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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive
Patch courtesy of
Don McGrogan, BMCS, USN (ret.)

S-33 (SS-138)
Commissioning - WW II Service

Radio Call Sign: November - India - Papa - Bravo
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Keel Laying - Sea Trials

S-18 Class Submarine: Laid down, 14 June 1918, at Union Iron Works, San Francisco, CA.; Launched, 5 December 1918; Commissioned, USS S-33 (SS-138), 18 April 1922; Decommissioned, 15 June 1922, at New London, CT.; Recommissioned, 21 December 1922, at New London; Decommissioned, 1 December 1937, at Philadelphia, PA.; Laid up in the Reserve Fleet at League Island; Recommissioned, 16 October 1940, at Philadelphia; Decommissioned, 23 October 1945, at San Francisco, CA.; Struck from the Naval Register, 1 November 1945; Final Disposition, sold for scrapping in 1946 to Salco Iron and Metal Co. S-33 was awarded one battle star for her services in World War II.

Specifications: Displacement, Surfaced: 854 t., Submerged: 1,062 t.; Length 219' 3" ; Beam 20' 8"; Draft 15' 11"(mean); Depth Limit 200'; Speed, Surfaced 14.5 kts, Submerged 11 kts; Complement, 4 Officers, 34 Enlisted; Armament, four 21" torpedo tubes, 12 torpedoes, one 4"/50 deck gun; Propulsion, diesel-electric, New London Ship & Engine diesel engines, HP 1200, Fuel Capacity, 41,192 gals.; Electro Dynamic Co., electric motors, Battery Cells, 120, twin propellers.
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SS 135 - 46 113k The S-boat was the culmination of E.B. single-hull design for the U.S. Navy. This is a typical unit of the S-30-41 (SS-135-46) group, as completed. Ballast trunks are indicated. Lines below the hull show the location of the fuel tanks forward & aft (the foremost two tanks of the after group are the lubricating oil tank & sump tank). Arrows indicate the two Fessenden oscillators under the boat's keel, fore & aft. Arrows in the bridge structure indicate the three periscopes (one in the conning tower, soon removed) the telescoping radio mast & the radio tube leading down into the radio room.
In the control room the wheels controlling the planes were on the port side: the three levers for the Kingston valves were on the opposite side, abaft the chart table. The radio room, (below the radio tube, into which the antenna leads ran) was set into the after port side of the control room.
Abaft the main motors were auxiliaries: the low pressure main ballast pump on the center-line, the high pressure main ballast pump on the starboard shaft, the motor for the Fessenden oscillator on the port shaft. 		Drawing & Text courtesy of U.S. Submarines Through 1945, An Illustrated Design History by Norman Friedman. Naval Institute Press.
SS 135, 138 & 125 188k Inboard alongside pier are the S-30 (SS-135), S-33(SS-138), and S-20 (SS-125), at the Groton CT, Navy Yard, 2 October 1923. US Navy photo # 19-N-8918, from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), courtesy of Daniel Dunham.
S-30-35 122k Beaver (AS-5) at Olongapo, Philippines, with six submarines alongside, in March 1929. The submarines are (from front to rear):
S-32 (SS-137),
S-35 (SS-140),
S-30 (SS-135),
S-33 (SS-138),
S-31 (SS-136), &
S-34 (SS-139).
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 59967.
S-30-35 128k Submarines at Olongapo Naval Station, Philippines. Crewmen posing with a 4"/50 deck gun on board a S-boat, March 1929, with another 4"/50 in the foreground. These submarines are probably S-30 (SS-135) and S-31 (SS-136).
Behind them are (from front to rear):
S-35 (SS-140),
S-33 (SS-138);
S-32 (SS-137);
and S-34 (SS-139).
Photographed from Beaver (AS-5). In the background is Pittsburgh (CA-4), in the Dewey drydock. 		U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 51830.
S-31, 33 & 32 262k Stern view of the S-31 (SS-136), S-33(SS-138), and S-32 (SS-137) (just visible) at Pearl Harbor circa mid 1930's. On the far left of the photo, on the other side of the pier, the bow of the Argonaut (SS-166) is just visible. The after superstructure skeg has already been cut away as part of a safety and maintenance program initiated after the S-4 (SS-109) disaster. Text courtesy of Dave Johnston. US Navy photo courtesy of Darryl Baker.
S-3317k Commemorative postal cover marking the decommissioning of the S-33 (SS-138), 1 December 1937. Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
Submarine Divison 9 20k Commemorative post mark on the occasion of the decommissioning of Submarine Division 9 on 7 December 1937. The subs appearing are:
S-30 (SS-135)
S-31 (SS-136)
S-32 (SS-137)
S-33 (SS-138)
S-34 (SS-139)
& S-35 (SS-140). 		Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
Submarine Division 52 292k From left to right: S-30 (SS-135), S-32 (SS-137) & S-33 (SS-138) at the Panama Canal Zone, where they operated from December 1940 until April 1941. US Navy photo courtesy of CTM Russel Rau, former COB of SS-238 Wahoo, submitted by Bill Rau & Paul Crozier. Text courtesy of DANFS.
S-3346k S-33 (SS-138), starboard view underway off the coast of San Francisco, date unknown.Courtesy of John Hummel.
S-3320k S-33 (SS-138), with other S-boats, date and place unknown.Courtesy of John Hummel.
S-31, S-35, S-33, S-34 54k From outboard to inboard, S-31 (SS-136), S-35 (SS-140), S-33 (SS-138), and S-34 (SS-139), probably in the Philippines. Vance Adams for his father, Lt. Vance Adams USN Ret (deceased).
S-23 73k An 1942 oil painting on board, by the artist William F. Draper entitled "Sub and Yippy Tie Up."
In a quiet inlet of the Bering Sea in 1942, a YP boat gets a coat of paint and an S-boat ties up for fuel and provisions. The short Alaskan day is ending and lights may be seen in the barracks until total darkness requires a blackout.
The S-boats that served in the Aleutians theater were:
S-18 (SS-123),
S-23 (SS-128),
S-27 (SS-132),
S-28 (SS-133),
S-30 (SS-135),
S-31 (SS-136),
S-32 (SS-137),
S-33 (SS-138),
S-34 (SS-139),
S-35 (SS-140),
S-36 (SS-141),
S-40 (SS-145),
S-41 (SS-146),
S-42 (SS-153),
S-44 (SS-155),
S-45 (SS-156),
S-46 (SS-157), &
S-47 (SS-158).

Sub and Yippy Tie Up by William F. Draper.
Painting #13 / 88-189-N. Courtesy of the USNHC.
S-3387k Most likely a later war era picture of the S-33 (SS-138), taken after August 1943 when she commenced operations with the West Coast Sound School which were continued until 13 August 1945. US Navy photo courtesy of ussubvetsofworldwarii.org. Photo added 03/15/07.
View the S-33 (SS-138)
DANFS history entry located on the Haze Gray & Underway Web Site.
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