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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive

Patch courtesy of
Don McGrogan, BMCS, USN (ret.)

S-39 (SS-144)

Radio Call Sign: November - India - Papa - Kilo

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Yangtze Service Medal - China Service Medal - American Defense Service Medal (with Sea Clasp)
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (2) - World War II Victory Medal - Philippine Defense Medal

S-18 Class Submarine (Holland-type): Laid down, 14 January 1919, at Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp., San Francisco, CA.; Launched, 2 July 1919; Commissioned, USS S-39 (SS-144), 14 September 1923; Final Disposition, lost due to grounding, 13 August 1942, off Rossel Island, in the Coral Sea. S-39 earned two battle stars for her World War II service.

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.; General Electric Co., electric motors, Battery Cells, 120, twin propellers.

Size	Image Description	Source
139k	A photo marking the launching of S-39 (SS-144) at Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp, Ltd., Union Plant, Potrero Wks. on 2 Jul 1919. The ship's sponsor, Miss. Clara M. Huber, is shown on the left.	USN photo courtesy of Darryl Baker.
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 tunks 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 auxillaries: the low pressure main ballast pump on the centerline, the high pressure main ballast pump on the starboard shaft, the motor for the Fessenden oscillator on the port shaft.	Drawing by Jim Christley. Text courtesy of U.S. Submarines Through 1945, An Illustrated Design History by Norman Friedman. Naval Institute Press.
85k	Canopus (AS-9) in Apra Harbor, Guam, with Submarine Division 17 alongside, 29 October 1924. Submarine Division 17's members were: S-36 (SS-141), S-37(SS-142); S-38 (SS-143); S-39 (SS-144); S-40 (SS-145) and S-41 (SS-146).	US Navy photo # NH 55048, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
76k	Canopus (AS-9), in Apra Harbor, Guam, 29 October 1924, with all six members of Submarine Division 17 alongside. The division consisted of: S-36 (SS-141); S-37 (SS-142), S-38 (SS-143), S-39 (SS-144), S-40 (SS-145) and S-41 (SS-146).	U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 104940.
120k	S-39 (SS-144) leaving Apra Harbor, Guam, with Submarine Division 17, 29 October 1924. Taken by a U.S. Marine Corps photographer.	US Navy photo # NH 42149, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
111k	Sacramento (PG-19) off Tsingtao, China, during the 1920s or 1930s. Several U.S. Navy submarines are in the foreground, among them S-39 (SS-144), the outboard boat in the nest.	US Navy photo # NH 101685, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
19k	S-39 (SS-144), possibly with the US Asiatic Fleet at Tsingtao, China, circa 1930.	US Navy photo by Ken Lusk.
120k	Surrounded by junks, S-39 (SS-144), possibly with the US Asiatic Fleet at Tsingtao, China, circa 1930.	US Navy photo courtesy of USNI.
41k	S-39 (SS-144), underway, probably in the Far East, circa 1920's - 30's.	Courtesy of ussubvetsofworldwarii.org
18k	S-39 (SS-144), probably in the Far East, circa 1920's - 30's.	US Navy photo courtesy of Hyperwar US Navy in WWII.
64k	Canopus (AS-9), with the Asiatic Fleet's Submarine Squadron Five alongside, during the 1930s. The submarines present include (from left to right): S-37 (SS-142); S-40 (SS-145); S-36 (SS-141);S-38 (SS-143); S-41 (SS-146); S-39 (SS-144).	US National Archives photo # 80-G-1014615, a US Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.
95k	The boats of Submarine Division Seventeen (SubDiv 17), US Asiatic Fleet, moored alongside Canopus (AS-9) at Tsingtao, China, circa 1930. Identifiable submarines present include S-36 (SS-141), S-39 (SS-144), S-37 (SS-142) and S-41 (SS-146). Note sailors relaxing on deck, Chinese men on board the submarines, and 4"/50 deck guns.	US Navy photo # NH 59968, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
88k	The boats of SubDiv 17, Asiatic Fleet, moored alongside Canopus (AS-9) at Tsingtao, China, circa 1930. Identifiable submarines present include S-39 (SS-144), S-37 (SS-142) and S-41 (SS-146). The boat closest to the camera is probably S-36 (SS-141). Note SubDiv 17 insignia painted on conning towers.	US Navy photo # NH 51832, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
196k	S-36 (SS-141) at anchor, moored alongside Canopus (AS-9), probably at Tsingtao, China, circa 1930 with the rest of the boats of Submarine Division Seventeen (SubDiv 17). The other *S-boats* are probably S-37 (SS-142), S-38 (SS-143), S-39 (SS-144). Note all the washing hung out to dry on the signal lines.	Courtesy of ussubvetsofworldwarii.org.
68k	Boats of SubRon 5 at Olongapo, Philippine Islands, circa 1933-1934. Submarines present are S-37 (SS-142), S-38 (SS-143), S-39 (SS-144) and S-40 (SS-145).	US Navy photo # NH 80142, Courtesy G.K. Bishop, USAF, 1974.
73k	S-39 (SS-144) firing her 4"/50 deck gun during gunnery exercises in Philippine waters, circa 1933-1934. The motor launch in the foreground is from Canopus (AS-9). Photo courtesy of Captain G.K. Bishop, USAF, 1974.	US Navy photo # NH 80141 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
97k	S-39 (SS-144) off Olongapo, Philippine Islands, 1935. Photographed by G.J. Freret, Jr.	US Navy photo # NH 51828, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
95k	S-39 (SS-144) surfacing during short range battle practice off Tsingtao, China, in the summer of 1931.	US Navy photo # NH 50199, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
118k	Sacramento (PG-19) off Tsingtao, China, during the 1920s or 1930s. Several U.S. Navy submarines are in the foreground, among them S-39 (SS-144), the outboard boat in the nest.	US Navy photo # NH 101685, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
186k	"Jungle warfare! Crew of the S-39 (SS-144), led by Skipper "Red" Coe, searches for Singapore refugees on a tropic island, circa 1942. Had the enemy intercepted the call for help? Were Japanese marksmen waiting in ambush? This was one of many dangerous special missions performed by submariners."	Drawing by Lt. Cmdr. Fred Freemen, courtesy of Theodore Roscoe, from his book "U.S. Submarine Operations of WW II", published by USNI.
41k	Google Earth satellite photo of Rossel Island, where S-39 (SS-144) was lost.	View courtesy of Google Earth. Photo added 04/25/08.
100k	The S-39 (SS-144) was lost at Rossel Island, which appears in this NASA photo.	Photo # STS092-711-80 19,taken October 2000, 02:15 UTC, courtesy of Earth sciences and image analysis laboratory, NASA, Johnson Space Center / oceandots.com.