USS S-26

Last updated

USS S-26 (SS-131).jpg
USS S-26 sometime between 1927 and 1930, probably at San Diego, California.
History
US flag 48 stars.svgUnited States
NameUSS S-26
Builder Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, Quincy,  Massachusetts
Laid down7 November 1919
Launched22 August 1922
Sponsored byMrs. Carlos Bean
Commissioned15 October 1923
FateSunk in collision 24 January 1942
General characteristics
Class and type S-class submarine
Displacement
  • 854 long tons (868 t) surfaced
  • 1,062 long tons (1,079 t) submerged
Length219 ft 3 in (66.83 m)
Beam20 ft 8 in (6.30 m)
Draft15 ft 11 in (4.85 m)
Speed
  • 14.5  kn (16.7 mph; 26.9 km/h) surfaced
  • 11 kn (13 mph; 20 km/h) submerged
Complement42 officers and men
Armament

USS S-26 (SS-131) was an S-class submarine of the United States Navy. She was lost in a collision with a friendly escort ship at night in late January 1942, when both vessels were operating without navigation lights to avoid detection by enemy forces.

Contents

Construction and commissioning

S-26′s keel was laid down on 7 November 1919 by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation's Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts. She launched on 22 August 1922, sponsored by Mrs. Carlos Bean, and commissioned on 15 October 1923.

Service history

1923–1942

Operating from New London, Connecticut, from 1923 to 1925, S-26 visited St. Thomas in the United States Virgin Islands and Trinidad from January to April 1924 and Hawaii from 27 April to 30 May 1925. Cruising from California ports, mainly Mare Island, San Diego, and San Pedro, S-26 served in the Panama Canal area from March to May 1927, visited Hawaii again during the summers of 1927 to 1928, again served in the Panama Canal area in February 1929, and made visits to Hawaii during the summers of 1929 and 1930.

S-26 departed San Diego on 1 December 1930 and arrived at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on 12 December 1930. She then served at Pearl Harbor until 15 October 1938, when she departed to return to New London. She arrived at on 25 March 1939 and entered a period in commission in reserve with a partial crew there on 15 April 1939. She resumed full duty on 1 July 1940. She then performed duty at New London and hydrogen tests at Washington, D.C.

After the United States entered World War II with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor of 7 December 1941, S-26 departed New London on 10 December 1941 and arrived at Coco Solo, Panama on 19 December 1941. She subsequently conducted her first war patrol in the waters of the Pacific Ocean off Panama, but did not encounter enemy forces. [1]

Loss

On the night of 24 January 1942, S-26 departed the harbor at Balboa, Panama, to begin her second war patrol as part of a division that also included the submarines USS S-21 (SS-126), USS S-29 (SS-134), and USS S-44 (SS-155), under escort by the submarine chaser PC-460 (later renamed USS Sturdy (PC-460)). [1] [2] All four submarines were on the surface, and all five vessels operated without navigation lights to reduce the chance of detection by enemy forces, with PC-460 steaming 1,500 yards (1,370 m) ahead of the leading submarine, S-21. [2] After the vessels were at sea in the Gulf of Panama, PC-460 made a visual signal at 22:10 to the submarines that she intended to make a wide, 180-degree turn to starboard to return to port and that they could proceed with their assigned duties. [1] [2] Only S-21 received the message. [1] [2] PC-460 then executed her turn, and shortly thereafter encountered S-26, which was running 2,000 yards (1,830 m) behind S-21. [1] [2] The two darkened vessels sighted each other at close range. PC-460 put her engines full astern, but this caused them to fail. [1] [2] Both vessels took evasive action to avoid a collision, but too late, and PC-460 rammed S-26 amidships on her starboard side at 22:23. [1] [2] The impact tore a large hole in S-26′s side and caused her to roll, throwing three of the four men on her bridge overboard. [1] [2] S-26 sank by the bow in less than a minute in 300 feet (91 m) of water about 14 nautical miles (26 km; 16 mi) west of San Jose Light. [1] [2]

S-26′s only survivors were the three men – her commanding officer, executive officer, and a lookout – who went overboard from her bridge. [1] [2] The rest of her crew – three officers and 43 crew members, one of whom also had been on her bridge – were killed. [1] [2] Rescue operations began on the morning of 25 January 1942, with divers making 25 dives to the wreck over the following days in the hope of finding men still alive in S-26′s hull, but they found no signs of life. [2] S-26′s wreck lies upright on the seabed and is a protected war grave. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

USS <i>Tilefish</i> Submarine of the United States

USS Tilefish (SS-307), a Balao-class submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for the tilefish, a large, yellow-spotted deepwater food fish.

USS <i>Tuna</i> (SS-203) Submarine of the United States

USS Tuna (SS-203) was a United States Navy Tambor-class submarine, serving in the Pacific during World War II and earning seven battle stars for her service. After the war, she participated in the Bikini Atoll atomic testing in 1946.

USS <i>Scabbardfish</i> Submarine of the United States

USS Scabbardfish (SS-397), a Balao-class submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for the scabbarddfish, a long, compressed, silver-colored fish found on European coasts and around New Zealand. In 1965 she was transferred to the Hellenic Navy and renamed Triaina.

USS <i>Archerfish</i> (SS-311) WWII-era United States Navy submarine

USS Archerfish (SS/AGSS-311) was a Balao-class submarine. She was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the archerfish. Archerfish is best known for sinking the Japanese aircraft carrier Shinano in November 1944, the largest warship ever sunk by a submarine. For this achievement, she received a Presidential Unit Citation after World War II.

USS <i>Bream</i> Submarine of the United States

USS Bream (SS/SSK/AGSS-243), a Gato-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the bream. She served during World War II, and her war operations extended from 1 June 1944 to 15 June 1945. During this period she completed six war patrols operating in the Java Sea, Celebes Sea, Sulu Sea, South China Sea, and Gulf of Siam. She sank two Japanese merchant ships totaling 6,934 gross register tons. In addition, Bream shared with the submarines USS Ray (SS-271) and USS Guitarro (SS-363) the destruction of a 6,806-gross register ton passenger-cargo ship. On 23 October 1944, while patrolling off western Luzon, Bream made a daring surface attack on a Japanese naval force, damaging the heavy cruiser Aoba.

USS <i>Apogon</i> Balao-class submarine

USS Apogon (SS-308), a Balao-class submarine, was a ship of the United States Navy named for the apogons, a genus of cardinalfishes found in tropical and subtropical waters. The original name planned for the ship was Abadejo, but the name was changed on 24 September 1942 before the keel was laid down.

USS <i>Baya</i> Submarine of the United States

USS Baya (SS/AGSS-318), a Balao-class submarine, was a ship of the United States Navy named for the baya. During World War II, she completed five war patrols in the South China Sea, Gulf of Siam, Java Sea, and Philippine Sea between 23 August 1944 and 25 July 1945. She sank four Japanese vessels totaling 8855 gross register tons, and shared credit with the submarine USS Hawkbill (SS-366) for sinking a Japanese 8,407-gross register ton passenger-cargo ship. After World War II, she saw service as a research submarine during the Cold War and operated off Vietnam during the Vietnam War.

USS <i>Besugo</i> Submarine of the United States

USS Besugo, a Balao-class submarine, was a ship of the United States Navy in commission from 1944 to 1958. She was named for the besugo.

USS <i>Blenny</i> Balao-class submarine

USS Blenny (SS/AGSS-324), a Balao-class submarine in commission from 1944 to 1969, was a ship of the United States Navy named for the blenny, a fish found along the rocky shores of the Atlantic Ocean. During World War II, Blenny conducted four war patrols in the Java Sea and South China Sea between 10 November 1944 and 14 August 1945. She sank eight Japanese vessels totaling 18,262 tons. In addition, she is credited with destroying more than 62 miscellaneous Japanese small craft by gunfire.

USS <i>Brill</i> Submarine of the United States

USS Brill (SS-330), a Balao-class submarine, was a ship of the United States Navy in commission from 1944 to 1947. She was named for the brill, a European flatfish.

USS <i>Bugara</i> Submarine of the United States

USS Bugara (SS-331), a Balao-class submarine in commission from 1944 to 1970, was a ship of the United States Navy named for the bugara, a multicolored fish found along the coast of California.

USS <i>Bumper</i> Submarine of the United States

USS Bumper (SS-333), a Balao-class submarine, was a ship of the United States Navy named for the bumper, a small fish of the North and South Atlantic Ocean.

USS <i>Loggerhead</i> Submarine of the United States

USS Loggerhead (SS-374/AGSS-374), a Balao-class submarine, was a ship of the United States Navy named for the loggerhead, Caretta caretta, a very large, carnivorous sea turtle common in the warmer parts of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans.

USS <i>Sea Fox</i> Submarine of the United States

USS Sea Fox (SS-402), a Balao-class submarine, was a vessel of the United States Navy named for the sea fox, a large shark, also called the thresher shark, which frequents the coast of Europe and the Americas.

USS S-23 (SS-128) was a first-group S-class submarine of the United States Navy.

USS <i>S-21</i> Submarine of the United States

USS S-21 (SS-126) was a first-group S-class submarine of the United States Navy in commission from 1921 to 1922 and from 1923 to 1942. In 1928, she made the first gravimetric measurements ever made aboard a U.S. ship at sea. Prior to World War II, she operated in the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Pacific Ocean, and after the United States entered the war, she operated off Panama. She then served in the Royal Navy as HMS P.553 from 1942 to 1944.

USS <i>Brownson</i> (DD-518) Fletcher-class destroyer

USS Brownson (DD-518) was a Fletcher-class destroyer of the United States Navy commissioned on 3 February 1943. She was sunk by Japanese aircraft off Cape Gloucester, New Britain on 26 December 1943.

USS <i>Whitehurst</i> Buckley-class destroyer escort

USS Whitehurst (DE-634), a Buckley-class destroyer escort of the United States Navy, was named in honor of Ensign Henry Purefoy Whitehurst, Jr., a crew member of the Astoria (CA-34) who was killed during the Battle of Savo Island in August 1942.

USS <i>Sturdy</i> (PC-460) Patrol vessel of the United States Navy

USS Sturdy (PC-460/PYc-50) was a yacht converted to a patrol boat acquired by the U.S. Navy for the task of patrolling the coastal waters of the U.S. East Coast during World War II. Her primary task was to guard the coastal area against German submarines.

USS PC-1145, later USS Winnemucca (PC-1145), was a United States Navy PC-461-class submarine chaser in commission from 1944 to 1955. In 1960, she was transferred to South Korea for service in the Republic of Korea Navy.

References

PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships .The entry can be found here.

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "United States Submarine Losses World War II: S-26 (SS 131)". Naval History and Heritage Command. 31 January 2017. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "Submarine Casualties Booklet". U.S. Naval Submarine School. 1966. Archived from the original on 11 September 2009. Retrieved 8 September 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)

8°13′N79°21′W / 8.217°N 79.350°W / 8.217; -79.350

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.