USS Sargo (SS-188)
Sargo during sea trials off Provincetown, Massachusetts, 1 November 1938
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History | |
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United States | |
Namesake | sargo |
Builder | Electric Boat Company, Groton, Connecticut[1] |
Laid down | 12 May 1937[1] |
Launched | 6 June 1938[1] |
Commissioned | 7 February 1939[1] |
Decommissioned | 22 June 1946[1] |
Stricken | 19 July 1946[1] |
Fate | Sold for scrap, 19 May 1947[1] |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | |
Displacement | |
Length | 310 ft 6 in (94.64 m)[2] |
Beam | 26 ft 10 in (8.18 m)[2] |
Draft | 16 ft 7+1⁄2 in (5.067 m)[2] |
Propulsion |
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Speed | |
Range | 11,000 nautical miles (20,000 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h)[2] |
Endurance | 48 hours at 2 knots (3.7 km/h) submerged[2] |
Test depth | 250 ft (76 m)[2] |
Complement | 5 officers, 54 enlisted[2] |
Armament |
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USS Sargo (SS-188), the
Construction and commissioning
Sargo′s
Sargo batteries
The Sargo was the first vessel equipped with a new
Pre-war service
After shakedown along the eastern seaboard of
War patrols under Tyrell D. Jacobs
The next day (under the command of the torpedo specialist Lieutenant Commander
On 24 December, she found two freighters, firing two torpedoes at one, one at the other, from about 1,000 yards (900 m), scoring no hits.
After her skipper discovered the torpedoes were running too deep, and correcting the problem,[11] Sargo detected a target at dusk on 26 December[10] losing, then regaining, contact, and running ahead, so be able to get good position. Then weather intervened, and the ships escaped.[10]
A few days afterward, a big, slow tanker gave Sargo another opportunity, and again, the approach was meticulous, firing one torpedo at a close 1,200 yards (1,100 m). It missed. In exasperation, Sargo signaled headquarters, questioning the Mark 14's reliability[9] on an open radio circuit.[12]
On 20 January 1942, she assisted in the rescue of the crew of
Here, she offloaded all her reload torpedoes (keeping only those in her tubes)
Sailing from Soerabaja with 31 passengers from
War patrols under Richard V. Gregory
During March, amid the panic over potential Japanese invasion of Australia, Sargo (now commanded by
On 8 June, Sargo put to sea for her fourth patrol, conducted in the
The fifth war patrol, from 27 August to 25 October, was in the Celebes Sea and South China Sea. In a submerged attack off Vietnam, French Indochina, on 25 September, she fired two torpedoes at the 4,472-ton cargo ship Teibo Maru. When these did not sink the target, three more were fired; all missed, including one circular, which exploded off her stern,[19] presaging another deadly failing of the Mark 14. Sargo then surfaced and finished off the crippled freighter with gunfire.[20]
War patrols under Edward S. Carmick
On 29 November, she departed
Returning to Hawaii on 10 May, she departed on 27 May for her seventh patrol which took her to the
She departed Midway on 1 August for her eighth war patrol, again at Truk and in the Mariana Islands. She made no contacts and returned to Pearl Harbor on 15 September for refit.[23]
War patrols under Philip W. Garnett and post-war fate
On her ninth war patrol (now commanded by
Sargo’s tenth patrol, 26 January to 12 March 1944, was conducted north of the
After refit in Pearl Harbor, the veteran submarine departed on her eleventh war patrol on 7 April, along the southern coasts of
Returning to Hawaii in September, Sargo got underway for her 12th patrol on 13 October and operated off the Bonin Islands and Ryukyu Islands. Two trawlers were damaged by Sargo’s three-inch (76 mm) deck gun and machine guns.
On arrival at
Honors and awards
- battle stars for World War IIserviceRepublic of the Philippines)
Notes
- ^ ISBN 1-55750-263-3.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305–311
- ^ ISBN 0-313-26202-0.
- ^ U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 202–204
- ^ Friedman, p. 265
- ^ The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia, Sargo-class article
- ^ He was one of a handful of "Gun Club" members to try to fix the numerous problems of the notorious Mark 14 torpedo, following bitter personal experience. Blair, Clay, Jr., Silent Victory (Lippincott, 1975), p.140 & 902.
- ^ Blair, p.139-40.
- ^ a b c d e f Blair, p.140.
- ^ a b c Blair, p.141.
- ^ Blair, p.141. Bureau of Ordnance (BuOrd) would wait months to do the same.
- court martialled for insubordination, and he knew it, not to mention being detected by the Japanese. On his return, he was upbraided by his commanding officer, Admiral John Wilkes. Blair, p.169.
- ^ a b Blair, p.174.
- ^ Dunn, Peter. "US SUBMARINE ATTACKED BY A HUDSON BOMBER OF 14 SQUADRON RAAF OFF THE WESTERN AUSTRALIAN COAST". www.ozatwar.com. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- ^ Blair, p.185. This sort of mistake would become depressingly common during the war. For instance, Blair, pp.210 and 285, just in the first half of 1942.
- ^ a b c d e f Hinman & Campbell, pp. 226–229.
- ^ The Australian bombing would be the last straw for Jacobs, who went to shore duty at BuOrd. Blair, p.185.
- ^ This made him the youngest officer so far to command a fleet boat. Blair, pp.185, 192, 285, & 906.
- ^ a b Blair, p.192.
- ^ When Sargo returned, Gregory was removed. Blair, p.286.
- ^ Blair, p.921.
- ^ Blair, p.931.
- ^ Not unexpectedly, Carmick was relieved. Blair, p.939.
- ^ a b Blair, p.939.
- ^ Blair, p.570-1.
- ^ a b c Blair, p.571.
- ^ Blair, p.942.
References
- This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
- Blair, Clay, Jr. Silent Victory. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1975.
- Hinman, Charles R., and Douglas E. Campbell. The Submarine Has No Friends: Friendly Fire Incidents Involving U.S. Submarines During World War II. Syneca Research Group, Inc., 2019. ISBN 978-0-359-76906-3.
- Lenton, H.T. American Submarines. New York: Doubleday & Co., 1973.
- "Sargo Stories" by Bart Bartholomew at SubmarineSailor.com
- The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia, Sargo-class article
External links
- Historic photos of diesel-powered USS Sargo (SS-188) on Navsource.org, includes photo of SSN-583 during construction viewed by SS-188 crewman
- Photos & video of dedication of memorial to the crew of USS Sargo (SS-188) from the crewmen of nuclear-powered USS Sargo (SSN-583) at the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg, Texas
- The National Museum of the Pacific War - Wikipedia page (includes link to official museum website)
- Kill record: USS Sargo