The Sinking, Rescue, and Salvage of USS Squalus

USS Squalus (SS-192), a Sargo-class submarine, was built at Portsmouth Navy Yard in Portsmouth N.H. and commissioned on March 1, 1939.

Squalus fitting out at Portsmouth (U.S. Navy photo)

After fitting out at the shipyard, the submarine began a series of test dives off the Isle of Shoals in early May. After successfully completing 18 dives, the boat made another trial dive on the morning of May 23, with a complement of 56 crew members and three civilian contractors. At 0740, just after the submarine submerged, the main engine air induction valve failed and water poured into the boat's after engine room. The submarine sank stern first to the bottom, coming to rest keel down in 40 fathoms (240 feet) of water.

During the disaster, 26 men were trapped and perished in the flooded after portion of the submarine. This left 32 crew members and one civilian alive in the forward compartments of the submarine. The survivors sent up a marker buoy and then began releasing red smoke bombs to the surface in an attempt to signal their distress.

USS Sculpin (SS-191), sent to the area later that morning, spotted a smoke bomb and marked the spot with a buoy. She was joined later that day by tug Penacook (YT-6), tug Wandank (AT-26), and Coast Guard vessels No. 158, No. 409, and No. 991. Divers and submarine experts, including the Experimental Diving Unit from Washington, DC, also converged on the location. During this preparatory period, the 32 survivors below spent a cold night trapped inside Squalus and began to suffer from the effects of chlorine gas released from the battery compartment.

"Sweating It Out" survivors wait in Squalus' forward torpedo room (watercolor by John Groth, Naval Historical Center)

The following morning, after the arrival of submarine rescue ship Falcon (ASR-2), a preliminary observation by a Navy diver determined a salvage operation was possible. At 1130, Falcon (ASR-2) began lowering the newly developed McCann rescue chamber--a revised version of a diving bell invented by Commander Charles B. Momsen--and at 1247 direct contact was established with the trapped crew. Over the next six hours, 25 survivors were brought to the surface in three trips by the rescue chamber. After serious difficulty with tangled cables, the fourth trip finally rescued the last seven survivors just after midnight on May 25. A fifth and final descent by the rescue chamber confirmed there were no remaining survivors on the submarine. (You can read the transcript of a lecture by Commander Momsen on the rescue and salvage operation at this link)

Four enlisted divers, Chief Machinist's Mate William Badders, Chief Boatswain's Mate Orson L. Crandall, Chief Metalsmith James H. McDonald and Chief Torpedoman John Mihalowski, earned the Medal of Honor for their work during the rescue and subsequent salvage. (You can read the citations for these divers at this link)

Naval authorities felt it was important to raise Squalus to find out why she sank, since she incorporated a succession of new design features. Over the next three months, determined salvage operations passed cables underneath the submarine's hull and attached pontoons on each side of the boat. After blowing the pontoons full of air, Squalus was finally raised and towed into the Portsmouth Navy Yard.

Squalus' bow breaks the surface during the salvage operation (U.S. Navy photo)

Following an investigation of the engine room compartments, the boat was formally decommissioned in November. The submarine was renamed Sailfish on 9 February 1940.

USS Sailfish

USS Sailfish went on to serve with distinction during World War II, making 12 War Patrols, earning 9 Battle Stars, and the Presidential Unit Citation.

After World War II, Sailfish was decommissioned at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on October 27, 1945. The bridge and conning tower of the submarine were removed and installed as a memorial to the men lost on Squalus at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on 11 November 1946.