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USS S-30 (SS-135)
Encyclopedia
USS S-30 (SS-135) was an S-class submarine
United States S class submarine
The United States' S-class submarines, often simply called S-boats , were the first class of submarines built to a United States Navy design....
of the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
S-30 was laid down on 1 April 1918 by the Union Iron Works
Union Iron Works
Union Iron Works, located in San Francisco, California, on the southeast waterfront, was a central business within the large industrial zone of Potrero Point, for four decades at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries.-History:...
at San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
. She was launched
Ship naming and launching
The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...
on 21 November 1918 sponsored by Mrs. Edward S. Stalnaker, and commissioned
Ship commissioning
Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...
on 29 October 1920 with Lieutenant Commander Stuart E. Bray in command.
Service history
Based at San Pedro, California, with her home yard at Mare IslandMare Island
Mare Island is a peninsula in the United States alongside the city of Vallejo, California, about northeast of San Francisco. The Napa River forms its eastern side as it enters the Carquinez Strait juncture with the east side of San Pablo Bay. Mare Island is considered a peninsula because no full...
, S-30 conducted tests and exercises off the California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
coast into the summer of 1921. Then, on 15 August, she was placed in ordinary. Recommissioned in full on 14 February 1922, she was ordered to New London, Connecticut
New London, Connecticut
New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States.It is located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, southeastern Connecticut....
, where she was placed in ordinary again on 21 June for engine alterations by the prime contractor, the Electric Boat
Electric boat
While a significant majority of water vessels are powered by diesel engines, with sail power and gasoline engines also remaining popular, boats powered by electricity have been used for over 120 years. Electric boats were very popular from the 1880s until the 1920s, when the internal combustion...
Company.
Trials and exercises off the southern New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
coast followed her recommissioning in full on 21 November; and, in January 1923, she moved south to the Caribbean Sea
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
to participate in winter maneuvers and Fleet Problem I, conducted to test the defenses of the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
Zone. In April, she returned to California and resumed operations off that coast with her division, Submarine Division (SubDiv) 16. During the winter of 1924, she again participated in fleet exercises and problems in the Canal Zone and in the Caribbean and, in the winter of 1925, she prepared for transfer to the Asiatic Fleet.
S-30 departed Mare Island, with her division, in mid-April. During May, she conducted exercises and underwent upkeep in the Hawaiian Islands
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
; and, on 16 June, she continued on to the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. On 12 July, she arrived at the Submarine Base, Cavite
Cavite
Cavite is a province of the Philippines located on the southern shores of Manila Bay in the CALABARZON region in Luzon, just 30 kilometers south of Manila. Cavite is surrounded by Laguna to the east, Metro Manila to the northeast, and Batangas to the south...
, Luzon
Luzon
Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
, whence she operated until 1932. Her division rotated between exercises and patrols in the Philippines during the winter and operations off the China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
coast during the summer. In 1932, her division was ordered back to the eastern Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
; and, on 2 May, she departed Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
for Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
, her home port until transferred back to the East Coast in 1937.
Sailing from Pearl Harbor on 19 May 1937, S-30 arrived at New London on 8 August. For the next year and one-half, she trained along the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
seaboard. Then, in May 1939, she was placed in commission, in reserve. On 1 September 1940, she was returned to full commission.
World War II
As World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
began its second year, German U-boat
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
s were raiding shipping in the western Atlantic and the Caribbean. The American S-boat
United States S class submarine
The United States' S-class submarines, often simply called S-boats , were the first class of submarines built to a United States Navy design....
s, designed in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, were assigned to Submarines, Patrol Force (Submarines, Atlantic Fleet after February 1941) and were carrying out multipurpose missions which involved training and development of tactical skills.
First, Second, and Third (Defensive) War Patrols
S-30, homeported at New London, operated along the mid-Atlantic and northeast coasts into the spring of 1941. She then served briefly in the BermudaBermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
area; returned to New London; and, in early July, proceeded to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, for overhaul. In September, she emerged from the yard; returned to New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
; and resumed submarine and antisubmarine warfare training operations.
She continued those duties in the Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound is an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean, located in the United States between Connecticut to the north and Long Island, New York to the south. The mouth of the Connecticut River at Old Saybrook, Connecticut, empties into the sound. On its western end the sound is bounded by the Bronx...
, Narragansett Bay
Narragansett Bay
Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound. Covering 147 mi2 , the Bay forms New England's largest estuary, which functions as an expansive natural harbor, and includes a small archipelago...
, Casco Bay
Casco Bay
Casco Bay is an inlet of the Gulf of Maine on the southern coast of Maine, New England, United States. Its easternmost approach is Cape Small and its westernmost approach is Two Lights in Cape Elizabeth...
, and Placentia Bay
Placentia Bay
Placentia Bay is a body of water on the southeast coast of Newfoundland, Canada. It is formed by Burin Peninsula on the west and Avalon Peninsula on the east. Fishing grounds in the bay were used by native people long before the first European fishermen arrived in the 16th century. For a time, the...
areas, until after the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
officially entered the war. With 1942, however defensive patrols were added to her duties, and her division, SubDiv 52, was reassigned to the Panama Canal Zone. Departing New London on 31 January, she hunted for enemy submarines along her route which took her via Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
and Mona Passage
Mona Passage
The Mona Passage is a strait that separates the islands of Hispaniola and Puerto Rico. The Mona Passage connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Caribbean Sea, and is an important shipping route between the Atlantic and the Panama Canal....
into the Caribbean Sea
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
. On 16 February, she arrived at Coco Solo
Coco Solo
Coco Solo was a United States Navy submarine base established in 1918 on the Atlantic Ocean side of the Panama Canal Zone, near Colón, Panama....
, whence she conducted two defensive patrols in the western approaches to the canal, from 10–31 March and from 14 April to 13 May, before she was ordered to California to prepare for service in the Aleutian Islands. Into July, she underwent repairs at San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
; and, at mid-month, she started for Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
. While en route, engine trouble forced her into Mare Island
Mare Island
Mare Island is a peninsula in the United States alongside the city of Vallejo, California, about northeast of San Francisco. The Napa River forms its eastern side as it enters the Carquinez Strait juncture with the east side of San Pablo Bay. Mare Island is considered a peninsula because no full...
, and, on 1 August, she headed north again.
Fourth War Patrol (First Offensive)
On 12 August, S-30 departed the submarine base at Dutch Harbor, Unalaska, on her first offensive war patrol. Moving through fog, she arrived off Attu IslandAttu Island
Attu is the westernmost and largest island in the Near Islands group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, making it the westernmost point of land relative to Alaska and the United States. It was the site of the only World War II land battle fought on the incorporated territory of the United States ,...
on 16 August; sighted only the hazy outline of Cape Wrangell
Cape Wrangell
Cape Wrangell is the westernmost point of the U.S. state of Alaska from the geographic center of the United States. It is located on the island of Attu which is situated in the Near Islands.-External links:*...
; and continued on to patrol across the anticipated Japanese shipping lanes between that island and the northern Kuril Islands
Kuril Islands
The Kuril Islands , in Russia's Sakhalin Oblast region, form a volcanic archipelago that stretches approximately northeast from Hokkaidō, Japan, to Kamchatka, Russia, separating the Sea of Okhotsk from the North Pacific Ocean. There are 56 islands and many more minor rocks. It consists of Greater...
. On the afternoon of 7 September, she was attacked by three enemy destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
s some ten miles north of the cape and, in that two and one-half hour encounter, gained her first close experience with Japanese depth charge
Depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...
s. Three days later, she turned for home.
Fifth War Patrol
On 24 September, S-30 got underway for her fifth war patrol, her second in the Aleutians. A cracked cylinder in her port engine forced her back to Dutch Harbor on 27 September; and, on 30 September, she again moved west. On 3 October, she entered her patrol area and commenced hunting enemy ships along traffic lanes west of KiskaKiska
Kiska is an island in the Rat Islands group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska located at . It is about long and varies in width from - Discovery :...
; but, by 9 October, additional engineering casualties, cracks, and leaks had developed and forced her to return to Unalaska. From there, the submarine was ordered to San Diego for an overhaul. During her yard period, she received a fathometer, a new distilling unit, and more up-to-date radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
equipment. Then, from mid-February 1943 into March, she provided training services to the West Coast Sound School. On 16 March, she sailed for Dutch Harbor.
Sixth War Patrol
Following the submarine's arrival in the Aleutians on 21 March, air compressor failure and malfunctioning of her fathometer delayed her departure until 13 April. She then headed for Attu. On 15 April, she crossed the 180th meridian180th meridian
The 180th meridian or antimeridian is the meridian which is 180° east or west of the Prime Meridian passing through the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. It is common to both east longitude and west longitude. It is used as the basis for the International Date Line because it for the most part passes...
and, keeping Dutch Harbor dates, arrived at her destination on 17 April. For the next few days, she reconnoitered and, when possible photographed the island's principal coves, bays, and harbors. On 26 April, she was ordered to the east of 176°E
176th meridian east
The meridian 176° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, New Zealand, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
and south of 52°40'N, where she remained until after an Allied strike against Attu. The next afternoon, she returned to the island but was unable to determine the extent of damage inflicted.
Seventh War Patrol
On 2 May, S-30 departed the area; returned to Dutch Harbor for refit; and, on 24 May, sailed west again, this time for the northern Kurils. On 31 May (Dutch Harbor date), she entered her assigned area; and, on 5 June, off the Kamchatka peninsulaKamchatka Peninsula
The Kamchatka Peninsula is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of . It lies between the Pacific Ocean to the east and the Sea of Okhotsk to the west...
, she attacked her first target, a large sampan
Sampan
A sampan is a relatively flat bottomed Chinese wooden boat from long. Some sampans include a small shelter on board, and may be used as a permanent habitation on inland waters. Sampans are generally used for transportation in coastal areas or rivers, and are often used as traditional fishing boats...
. Her guns set the enemy vessel on fire; but, as it burned, a Japanese destroyer appeared on the horizon and began closing the surfaced submarine at high speed. Three minutes later, the destroyer opened fire on the diving S-boat
United States S class submarine
The United States' S-class submarines, often simply called S-boats , were the first class of submarines built to a United States Navy design....
.
S-30 commenced an approach on the destroyer, but just as she reached firing bearing, she lost depth control. A few seconds later, depth charging started. In the next 20 minutes, 33 "ashcans" were dropped by the destroyer. Others followed sporadically over the next five hours. S-30 was then able to clear the area. On 6 June, the ship's force repaired all minor damage and commenced efforts to remove two torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
es which had been crushed in the number-three and number-four tubes. The one in the latter tube was removed on 7 June, but the one in the number-three tube remained until the completion of the patrol.
On 8 June, S-30 headed down the Paramushiro coast; approached Onekotan
Onekotan
Onekotan Island is an uninhabited volcanic island located near the northern end of the Kuril Islands chain in the Sea of Okhotsk in the northwest Pacific Ocean. Its name is derived from the Ainu language for "large village".-Geology:...
; then transited Onekotan Strait and set a course for Araito. During the next two days, she sighted four targets but was able to close only the last two, merchantmen in column, contacted on 10 June (the 11th local date). Fog closed in rapidly as she made her approach; then blanketed the area as she launched three torpedoes. Two explosions were heard, but nothing could be seen. Post-war examination of Japanese records revealed that she had sunk Jinbu Maru, a 5228-ton cargo ship.
During the ensuing depth charging, S-30 began to move out of the area. Within two and one-half hours, she had left the pinging of the searchers behind and had resumed her own hunting. On 12 June, she retransited Onekotan Strait. The following day, she fired on a convoy, but missed. On 14 June, she departed the area; and, on 22 June, she returned to Dutch Harbor to begin extracting the damaged torpedo and commence refitting.
Eighth War Patrol
On 5 July, S-30 got underway on her eighth war patrol, which took her back to the Kurils and into the Sea of OkhotskSea of Okhotsk
The Sea of Okhotsk is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, lying between the Kamchatka Peninsula on the east, the Kuril Islands on the southeast, the island of Hokkaidō to the far south, the island of Sakhalin along the west, and a long stretch of eastern Siberian coast along the west and...
. She patrolled on both sides of the island chain and across the traffic lanes leading to Soya Strait and to Yokosuka. She took periscope pictures of facilities on various islands. She sighted several targets, but was unable to close on most and was unsuccessful on those she attacked. On 20 July, she attacked what appeared to be an inter-island steamer, but which turned straight down the torpedo track and dropped six depth charges in quick succession. S-30 went deep, reloaded and prepared to reattack. The target, however, was lost in the fog.
S-30 continued her patrol. A week later, she sent three torpedoes against a Japanese merchantman estimated at 7000 tons. Two hits, breaking-up noises, and distant depth charging were reported by the sound operator, but the damage went unverified. Four days later, she attacked another cargoman under similar circumstances. One torpedo was reported to have hit. Screw noises from the target stopped, breaking-up noises were heard, and periscope observation showed no ship at the site of the attack. But any damage which might have been inflicted was never verified.
Ninth War Patrol
S-30 left the Kurils behind and headed east on 7 August. Two days later, she arrived in Massacre BayMassacre Bay
Massacre Bay is an inlet on the southeast coast of the island of Attu in the Aleutian Islands in Alaska.Massacre Bay was among the landing sites of United States Army troops in the Battle of Attu in May 1943, which led to the recapture of the island from the Japanese during World War...
, Attu
Attu Island
Attu is the westernmost and largest island in the Near Islands group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, making it the westernmost point of land relative to Alaska and the United States. It was the site of the only World War II land battle fought on the incorporated territory of the United States ,...
, whence she conducted her last war patrol. On that patrol, from 26 August to 23 September, she again hunted in the shipping lanes along the eastern and western sides of the Kurils. Again, several targets were lost in fog; nevertheless, she took pictures of the islands. Then, in mid-September, she added a new dimension to her activities and attempted to shell the enemy garrison on Matsuwa. Fog had interfered with an earlier attempt to bombard that post, but cleared off early on the morning of 15 September (local date) as she neared the firing point with her crew at battle stations. But, when the order to fire was given, the gun failed to respond. A new firing pin was a fraction of an inch too short, and the effort had to be abandoned.
Retirement
The following day, S-30 was ordered home. En route, on 17 September she was sighted and bombed by a Japanese patrol plane. Failure of the port motor at that moment caused anxiety; but the submarine escaped serious damage. On 23 September, she arrived at Dutch Harbor. Within the week, she headed south to San Diego, where, with others of her class, she provided training services for the West Coast Sound School for the remainder of World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. In mid-September 1945, she proceeded to Mare Island, where she was decommissioned on 9 October. Fifteen days later, her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register
Naval Vessel Register
The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...
, and, in December 1946, she was sold and delivered to the Salco Iron and Metal Company, San Francisco, for scrapping.
S-30 was awarded two battle stars for her World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
service.