Allied Warships

Sailfish (SS-192)

Submarine of the Sargo class


USS Sailfish after a refit at Mare Island Navy Yard 13 April 1943.

NavyThe US Navy
TypeSubmarine
ClassSargo 
Pennant192 
Built byPortsmouth Navy Yard (Kittery, Maine, U.S.A.) 
Ordered 
Laid down18 Oct 1937 
Launched14 Sep 1938 
Commissioned1 Mar 1939 
End service27 Oct 1945 
History

Commissioned as USS Squalus on 1 March 1939.
Sunk by a mechanical failure 23 May 1939 while on trials.
Refloated 13 September 1939.
Decommissioned 15 November 1939 at the Portsmouth Navy Yard.
Recommissioned as USS Sailfish on 15 May 1940.
Decommissioned 27 October 1945.
Stricken 30 April 1948.
Sold 18 June 1948 and broken up for scrap.

 
Former nameUSS Squalus

Commands listed for USS Sailfish (192)

Please note that we're still working on this section.

CommanderFromTo
1Oliver Francis Naquin, USN1 Mar 193924 May 1939

2Morton Claire Mumma, Jr., USN15 May 194018 Dec 1941
3Lt.Cdr. Richard George Voge, USN18 Dec 19419 Sep 1942
4Lt. John Richard Moore, USN9 Sep 194217 Jul 1943
5T/Cdr. William Robert Lefavour, USN17 Jul 194321 Oct 1943
6Lt.Cdr. Robert Elwin Mccraner Ward, USN21 Oct 1943Dec 1944
7Lt.Cdr. Lincoln Marcy, USNDec 194430 Aug 1945
8Berley Irving Freedman, USNR30 Aug 194527 Oct 1945

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Notable events involving Sailfish include:


23 May 1939
During her shakedown cruise USS Sculpin (SS 191) was diverted to help search for the missing sister boat USS Squalus (SS 192). Squalus had sunk due to mechanical failure on 23 May 1939. Sculpin found the sunken submarine and aided the submarine rescue ship Falcon as she rescued all 33 surviving men from the non-flooded areas of the Squalus. 26 men drowned in flooded aft section the sinking.

9 Feb 1940
The former USS Squalus (SS 192) was renamed USS Sailfish (SS 192) after successful recovery and repairs after its sinking.

8 Dec 1941
USS Sailfish (Lt.Cdr. Morton Claire Mumma, Jr) left Manila for her first war patrol. She was ordered to patrol off the west coast of Luzon.

17 Dec 1941
USS Sailfish (Lt.Cdr. M.C. Mumma, Jr) ended her first war patrol at Manila.

21 Dec 1941
USS Sailfish (Lt.Cdr. Richard George Voge) left Manila for her second war patrol. She was ordered to patrol south off Formosa.

14 Feb 1942
USS Sailfish (Lt.Cdr. R.G. Voge) ended her 2nd war patrol at Tjilatjap, Java, Netherlands, East Indies.

19 Feb 1942
USS Sailfish (Lt.Cdr. R.G. Voge) left Tjilatjap her 3th war patrol. she was ordered to patrol in the Java Sea.

2 Mar 1942
USS Sailfish (Lt.Cdr. R.G. Voge) torpedoed and sank the Japanese aircraft transport Kamogawa Maru (6440 GRT, offsite link) north of Lombok Strait in position 08°06'S, 115°57'E.

19 Mar 1942
USS Sailfish (Lt.Cdr. R.G. Voge) ended her 3th war patrol at Fremantle, Australia.

22 Mar 1942
USS Sailfish (Lt.Cdr. R.G. Voge) left Fremantle for her 4th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the Java end Celebes Sea.

21 May 1942
USS Sailfish (Lt.Cdr. R.G. Voge) ended her 4th war patrol at Fremantle.

13 Jun 1942
USS Sailfish (Lt.Cdr. R.G. Voge) departed from Fremantle for her 5th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol off the coast of Indochina in the South China Sea.

9 Jul 1942
USS Sailfish (Lt.Cdr. R.G. Voge) torpedoed and damaged the Japanese transport ship Aobasan Maru (8811 GRT) off the coast of Indochina in position 11°31'N, 109°21'E.

1 Aug 1942
USS Sailfish (Lt.Cdr. R.G. Voge) ended her 5th war patrol at Fremantle.

13 Sep 1942
USS Sailfish (Lt.Cdr. R.G. Voge) left Brisbane, Australia for her 6th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the Solomon Islands area.

1 Nov 1942
USS Sailfish (Lt.Cdr. R.G. Voge) ended her 6th war patrol at Brisbane.

24 Nov 1942
USS Sailfish (Lt.Cdr. John Richard Moore) departed from Brisbane for her 7th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol south of New Britain.

15 Jan 1943
USS Sailfish (Lt.Cdr. John Richard Moore) ended her 7th war patrol at Pearl Harbor. She was ordered to the Mare Island Navy Yard for an overhaul.

17 May 1943
With her overhaul completed USS Sailfish (Lt.Cdr. John Richard Moore) departed from Pearl Harbor for her 8th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in Japanese home waters off the east coast of Honshu.

15 Jun 1943
USS Sailfish (Lt.Cdr. John Richard Moore) torpedoed and sank the Japanese merchant Shinju Maru (3617 GRT) south of Todozaki, Honshu, Japan in position 39°00'N, 142°00'E.

25 Jun 1943
USS Sailfish (Lt.Cdr. John Richard Moore) torpedoed and sank the Japanese collier Iburi Maru (3291 GRT) off the northeast coast of Honshu, Japan in position 39°00'N, 142°00'E.

3 Jul 1943
USS Sailfish (Lt.Cdr. John Richard Moore) ended her 8th war patrol at Midway.

25 Jul 1943
USS Sailfish (Lt.Cdr. William R. Lefavour) departed from Midway for her 9th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the Formosa Strait and off Okinawa.

16 Sep 1943
USS Sailfish (Lt.Cdr. William R. Lefavour) ended her 9th war patrol at Pearl Harbor.

17 Nov 1943
USS Sailfish (Lt.Cdr. Robert Elwin Mccraner Ward) leaves Pearl Harbor for her 10th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in Japanese home waters south of Honshu.

4 Dec 1943
USS Sailfish (Lt.Cdr. Robert Elwin Mccraner Ward) torpedoed and sank the Japanese escort carrier Chuyo (offsite link) southeast of Honshu, Japan in position 32°27'N, 143°49'E.

13 Dec 1943
USS Sailfish (Lt.Cdr. R.E.M. Ward) torpedoed and sank the Japanese transport ship Totai Maru (3195 GRT) south of Kyushu, Japan in position 30°15'N, 132°30'E.

21 Dec 1943
USS Sailfish (Lt.Cdr. R.E.M. Ward) torpedoed and sank the Japanese troop transport Uyo Maru (6376 GRT) off Miyazaki, Japan in position 32°38'N, 132°04'E.

5 Jan 1944
USS Sailfish (Lt.Cdr. R.E.M. Ward) ended her 10th war patrol at Pearl Harbor. She was ordered to the Mare Island Navy Yard for an overhaul.

4 Jul 1944
USS Billfish (Cdr. V.C. Turner, USN) conducted exercises off Pearl Harbour together with USS Le Hardy (Lt.Cdr. E.L. Holtz, USNR), USS Charles R. Greer (Lt.Cdr. W.T. Denton, USNR), USS Lyman (Lt.Cdr. J.W. Wilson, USNR), USS Greenling (Cdr. J.D. Gerwick, USN) and USS Sailfish (Cdr. R.E.M. Ward, USN).

9 Jul 1944
USS Sailfish (Lt.Cdr. R.E.M. Ward) departed from Pearl Harbor for her 11th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the Luzon-Formosa area.

7 Aug 1944
USS Sailfish (Lt.Cdr. R.E.M. Ward) torpedoed and sank the Japanese Kinshu Maru (238 GRT) in Luzon Strait in position 20°09'N, 121°19'E.

24 Aug 1944
USS Sailfish (Lt.Cdr. R.E.M. Ward) torpedoed and sank the Japanese troop transport Toan Maru (2110 GRT) in Luzon Strait in position 21°23'N, 121°37'E.

8 Sep 1944
USS Sailfish (Lt.Cdr. R.E.M. Ward) ended her 11th war patrol at Midway.

26 Sep 1944
USS Sailfish (Lt.Cdr. R.E.M. Ward) departed from Midway for her 12th and final war patrol. Once again she was ordered to patrol in the Luzon-Formosa area.

12 Oct 1944
USS Sailfish (Lt.Cdr. R.E.M. Ward) sank a Japanese sampan and damaged a Japanese tug with gunfire south off Formosa in position 22°16'N, 120°26'E. She also picked up 11 U.S.N. fliers.

24 Oct 1944
USS Sailfish (Lt.Cdr. R.E.M. Ward) pulled into Saipan to land her passengers and to make some minor repairs. She then continues her patrol.

4 Nov 1944
USS Sailfish (Lt.Cdr. R.E.M. Ward) torpedoed and damaged the Japanese destroyer Harukaze (offsite link) and Japanese landing ship T-111 (890 tons) in Luzon Strait in position 20°08'N, 121°43'E. Although Sailfish is damaged by aerial bombs during the attack she remains on patrol.

11 Dec 1944
USS Sailfish (Lt.Cdr. R.E.M. Ward) ended her 12th and final war patrol at Pearl Harbor. She was now to be used on training duties on the U.S. east coast.

12 Jan 1945
USS Sailfish (Lt.Cdr. L. Marcy, USN) arrived in the Panama Canal Zone.

13 Jan 1945
USS Sailfish (Lt.Cdr. L. Marcy, USN) departed the Panama Canal Zone for New London, Connecticut.

22 Jan 1945
USS Sailfish (Lt.Cdr. L. Marcy, USN) arrived at New London, Connecticut.

4 Jun 1945
USS Sailfish (Lt.Cdr. L. Marcy, USN) departed New London, Connecticut for Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

9 Jun 1945
USS Sailfish (Lt.Cdr. L. Marcy, USN) arrived at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba from New London, Connecticut.

9 Aug 1945
USS Sailfish (Lt.Cdr. L. Marcy, USN) departed Guantanamo Bay, Cuba for the Philadelphia Navy Yard.

14 Aug 1945
USS Sailfish (Lt.Cdr. L. Marcy, USN) arrived at the Philadelphia Navy Yard from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Media links


A tale of two subs
Jonathan J. McCullough


amazon.co.uk
(£ 11.99)


The Terrible Hours
Maas, Peter


Back from the Deep
LaVO, Carl


U. S. Submarines in World War II
Kimmett, Larry and Regis, Margaret


U.S. Submarines Through 1945
Friedman, Norman


amazon.co.uk
(£ 56.95)

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