USSSealion(SS-195)
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Builder | General Dynamics Electric Boat,Groton, Connecticut[1] |
| Laid down | 30 June 1938[1] |
| Launched | 25 May 1939[1] |
| Commissioned | 27 November 1939[1] |
| Fate | Scuttled atCaviteon 25 December 1941 after being damaged by Japanese aircraft on 10 December 1941[2] |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Sargo-classdiesel-electricsubmarine[2] |
| Displacement | 1,450 long tons (1,470 t) standard, surfaced,[3]2,350 tons (2,388 t) submerged[3] |
| Length | 310 ft 6 in (94.64 m)[3] |
| Beam | 26 ft 10 in (8.18 m)[3] |
| Draft | 16 ft7+1⁄2in (5.067 m)[3] |
| Propulsion | 4 ×General MotorsModel 16-248V16diesel enginesdrivingelectrical generators,[2][4]2 × 126-cellSargobatteries,[3]4 × high-speedGeneral Electricelectric motorswithreduction gears,[2]two shafts,[2]5,200shp(4.1 MW) surfaced,[2]2,740 shp (2.0 MW) submerged[2] |
| Speed | 21 kn (39 km/h) surfaced,[3]8.75 kn (16.21 km/h) submerged[3] |
| Range | 11,000 nmi (20,000 km) @ 10 kn (19 km/h)[3] |
| Endurance | 48 hours @ 2 kn (3.7 km/h) submerged[3] |
| Test depth | 250 ft (76 m)[3] |
| Complement | 5 officers, 54 enlisted[3] |
| Armament | 8 ×21 inch (533 mm)torpedo tubes(four forward, four aft; 24 torpedoes),[3]1 ×3 in (76 mm)/50caldeck gun,[3]four machine guns |
USSSealion(SS-195),aSargo-class submarine,was the first ship of theUnited States Navyto be named for thesea lion,any of several large,eared sealsnative to the Pacific.
Construction and commissioning
[edit]Sealion′skeelwaslaid downon 20 June 1938 by theElectric BoatCompany ofGroton,Connecticut.She waslaunchedon 25 May 1939,sponsoredby Mrs. Augusta K. Bloch, wife ofAdmiralClaude C. Bloch,Commander-in-Chief,United States Fleet,andcommissionedon 27 November 1939.
Service history
[edit]Followingshakedown,Sealion,assigned to SubmarineDivision17 (SubDiv 17), prepared for overseas deployment. In the spring of 1940, she sailed, with her division for thePhilippine Islands,arriving atCavitein the fall to commence operations as a unit of the Asiatic Fleet. Into October 1941, she ranged fromLuzoninto theSulu Archipelago,then, with her sister shipSeadragon,another submarine in SubDiv 202, she prepared for a regular overhaul at theCavite Navy Yard.By 8 December, her yard period had begun; and, two days later, she took two direct hits in the Japanese air raid which demolished the navy yard.
The first bomb struck the aft end of her conning tower and exploded outside the hull, over the control room. The second smashed through a main ballast tank and caused the pressure hull to explode in the aft engine room, killing the four men, Sterling Cecil Foster, Melvin Donald O'Connell, Ernest Ephrom Ogilvie, and Vallentyne Lester Paul, then working there. In addition, one crewman, Howard Firth, died while a POW.
Sealionflooded immediately and settled down by the stern with 40% of her main deck underwater and a 15-degree list to starboard. The destruction of the navy yard made repairs impossible, and she was ordered destroyed. All salvageable equipment was taken off,depth chargeswere placed inside, and on 25 December, the explosives were set off to prevent her from being made useful to the enemy.
Successor
[edit]Eli Thomas Reich,who wasexecutive officerandengineeronSealionwhen it was sunk, assumed command of the secondSealion(SS-315)in March 1944. Four of the six torpedoes thatSealion IIfired to sink theKongōcarried the names Foster, O'Connell, Paul and Ogilvie—the men who had been killed in the bombing of the firstSealionthree years earlier.
In popular culture
[edit]The sinking ofSealionwas incorporated into the plot of the 1959Cary GrantfilmOperation Petticoat,where the fictional submarineSea Tiger,also based atCavite,suffers a similar fate, although in the film she is re-floated and ordered toCebufor a complete refit, thereby setting the stage for the film's storyline.
In a graphic short story inEl Alamein no Shinden,Sealionstops the German invasion ofEngland,Operation Sealion,after Germans fire on her by accident while theUnited Stateswas still aneutral country.
References
[edit]- ^abcdFriedman, Norman (1995).U.S. Submarines Through 1945: An Illustrated Design History.Annapolis, Maryland:United States Naval Institute.pp. 285–304.ISBN1-55750-263-3.
- ^abcdefgBauer, K. Jack; Roberts, Stephen S. (1991).Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775–1990: Major Combatants.Westport, Connecticut:Greenwood Press. pp. 269–270.ISBN0-313-26202-0.
- ^abcdefghijklmnU.S. Submarines Through 1945pp. 305–311
- ^U.S. Submarines Through 1945pp. 202–204
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.The entry can be foundhere.
External links
[edit]14°29′24″N120°54′46″E/ 14.49000°N 120.91278°E
