 USSArgonaut underway. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USSArgonaut |
| Builder | Portsmouth Naval Shipyard,Kittery, Maine[1] |
| Laid down | 1 May 1925[1] |
| Launched | 10 November 1927[1] |
| Commissioned | 2 April 1928[1] |
| Fate | Sunk by Japanesedestroyers offRabaul on 10 January 1943[2] |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | V-4 (Argonaut)-class composite direct-drivediesel anddiesel-electricsubmarine[2] |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 358 ft (109 m) (waterline),[5] 381 ft (116 m)[4] (overall) |
| Beam | 33 ft 9.5 in (10.300 m)[4] |
| Draft | 16 ft .25 in (4.8832 m)[4] |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | |
| Range | 8,000 nmi (9,200 mi; 15,000 km) at 10 kn (12 mph; 19 km/h);[4] 18,000 nmi (21,000 mi; 33,000 km) @ 10 kn (12 mph; 19 km/h) with fuel in mainballast tanks[4] |
| Endurance | 10 hours @ 5 kn (5.8 mph; 9.3 km/h)[4] |
| Test depth | 300 ft (91 m)[4] |
| Capacity | 173,875 US gal (658,190 L) diesel fuel[9] |
| Complement |
|
| Armament |
|
| Notes | Two Battle stars |
USSArgonaut (V-4/SF-7/SM-1/A-1/APS-1/SS-166) was asubmarine of theUnited States Navy, the first boat to carry the name.Argonaut was laid down asV-4 on 1 May 1925 atPortsmouth Navy Yard. She waslaunched on 10 November 1927,sponsored by Mrs. Philip Mason Sears, the daughter ofRear Admiral William D. MacDougall, andcommissioned on 2 April 1928. Although never officially designated as "SS-166", at some point she displayed this number on her conning tower.[11]
She was sunk by Japanesedestroyers while engaging their convoy nearRabaul inOceania on 10 January 1943, with the loss of 102 lives.[2]
V-4 was the first of the second generation ofV-boats commissioned in the late 1920s, which remain the largest non-nuclear submarines ever built by the United States.V-4 was the behemoth of its class. These submarines were exempt by special agreement from the armament and tonnage limitations of the 1922Washington Naval Treaty. Her configuration, and that of the followingV-5 andV-6, resulted from an evolving strategic concept that increasingly emphasized the possibility of a naval war with Japan in the far western Pacific. This factor, and the implications of the 1922 Washington Naval Treaty, suggested the need for long-range submarine "cruisers", or "strategic scouts", as well as long-range minelayers, for which long endurance, not high speed, was most important. The design was possibly influenced by the German "U-cruisers" of theType U-139 andType U-151U-boat classes, althoughV-4,V-5, andV-6 were all larger than these.V-4 and hernear-sistersV-5 (Narwhal) andV-6 (Nautilus) were initially designed with larger and more powerfulMAN-designed diesel engines than theBusch-Sulzer engines that propelled earlier V-boats, which were failures. The specially built engines failed to produce their design power, and some developed dangerous crankcase explosions.V-4 was ultimately completed with smaller MAN diesels of 1,400 hp (1,000 kW), compared with 2,350 hp (1,750 kW) forV-5 andV-6. The smaller diesels were required to allow sufficient space for mine storage.
The engine specifications as built were twoBuEng-manufactured,MAN-designed direct-drive 6-cylinder4-cycle maindiesel engines, 1,400 hp (1,000 kW) each.[4][6] A BuEng MAN 6-cylinder 4-cycle auxiliary diesel engine of 450 hp (340 kW), driving aRidgway[7] 300 kW (400 hp)[7]electric generator,[4][6] was provided for charging batteries or for additionaldiesel-electric propulsion power.
A more successful propulsion improvement inV-4 was the replacement of earlier submarines' pairs of 60-cellbatteries with a pair of 120-cell batteries, thus doubling the available voltage to the electric motors when submerged. This battery configuration would be standard until theGUPPY program following World War II.V-4 and her sisters were slow in diving and, when submerged, were unwieldy and slower than designed. They also presented an excellent target for surface shipsonar and had a large turning radius.
For the first time in U.S. submarine construction, the Portsmouth Navy Yard utilized welding during the assembly process. Led by Navy welding expert James W. Owens, welding was used in non-critical areas such as the superstructure, piping brackets, and support framing.V-4 ended up being built to a mixed method construction, with both the inner and outer hulls still riveted. Owens was eager to expand the use of welding in ship construction, and its use onV-4 was entirely successful. All subsequent submarines built for the USN used welding to some extent, with the method adopted in whole in 1936.[12]
Designed primarily as a minelayer, and built at a cost ofUS$6,150,000,[10]V-4 was the first and only such specialized type ever built by the United States. She had fourtorpedo tubes forward and two minelaying tubes aft. At the time of construction,V-4 was the largest submarine ever built in the U.S., and was the largest in U.S. Navy service for 30 years.[10]
Her minelaying arrangements were "highly ingenious, but extremely complicated",[10] filling two aft compartments.[10] A compensating tube ran down the center of the two spaces, to make up for the lost weight as mines were laid, as well as to store eight additional mines.[10] The other mines were racked in three groups around this tube, two in the fore compartment, one aft,[10] with a hydraulically driven rotating cage between them.[10] Mines were moved by hydraulic worm shafts, the aft racks connecting directly to the launch tubes,[10] which had vertically sliding hydraulic doors[10] (rather than the usual hinged ones of torpedo tubes). Each launch tube was normally loaded with four mines,[10] and a water 'round mines (WRM) tube flooded to compensate as they were laid, then pumped into the compensating tube.[13] Eight mines could be laid in 10 minutes.[14]
Following commissioning,V-4 served with Submarine Division 12 based atNewport, Rhode Island.
She proved perennially underpowered, but engine replacement was postponed by war,[10] and herMAN diesels were a constant source of trouble.[15]
In January–February 1929,V-4 underwent a series of trials offProvincetown, Massachusetts. On a trial dive during this period, she submerged to a depth of 318 ft (97 m). This mark was the greatest depth an American submarine had reached up to that time. On 26 February 1929,V-4 was assigned to Submarine Division 20 (SubDiv 20), and arrived atSan Diego, California on 23 March. From there, she participated in battle exercises and made cruises along the West Coast.
In 1931, theV-4 was heavily featured inSeas Beneath, an American action film directed by John Ford. TheV-4 was repainted to appear as a World War I German submarine, the fictional 'U-172'.Argonaut also appeared as a German World War I U-boat in the post-Code 1931 filmSuicide Fleet, about three US Navy sailors on a schooner submarine decoy Q-ship and their liberty adventures pursuing a beautiful Coney Island concessionaire. In this film she appeared as the 'U-200.'Suicide Fleet starred William Boyd, who later found fame as Hopalong Cassidy, and featured a very youngGinger Rogers as the love interest in one of her first featured roles.
V-4 was renamedArgonaut on 19 February 1931, and redesignatedSM-1 (submarine, minelayer) on 1 July. On 30 June 1932, she arrived atPearl Harbor, where she was assigned to SubDiv 7. She carried out minelaying operations, patrol duty, and other routine work. In October 1934 and again in May 1939,Argonaut took part in joint Army-Navy exercises in the Hawaiian operating area.Argonaut became theflagship ofSubmarine Squadron 4 (SubRon 4). The submarine returned to the West Coast in April 1941 to participate in fleet tactical exercises.
On 28 November 1941Argonaut, commanded byStephen G. Barchet[16] leftPearl Harbor to patrol aroundMidway Island withUSS Trout as Midway Defense Group 7.2. She was notified by radio of theJapaneseattack on Pearl Harbor when she surfaced a few minutes after sunset on 7 December.Argonaut set general quarters two hours later to investigate naval gunfire around Midway. While designed as a minelayer and not an attack submarine,Argonaut made the first wartime approach on enemy naval forces; but poor maneuverability prevented reaching a suitable position for surfaced torpedo launch against the two Japanesedestroyers shelling Midway. One of the destroyers sawArgonaut as she dived to make a submerged second approach in the bright moonlight; but the destroyer was unable to locate the submerged submarine, andArgonaut was again unable to maneuver into position to launch torpedoes. After being held down all night,Argonaut surfaced at dawn to recharge batteries and was unsuccessfully bombed by a United States plane from Midway.[17]
Argonaut's dehumidifiers were ineffective at preventing condensation, which caused electrical fires, making various pieces of electrical machinery inoperative. Three crewmen were sick with high fevers, but President Roosevelt's mention ofArgonaut's contribution to the war effort in a radio speech encouraged Barchet to resist the temptation to abort the patrol. By trimming the submarine 17 tons heavy, the crew was able to reduce diving time to 52 seconds by skillfully coordinated pumping between fore and aft ballast tanks; but that time was still considered too slow to avoid hostile aircraft.Argonaut successfully rendezvoused withUSS Litchfield at 06:00 20 January 1942, so the destroyer could escort her back to Pearl Harbor.[17]
On 22 January 1942, she returned to Pearl Harbor and, after a brief stop, proceeded toMare Island Naval Shipyard for major overhaul. While there, her diesels were replaced withGeneral MotorsWinton 12-258Ss totaling 4,800 hp (3,600 kW)[14] with hydraulic drive through reduction gears,[8] and her minelaying gear was removed to prepare for conversion to a troop transport submarine.[10] The auxiliary diesel generator was replaced by a 300 kW (400 hp) GM Winton 8-268A and a 150 kW (200 hp) GM Winton 4-268A.[8] She was also fitted with aTorpedo Data Computer[14] (lack of which likely inhibited her ability to score with torpedoes), new electronics,[14] and two external stern torpedo tubes on the after casing, along with two stern deck stowage tubes. It appears she was not fitted with bow external torpedo tubes, as wereNarwhal andNautilus, as photos taken after the refit do not show them.[14][18][19] On return to Pearl Harbor, the conversion to a troop transport submarine was "hastily" finished.[14]
Argonaut returned to action in the South Pacific in August.AdmiralChester W. Nimitz assignedArgonaut andNautilus to transport and landMarine Raiders onMakin Island in theGilbert Islands for theMakin Raid. This move was designed to relieve pressure on American forces that had just landed onGuadalcanal. On 8 August, the two submarines embarked 120[14] troops of Companies A and B,2nd Raider Battalion, and got underway for Makin. Conditions during the transit were unpleasant, and most of the marines became seasick. The convoy arrived off Makin on 16 August, and at 03:30 the next day the Marines began landing. Their rubber rafts were swamped by the sea and most of the outboard motors drowned. The Japanese—either forewarned or extraordinarily alert—were ready for the Americans' arrival. Snipers were hidden in the trees, and the landing beaches were in front of the Japanese forces instead of behind them as planned. However, by midnight of 18 August, the Japanese garrison of about 85 men was wiped out; radio stations, fuel, and other supplies and installations were destroyed, and all but 30 of the troops had been recovered.
Argonaut arrived back in Pearl Harbor on 26 August. Herhull classification symbol was changed from SM-1 toAPS-1 (transport submarine) on 22 September. She was never formally designatedSS-166, but that hull number was reserved for her and a photo shows she occasionally displayed it.[2][18] Her base of operations was transferred toBrisbane, Queensland, later in the year. In December, she departed Brisbane under Lieutenant Commander John R. Pierce to patrol the hazardous area betweenNew Britain andBougainville Island, south ofBismarck Archipelago. On 2 January 1943,Argonaut sank the JapanesegunboatEbon Maru in the Bismarck Sea.[20] On 10 January,Argonaut spotted aconvoy of five freighters and their escortingdestroyers – Maikaze,Isokaze, andHamakaze – returning to Rabaul from Lae. By chance, aUnited States Army Air Forces (USAAF) aircraft – which was out of bombs – was flying overhead and witnessedArgonaut's attack. A crewman on board the plane saw one destroyer hit by atorpedo, and the destroyers promptly counterattacking.Argonaut's bow suddenly broke the water at an unusual angle. It was apparent that adepth charge had severely damaged the submarine. The destroyers continued circlingArgonaut, pumping shells into her; she slipped below the waves and was never heard from again.[14] One hundred and two officers and men went down with her, the worst loss of life for an American submarine in wartime.[21] Her name was stricken from theNaval Vessel Register on 26 February.
Japanese reports made available at the end of the war recorded a depth charge attack followed by gunfire, at which time they "destroyed the top of the sub".
On the basis of the report given by the USAAF flier who witnessed the attack in whichArgonaut sank, she was credited with damaging a Japanese destroyer on her last patrol. (Postwar, theJANAC accounting gave her none.) Since none of the histories of the three escorting destroyers reports damage on 10 January 1943, the destroyer "hit" may have been apremature explosion.[22][23][24]
Before her crew left for their third war patrol, they donatedArgonaut's bell. Nearly 20 months after her loss, theSubmarine Memorial Chapel was built and dedicated on the Submarine Base in Pearl Harbor. The bell hanging in her steeple comes fromArgonaut, and still rings today for services.
  |  |  |
| American Defense Service Medal with "FLEET" clasp | Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with twobattle stars | World War II Victory Medal |
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in January 1943 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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5°40′14″S153°54′56″E / 5.67056°S 153.91556°E /-5.67056; 153.91556
