenon, H. T. American Submarines (New York: Doubleday, 1973), p. 31.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Alden, p. 28.
- ^ Alden, p. 28; Lenton, p. 31, says 696 tons.
- ^ Photo of Argonaut at NavSource.org with "166" on the conning tower.
- ^ Johnston, David "No More Heads or Tails", pp. 52, 56–57
- ^ Alden, pp. 28–29.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Alden, p. 29.
- ^ Blair, Clay, Jr. Silent Victory (Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1975).
- ^ "Rear Admiral Barchet". fleetsubmarine.com. November 2015. Archived from the original on 20 October 2020. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
- ^ a b O'Kane, Richard H. (1996). "Not 'Just Practice'". Naval History. 10 (6). United States Naval Institute: 21–23.
- ^ a b "PigBoats.COM – V-Class Submarines Page 2 Argonaut V-4". pigboats.com. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
- ^ "NavSource.org USS Argonaut (SM-1) WW2 photos". Archived from the original on 26 April 2014. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
- ^ "The Official Chronology of the U.S. Navy in World War II – 1943". www.ibiblio.org. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
- ^ "On Eternal Patrol – USS Argonaut (APS-1), (SS-166)". On Eternal Patrol. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
- ^ "Long Lancers". www.combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
- ^ "Long Lancers". www.combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
- ^ "Long Lancers". www.combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
- Schlesman, Bruce and Roberts, Stephen S., "Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775–1990: Major Combatants" (Greenwood Press, 1991), ISBN 0-313-26202-0
- Lenton, H. T. American Submarines (Navies of the Second World War) (Doubleday, 1973), ISBN 0-38504-761-4
- Silverstone, Paul H., U.S. Warships of World War II (Ian Allan, 1965), ISBN 0-87021-773-9
- Campbell, John Naval Weapons of World War Two (Naval Institute Press, 1985), ISBN 0-87021-459-4
- Whitman, Edward C. "The Navy's Variegated V-Class: Out of One, Many?" Undersea Warfare, Fall 2003, Issue 20
- https://web.archive.org/web/20140322093118/http://www.fleetsubmarine.com/sublist.html
- Gardiner, Robert and Chesneau, Roger, Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946, Conway Maritime Press, 1980. ISBN 0-83170-303-2.
- Friedman, Norman "US Submarines through 1945: An Illustrated Design History", Naval Institute Press, Annapolis:1995, ISBN 1-55750-263-3.
- Johnston, David "No More Heads or Tails: The Adoption of Welding in U.S. Navy Submarines", The Submarine Review, June 2020, pp. 46–64
- Navsource.org USS Argonaut (SM-1) photo page
- Pigboats.com V-4 page
- DiGiulian, Tony Navweaps.com 6"/53 caliber gun
External links
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