These United States submarines were lost either to enemy action or to "storm or perils of the sea."
These United States submarines were lost either to enemy action or to "storm or perils of the sea."
| Ship name | Hull number | Date of loss | Fate | Approximate location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turtle | NA | October 1776 | Tender vessel sunk by British [1] | Fort Lee, New Jersey |
| Alligator | NA | 2 April 1862 | Broke loose from tow and foundered [2] | Cape Hatteras, North Carolina |
| F-1 | SS-20 | 17 December 1917 | Lost in collision with F-3 | San Diego, California |
| F-4 | SS-23 | 25 March 1915 | Foundered due to battery acid leak | Honolulu, Hawaii |
| H-1 | SS-28 | 12 March 1920 | Grounded | Magdalena Bay, Mexico |
| O-5 | SS-66 | 28 October 1923 | Collided with SS Abangarez | Limon Bay, Panama |
| O-9 | SS-70 | 20 June 1941 | Foundered on test dive | Isles of Shoals, New Hampshire |
| S-4 | SS-109 | 17 December 1927 | Collided with Coast Guard destroyer Paulding; raised and recommissioned 16 October 1928 | Provincetown, Massachusetts |
| S-5 | SS-110 | 1 September 1920 | Foundered on dive | Delaware Capes, New Jersey |
| S-51 | SS-162 | 25 September 1925 | Collided with SS City of Rome | Block Island, Rhode Island |
| Squalus | SS-192 | 23 May 1939 | Foundered on test dive; raised and renamed Sailfish | Isles of Shoals, New Hampshire |
Additionally:
During World War II, the U.S. Navy's submarine service suffered the highest casualty percentage of all the American armed forces, losing one in five submariners. [3] Some 16,000 submariners served during the war, of whom 375 officers and 3,131 enlisted men were killed, the highest casualty rate of any American force in World War II. [4]
Fifty-two submarines of the United States Navy were lost during World War II. [5] Two – Dorado (SS-248) and Seawolf (SS-197) – were lost to friendly fire (though there is speculation that the Dorado may have struck a German mine), at least three more – Tulibee, Tang, and Grunion – to defective torpedoes, and six to accident or grounding. [6]
Another eight submarines went missing while on patrol and are presumed to have been sunk by Japanese mines, as there are no known Japanese anti-submarine attacks in their patrol areas. The other thirty-three lost submarines are known to have been sunk by the Japanese.
| Ship name | Hull number | Date of loss | Fate | Approximate location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albacore | SS-218 | 7 November 1944 | Lost to enemy mine | Northeast of Hokkaido |
| Amberjack | SS-219 | 16 February 1943 | Lost to enemy action by torpedo boat Hiyodori and submarine chaser No. 18 | New Britain |
| Argonaut | SM-1 | 10 January 1943 | Lost to enemy action by destroyers Isokaze and Maikaze | New Britain |
| Barbel | SS-316 | 4 February 1945 | Lost to enemy air attack | Borneo |
| Bonefish | SS-223 | 19 June 1945 | Lost to enemy action: depth-charged by kaibōkan Okinawa , CD-63 , CD-75, CD-158, and CD-207 | Sea of Japan |
| Bullhead | SS-332 | 6 August 1945 | Lost to enemy air attack; last US submarine loss of the war | Java Sea |
| Capelin | SS-289 | Lost after 2 December 1943 | Fate unknown; possible naval mine or attack by minelayer Wakataka | Celebes Sea |
| Cisco | SS-290 | 28 September 1943 | Lost to air attack and gunboat Karatsu (ex-USS Luzon) | Mindanao |
| Corvina | SS-226 | 16 November 1943 | Lost to enemy action: torpedoed by Japanese submarine I-176 | Truk |
| Darter | SS-227 | 24 October 1944 | Accidental grounding in pursuit of Japanese cruiser Takao | Palawan Passage |
| Dorado | SS-248 | 15 October 1943 | Sunk by friendly fire air attack (PBM Mariner of Patrol Squadron 210) or possibly mines laid by U-214 | Panama Canal Zone |
| Escolar | SS-294 | Lost between 17 October and 13 November 1944 | Fate unknown; possibly naval mine or a Japanese escort destroyer | Yellow Sea |
| Flier | SS-250 | 12 August 1944 | Lost to enemy mine | Balabac Strait, Philippines (7°58'43.21"N 117°15'23.79"E) |
| Golet | SS-361 | 14 June 1944 | Lost to enemy action by escorts Miya Maru and Bunzan Maru | Northern Japanese waters |
| Grampus | SS-207 | 5 March 1943 | Lost to enemy action by destroyers Minegumo and Murasame, or possibly to air attack by 958th Kōkūtai naval aircraft | New Britain |
| Grayback | SS-208 | 27 February 1944 | Lost to enemy air attack | Ryukyu Islands |
| Grayling | SS-209 | Lost between 9 and 12 September 1943 | Fate unknown; possibly rammed by transport Hokuan Maru | Lingayen Gulf, Philippines |
| Grenadier | SS-210 | 21 April 1943 | Scuttled following enemy air attack | Strait of Malacca |
| Growler | SS-215 | 8 November 1944 | Fate unknown; possibly sunk by its own torpedo or lost to enemy action by destroyer Shigure and two other escorts | Philippines |
| Grunion | SS-216 | 30 July 1942 | Sunk by circular run of own torpedo [7] | Kiska Island, Alaska |
| Gudgeon | SS-211 | 18 April 1944 | Fate unknown; possibly air attack | Maug Islands or possibly Iwo Jima [8] |
| Harder | SS-257 | 24 August 1944 | Lost to enemy action by kaibokan CD-22 | Dasol Bay, Philippines |
| Herring | SS-233 | 1 June 1944 | Lost to enemy shore batteries | Kuril Islands |
| Kete | SS-369 | Lost between 19 and 31 March 1945 | Fate unknown; possibly enemy submarine or mines | Ryukyu Islands |
| Lagarto | SS-371 | 3 May 1945 | Lost to enemy action by Japanese minelayer Hatsutaka | Gulf of Thailand |
| Perch | SS-176 | 3 March 1942 | Scuttled following enemy action by Japanese destroyer Ushio | Java |
| Pickerel | SS-177 | Lost between 3 and 30 April 1943 | Fate unknown; possible enemy actions include one by minelayer Shirakami and auxiliary subchaser Bunzan Maru on 3 April 1943 | Northern Honshu |
| Pompano | SS-181 | Lost between 17 September and 30 October 1943 | Fate unknown; possibly naval mine or enemy action | Northern Honshu |
| R-12 | SS-89 | 12 June 1943 | Foundered on training exercise | off Key West, Florida |
| Robalo | SS-273 | 26 July 1944 | Fate unknown; probably naval mine | West of Palawan Island |
| Runner | SS-275 | Lost between 26 June and 15 July 1943 | Fate unknown; possibly naval mine | Hokkaido |
| S-26 | SS-131 | 24 January 1942 | Accidental collision with USS Sturdy (PC-460) [9] | Gulf of Panama |
| S-27 | SS-132 | 19 June 1942 | Accidental grounding | Amchitka Island, Alaska |
| S-28 | SS-133 | 4 July 1944 | Foundered while submerged during anti-submarine exercise (reasons unknown) | Oahu, Hawaii |
| S-36 | SS-141 | 20 January 1942 | Accidental grounding | Makassar Strait |
| S-39 | SS-144 | 14 August 1942 | Accidental grounding | Rossel Island |
| S-44 | SS-155 | 7 October 1943 | Lost to enemy action by Japanese escort Ishigaki | Kurile Islands |
| Scamp | SS-277 | 11 November 1944 | Lost to enemy action by kaibokan CD-4 and aircraft | Tokyo Bay |
| Scorpion | SS-278 | Lost between 6 and 30 January 1944 | Fate unknown; probably naval mine | East China Sea |
| Sculpin | SS-191 | 19 November 1943 | Scuttled following enemy action by Japanese destroyer Yamagumo | Gilbert Islands |
| Sealion | SS-195 | 10 December 1941 | Scuttled 25 December 1941 following irreparable damage in air attack 10 December | Cavite Navy Yard, Philippines |
| Seawolf | SS-197 | 4 October 1944 | Probably sunk by "friendly fire" from USS Richard M. Rowell (DE-403) | Morotai Island |
| Shark | SS-174 | Lost between 8 February and 7 March 1942 | Fate unknown; possibly sunk by Japanese destroyer Yamakaze or other enemy action | Molucca Sea |
| Shark | SS-314 | 24 October 1944 | Lost to enemy action by Japanese destroyer Harukaze | Luzon Strait |
| Snook | SS-279 | Lost between 9 and 20 April 1945 | Fate unknown; possibly enemy action | South China Sea |
| Swordfish | SS-193 | Lost between 9 and 30 January 1945 | Fate unknown; possibly enemy action or naval mine | Ryukyu Islands |
| Tang | SS-306 | 25 October 1944 | Sunk by circular run of own torpedo | Formosa Strait |
| Trigger | SS-237 | 28 March 1945 | Lost to enemy action by kaibokan Mikura, CD-33, and CD-59; assisted by air attack | Ryukyu Islands |
| Triton | SS-201 | 15 March 1943 | Fate unknown; probably enemy action | Admiralty Islands |
| Trout | SS-202 | 29 February 1944 | Fate unknown; probably enemy action by Japanese destroyer Asashimo or circular run of own torpedo | Okinawa |
| Tullibee | SS-284 | 26 March 1944 | Sunk by circular run of own torpedo | Palau Islands |
| Wahoo | SS-238 | 11 October 1943 | Lost to enemy air and surface attack by submarine chasers CH-15, CH-43 and 3 E13A1 Jakes | La Perouse Strait |
There are two additional casualties to submarines in World War II that are sometimes considered as effectively two additional losses.
USS Halibut was damaged by Japanese air and surface forces on 14 November 1944. She was able to reach Saipan and later Pearl Harbor on 1 December, departing San Francisco for Portsmouth Navy Yard on 16 February 1945. There it was determined that she was a constructive total loss and beyond economical repair, but might be useful as a school ship, similar to the postwar immobile pierside training submarines. However, her career in this capacity was brief, and Halibut was decommissioned at Portsmouth Navy Yard 18 July 1945 and sold for scrap in January 1947.
USS Lancetfish was commissioned on 12 February 1945 and sank at pier 8 at the Boston Navy Yard on 15 March 1945, apparently without loss of life and reportedly still incomplete. She was raised eight days later, decommissioned on 24 March 1945, and never completed or fully repaired. [10] [11] [12] Postwar, she was listed as a Reserve Fleet submarine until stricken in 1958 and scrapped in 1959, having never gone to sea.
The former USS R-19 was transferred to the Royal Navy 9 March 1942 and renamed as HMS P.514. On 21 June 1942 she was rammed by the Royal Canadian Navy minesweeper HMCS Georgian and sank with all hands after the submarine was mistaken for a German U-boat.
The former USS S-49 was sold in 1931 to a private owner for use as a tourist attraction, with the hulk reacquired by the U.S. Navy for "experimental purposes" in 1941. She foundered and sank in the Patuxent River 16 December 1942.
The former USS S-25 was transferred to the Royal Navy 4 November 1941 and renamed as RMS P.551 then transferred to the Polish Navy in exile and renamed ORP Jastrząb. On 2 May 1942 she was attacked in a friendly fire incident by a Royal Navy minesweeper and destroyer and sank with all hands.
USS R-1, originally commissioned on 16 December 1918 and decommissioned after more than 12 years of service, was recommissioned and served for five additional years during World War II. R-1 was decommissioned at Key West on 20 September 1945 and was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 10 November. Still at Key West awaiting disposal on 21 February 1946, the submarine sank in 21 feet (6.4 m) of water. Raised three days later, she was sold for scrap on 13 March 1946.
USS S-37 was decommissioned on 6 February 1945, was stripped, and her hulk was supposed to be expended as a target for aerial bombing off San Diego, California, but she broke her tow cable and sank, coming to rest in some 50 to 60 feet (15 to 18 m) of water, on 20 February 1945. Her name was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register three days later. Salvagers unsuccessfully tried to retrieve the wreck of S-37 for her scrap value, but lost her again off Imperial Beach, California, in 20 to 30 feet (6.1 to 9.1 m) of water at 32°36.2541′N117°08.2334′W / 32.6042350°N 117.1372233°W , where she remains to this day.
| Ship name | Hull number | Date of loss | Fate | Approximate location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cochino | SS-345 | 26 August 1949 | Lost to accidental fire and battery explosion | Norwegian Sea |
| Scorpion | SSN-589 | Lost between 22 May and 5 June 1968 | Cause unknown; numerous theories have been advanced. Recent deep submergence photography indicates the possibility of an implosion event similar to the USS Thresher. | North Atlantic Ocean, 400 nautical miles (740 km) southwest of the Azores |
| Stickleback | SS-415 | 20 May 1958 | Collision with USS Silverstein | Oahu, Hawaii |
| Thresher | SSN-593 | 10 April 1963 | Exact cause unknown; one theory is a seawater leak led to a reactor plant shutdown, compounded by a heavy trim (excess negative buoyancy) and an inadequate ballast tank blow system. Another theory is that a reactor plant scram occurred for tests; a flaw caused an inability to operate key reactor valves and other valves, which prevented emergency surfacing or a problem in the procedures for a scram caused the inability to operate a very important steam plant valve causing a loss of propulsion. Any of these problems could have caused the boat to sink beyond crush depth. | 200 nautical miles (370 km) east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts |
USS Tarpon was decommissioned on 15 November 1945 and sold for scrap 8 June 1957. The Tarpon foundered in deep water, south of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, on 26 August 1957, while under tow to the scrap yard.
USS Guitarro flooded and sank pier-side prior to commissioning at Mare Island Naval Shipyard on 15 May 1969. Two shipyard teams, apparently unaware of each other's efforts, were conducting work involving filling tanks in both the forward and aft portions of the submarine. Eventually the lack of coordination led to flooding through the bow hatch. [13] The submarine was raised, but completion was delayed 32 months. Guitarro was commissioned on 9 September 1972.
USS Bugara was decommissioned and struck from the Naval Register 1 October 1970. On 1 June 1971, while under tow near Cape Flattery, Washington state, Bugara swamped and sank accidentally. [14]
USS Bonefish was not repaired after a fire near Florida on 24 April 1988 that killed three crewmembers. She was decommissioned 28 September 1988 and hulked 17 August 1989. The hull was later purchased by Northrop Grumman for testing.
USS Miami experienced a fire during overhaul at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on 23 May 2012 that caused significant damage, though with no loss of life. A civilian shipyard worker confessed to arson. Although repairs were considered, using components from the decommissioned USS Memphis (SSN-691), the estimated cost of $700 million was considered uneconomical in a time of reduced budgets. Miami was decommissioned on 28 March 2014, to be disposed of via the nuclear Ship-Submarine Recycling Program. [15] [16]
The Gato class of submarines were built for the United States Navy and launched in 1941–1943. Named after the lead ship of the class, USS Gato, they were the first mass-production U.S. submarine class of World War II.
USS Dace (SS-247), a Gato-class submarine, was the first submarine of the United States Navy to be named for any of several small North American fresh-water fishes of the carp family.
USS Grampus (SS-523), a Tench-class submarine, was the seventh ship of the United States Navy to be named for two members of the dolphin family (Delphinidae): Grampus griseus, also known as Risso's dolphin, and the orca, also known as the killer whale.
USS Stickleback (SS-415), a Balao-class submarine, was named for the stickleback, a small scaleless fish.
The Balao class was a design of United States Navy submarine used during World War II, and with 120 boats completed, the largest class of submarines in the United States Navy. An improvement on the earlier Gato class, the boats had slight internal differences. The most significant improvement was the use of thicker, higher yield strength steel in the pressure hull skins and frames, which increased their test depth to 400 feet (120 m). Tang actually achieved a depth of 612 ft (187 m) during a test dive, and exceeded that test depth when taking on water in the forward torpedo room while evading a destroyer.
USS Dentuda (SS-335) was a Balao-class submarine of the United States Navy in service from 1944 to 1946. Afterwards, she was used as a training ship until 1967. Two years later, she was sold for scrap.
USS Guitarro (SSN-665), a Sturgeon-class submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the guitarro, a ray of the guitarfish family.
USS Bashaw (SS/SSK/AGSS-241), a Gato-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the bashaw. Between 10 March 1944 and 29 April 1945, she completed six war patrols in the Celebes, Philippine, and South China Seas during World War II. Bashaw sank three Japanese merchant vessels totaling 19,269 gross register tons as well as several small craft. She later served in the Vietnam War.
USS Croaker (SS/SSK/AGSS/IXSS-246), a Gato-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the croaker, any of various fishes which make throbbing or drumming noises.
USS Redfin (SS/SSR/AGSS-272), a Gato-class submarine, was a ship of the United States Navy named for the redfin, any of several North American fishes with reddish fins.
USS Caiman (SS-323), a Balao-class submarine, was a ship of the United States Navy that was later transferred to the Turkish Naval Forces in 1972 under the Security Assistance Program, where she was recommissioned as the third TCG Dumlupınar. She was retired in 1986.
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 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.
The first USS Spadefish (SS/AGSS-411), a Balao-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the spadefish. Although she was commissioned late in the war and spent only one year in the Pacific war zone, she was able to run up a record of 88,091 tons in 21 ships and numerous trawlers sunk.
USS Guitarro (SS-363), a Gato-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the guitarro.
USS Hammerhead (SS-364), a Gato-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the hammerhead shark, a shark found in warm seas with a flattened anterior forward of the gill slits, presenting a hammer-like silhouette when viewed from above.
USS Icefish (SS-367), a Balao-class submarine, was a ship of the United States Navy named for the icefish, any member of the family Salangidae, small smeltlike fishes of China and Japan. These fish are also collectively known as whitebait.
USS Springer (SS-414) was a Balao-class submarine of the United States Navy, named after the springer, a Grampus.
USS S-29 (SS-134), was a first-group S-class submarine of the United States Navy. During World War II, she also served in the Royal Navy as HMS P556.
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships .