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USS S-45 (SS-156)
Encyclopedia
USS S-45 (SS-156) was a third-group (S-42) 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...
. Her keel was laid down on 29 December 1920 by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation
Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation
Bethlehem Steel Corporation Shipbuilding Division was created in 1905 when Bethlehem Steel Corporation acquired the San Francisco shipyard Union Iron Works in 1905...
in Quincy, Massachusetts
Quincy, Massachusetts
Quincy is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Its nicknames are "City of Presidents", "City of Legends", and "Birthplace of the American Dream". As a major part of Metropolitan Boston, Quincy is a member of Boston's Inner Core Committee for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council...
. 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 26 June 1923 sponsored by Mrs. Charles Hibbard, and delivered 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 31 March 1925 with Lieutenant Edwin F. Cochrane in command.
Service history
Completing shakedown exercises off the southern New EnglandNew 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, S-45 departed 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....
, on 9 June 1925. Nineteen days later, she joined Submarine Division (SubDiv) 19 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....
, Canal Zone, and commenced type exercises and joint United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
-United States Navy maneuvers in 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...
area. During the next two years, only Fleet Problems VI and VII took her out of her normal operating area. In May 1927, the 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....
moved northwest to 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...
for overhaul, then began operations out of 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...
.
The following spring, S-45 participated in Fleet Problem VIII, a convoy and antisubmarine search and contact problem conducted en route between 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...
, and Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...
. During the winter of 1929, she returned to the Panama Canal Zone for Fleet Problem IX.
In December 1930, S-45 was transferred a third time; and, on 12 December, she arrived at her new home port, 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...
, whence she operated, with SubDiv 11, on a schedule of exercises and fleet problems similar to those followed previously for the next year and one half. In September 1932, she joined Rotating Reserve Division 14 and, for the next several years alternated active service with Division 11 and reserve status in Division 14.
In March 1936, the boats of SubDiv 11 were ordered back to Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
. They participated in Fleet Problem XVII en route and arrived at Coco Solo, their new home port, on 22 May. For the next four years, they maintained a schedule similar to previous tours in the Canal Zone.
With the new decade, 1940, and the expansion of hostilities in Europe and Asia, the schedule was varied. Exercises and patrols in the vital canal area were stepped up, and plans were made to overhaul and modernize the old S-boats. On 15 May 1941, S-45 got underway for 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,...
. There, she received new equipment, exclusive of air-conditioning, and a complete overhaul. By August, she was off the New England coast for simulated war patrol exercises, and, in October, she moved south to 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...
for patrol and antisubmarine warfare training duties.
First two defensive patrols
After the 7 December attack on Pearl HarborAttack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
, S-45 returned to Panama and assumed patrol duties in the approaches to the canal. By 1 February 1942, she had conducted two defensive patrols, during which her crew became even better acquainted with the defects in the 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 she carried and with the limited wartime capabilities of boats of her class.
Then, as the Japanese thrust toward Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
continued, the Panama S-boats prepared to assist in defensive efforts in the southwestern Pacific. In March, S-45 and her division, now SubDiv 53, headed west. In mid-April, they arrived at Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
; and, on 12 May, S-45 departed Moreton Bay
Moreton Bay
Moreton Bay is a bay on the eastern coast of Australia 45 km from Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of Queensland's most important coastal resources...
on her first offensive war patrol.
First war patrol
Assigned to the BougainvilleBougainville Island
Bougainville Island is the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville of Papua New Guinea. This region is also known as Bougainville Province or the North Solomons. The population of the province is 175,160 , which includes the adjacent island of Buka and assorted outlying islands...
-Buka
Buka Island
Buka Island is the second largest island in the Papua New Guinean province of Bougainville.- History :Buka was first occupied by humans in paleolithic times, some 30,000 years ago...
-New Ireland
New Ireland (island)
New Ireland is a large island in Papua New Guinea, approximately 7,404 km² in area. It is the largest island of the New Ireland Province, lying northeast of the island of New Britain. Both islands are part of the Bismarck Archipelago, named after Otto von Bismarck, and they are separated by...
area, she remained on patrol into mid-June, unable to score against Japanese shipping and unable to contact an agent on Cape Sena. On 19 June, she returned to Brisbane, where an overhaul brought the installation of temporary air conditioning and corrected some of the defects in the engines, the radio transmitter, and the bow planes which had hampered her during her recent patrol. On 26 August, she headed back to the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
. By the end of the month, she was on station in the Shortland Island
Shortland Island
Shortland Island is the largest island of the Shortland Islands, Solomon Islands, at . Named by John Shortland....
area. Numerous targets were sighted; but, due to frequent squalls and her own limitations, she was unable to press home an attack.
Second war patrol
On 5 September, she was ordered to the Trobriand IslandsTrobriand Islands
The Trobriand Islands are a 450 km² archipelago of coral atolls off the eastern coast of New Guinea. They are situated in Milne Bay Province in Papua New Guinea. Most of the population of 12,000 indigenous inhabitants live on the main island of Kiriwina, which is also the location of the...
to intercept enemy shipping bound for Milne Bay
Milne Bay
Milne Bay is a large bay in Milne Bay Province, southeastern Papua New Guinea. The bay is named after Sir Alexander Milne.The area was a site of the Battle of Milne Bay in 1942....
, but her luck was no better there.
On 12 September, S-45 sighted, closed, and attempted to fire a bow shot at a cruiser
Cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...
. As the outer doors were opened, she became heavy forward, and depth control was lost. Periscope depth was soon regained but could not be held. The sound operators lost the target in S-45’s own noises; and, by the time control was regained, the target had passed firing bearing. The submarine swung to a new track to pursue. Depth control was again lost. Another battle for control of the boat was won but too late for S-45 to score.
Third war patrol
S-45 returned to Moreton Bay on 23 September. By 27 October, she was back in the Shortland IslandShortland Island
Shortland Island is the largest island of the Shortland Islands, Solomon Islands, at . Named by John Shortland....
area and, on 2 November, her presence near Fauro Island
Fauro Island
Fauro Island is an island, part of the Shortland Islands, Solomon Islands, located at ....
was detected by the enemy. Explosions were heard, but none was close. The next morning, prior to daylight, she was sighted by a 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...
as she was preparing for a surface shot.
The destroyer swung left to ram; S-45 swung right, submerged, and rigged for depth charging. Within minutes, the explosions, close aboard portside, were felt. Varying her depth and course, the S-boat reached 200 feet (60 m). Her evasive maneuvering was successful, and she retired south. The destroyer continued to circle on the surface near the initial contact point. By daylight, a second destroyer had joined the first; and, for the next three hours, the two surface ships were heard, alternately close, then fading out. After 09:30, no further pinging was heard. Little damage had been done, but pressure in the boat was high, a result of blowing and venting tanks. The high pressure, in turn, caused the depth gauge to register low.
By 4 November, poor weather had set in; and, on 6 November, the boat cleared the area, setting course for Suva
Suva
Suva features a tropical rainforest climate under the Koppen climate classification. The city sees a copious amount of precipitation during the course of the year. Suva averages 3,000 mm of precipitation annually with its driest month, July averaging 125 mm of rain per year. In fact,...
and 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...
. Arriving at the latter on 6 January 1943, she underwent voyage repairs, then received orders to Saint Thomas, United States Virgin Islands, for training duty. On arrival, she was ordered back to Coco Solo, whence she continued on to San Diego and a three-month tour with the West Coast Sound School. Overhaul followed, and on 19 November, she got underway for the Aleutian Islands.
Fourth war patrol
S-45 arrived at Dutch Harbor on 2 December 1943. Training and minor repairs occupied the remainder of the month; and, on 31 December, she departed the eastern Aleutians for AttuAttu 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 ,...
. There, she topped off and continued on to the 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...
, encountering strong winds and heavy seas as she moved west. On 12 January 1944, she lost her antennae in a storm and, on 13 January, she arrived in her patrol area, the Ominato-Paramushiro convoy routes.
Hunting was again poor; and, on 28 January, she returned to Attu. Two days later, while charging batteries
Battery (electricity)
An electrical battery is one or more electrochemical cells that convert stored chemical energy into electrical energy. Since the invention of the first battery in 1800 by Alessandro Volta and especially since the technically improved Daniell cell in 1836, batteries have become a common power...
, she suffered an explosion in the after battery compartment. By 10 February, the debris had been removed and temporary repairs had been made. The next day, she moved east, arriving at Dutch Harbor on 14 February. From there, she returned to San Diego, completed repairs, then got underway, in June, to cross the Pacific. From mid-July to the end of the year, she conducted training exercises from Manus
Manus Island
Manus Island is part of Manus Province in northern Papua New Guinea and is the largest island of the Admiralty Islands. It is the fifth largest island in Papua New Guinea with an area of 2,100 km², measuring around 100 km × 30 km. According to the 2000 census, Manus Island had a...
in the Admiralty Islands
Admiralty Islands
The Admiralty Islands are a group of eighteen islands in the Bismarck Archipelago, to the north of New Guinea in the south Pacific Ocean. These are also sometimes called the Manus Islands, after the largest island. These rainforest-covered islands form part of Manus Province, the smallest and...
; then moved to Brisbane for repairs preparatory to returning to 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...
.
Retirement
S-45 arrived back at San Diego in early April 1945 and resumed operations for the West Coast Sound School. In September, after the formal end 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...
, she moved up to San Francisco where she was decommissioned on 30 October 1945. 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...
on 13 November 1945; and in December 1946, her hulk was sold for scrapping to the Salco Iron and Metal Company of San Francisco.