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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive

Contributed by Mike Smolinski

S-44 (SS-155)

S-42 Class Submarine: Laid down, 14 January 1921, at Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp., Quincy, MA.; Launched, 27 October 1923; Commissioned, USS S-44 (SS-155), 16 February 1925; Final Disposition, lost 7 October 1943, as a result of enemy surface action en route to patrol area in Kuriles. S-44 was sunk by IJNS Ishigaki, a Shimushu class escort. S-44 earned two battle stars during World War II.

Specifications: Displacement, Surfaced: 903 t., Submerged: 1126 t..; Length 225' 3"; Beam 20' 8"; Draft 13' 1"; Speed, surfaced 14.5 kts, submerged 11 kts; Depth Limit 200'; Complement 4 Officers, 34 Enlisted; Armament, four 21" torpedo tubes, 12 torpedoes, one 4"/50 deck gun; Propulsion, diesel electric engines, New London Ship and Engine Co., diesel engines, 1,200 hp, Fuel Capacity, 46,363 gal.; Electro Dynamic Co., electric motors, 1,200 hp, Battery Cells, 120, twin propellers.

Size	Image Description	Source
93k	From left to right: S-18 (SS-123), S-47 (SS-158), & S-44 (SS 155) tied up along the dock at Groton, CT., April 8, 1924.	US Navy photo # 19-N-10282, from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), courtesy of Daniel Dunham.
270k	Typical of the last E.B.'s S-boats S-42-47 (SS-153-58) is shown as in 1924-25 (the date of final changes to the original plans is illegible). These boats were part of a second, redesigned series. They were lengthened enough to accomodate both the new 4in/50 gun & the gun access hatch shown (arrowed) forward of the conning tower fairwater (it is the main visual difference between these and earlier E.B. units)	Drawing by Jim Christley. Text courtesy of U.S. Submarines Through 1945, An Illustrated Design History by Norman Friedman. Naval Institute Press.
74k	S-44 (SS-155), retrieving torpedoes in 1926. Note crewman kneeling on the starboard diving plane, holding a boat hook. The torpedo is faintly visible to the right of the boat hook's far end.	US Navy photo # NH 80595, courtesy of the Naval Historical Foundation, collection of Lieutenant O.E. Wightman.
67k	S-44 (SS-155), undergoing repairs at Coco Solo, Panama Canal Zone, 1926. .	US Navy photo # NH 80746, courtesy of the Naval Historical Foundation, collection of Lieutenant O.E. Wightman.
114k	S-44 (SS-155), underway during the later 1920s or 1930s.	US Navy photo # NH 42262, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
117k	S-44 (SS-155), background and S-42 (SS-153), foreground at San Diego, in the 1920s or 1930s.	US Navy photo # NH 42154, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
124k	The S-44 (SS-155), during the later 1920s or 1930s.	US Navy photo courtesy ofussubvetsofwwii.org. Photo i.d. courtesy of USNHC.
67k	S-44 (SS-155) lays in the foreground as S-45 (SS-156) leaves Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, en route to Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA., in April 1927. Destroyer in the distance is Moody (DD-277).	US Navy photo # NH 42189, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
133k	S-44 (SS-155), leaving Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, 1929. Photographed by Chief Quartermaster Peck.	US Navy photo # NH 42264, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
102k	Holland (AS-3) moored at San Diego, CA., circa 1930. Submarines alongside, apparently holding inspection, are (from inboard): V-3 (SF-6), later Bonita (SS-165); V-2 (SF-5), later Bass (SS-164); S-45 (SS-156); S-43 (SS-154); S-44 (SS-155); and S-42 (SS-153);	US Navy photo # NH 53437, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
127k	S-44 (SS-155), ship's Company posed on board, at Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA., circa later 1920s or early 1930s.	US Navy photo # NH 70777, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
47k	S-44 (SS-155), probably entering Pearl Harbor, maybe circa December 1930, when the *S-boat* was transferred to Hawaii where her division, now SubDiv 11.	US Navy photo courtesy of Hyperwar US Navy in WWII. Text courtesy of DANFS.
143k	S-44 (SS-155), was one of six E.B. boat's extensivley modernized during WW II. The refit included installation of air conditioning, with the unit installed in the crew space abaft the control room, alongside the refrigerator. *S-44* was fitted with radar (SJ forward, SD abaft the bridge), a loop antenna built into the periscope shears for underwater reception, & a free flooding structure carrying a 20-mm anti-aircraft gun, with a box for 4-in ready-service ammunition below it. A JK passive sonar, probably installed at Philadelphia during a refit between November & December 1941, was located on the forward deck. On the keel below it was a pair of oxcillators.	Drawing by Jim Christley. Text courtesy of U.S. Submarines Through 1945, An Illustrated Design History by Norman Friedman. Naval Institute Press.
177k	"The S-44 (SS-155), vs *Kako* . Patrolling off New Ireland, the veteran *S-boat* ambushes enemy cruiser division at entrance to Kavieng Harbor. Four torpedoes (range 700 yards) sends IJN *Kako* to the bottom, an 8,800-ton warship sunk by an 850-ton sub. This sinking of first Japanese heavy cruiser avenged defeat at Savo Island."	Drawing by Lt. Cmdr. Fred Freemen, courtesy of Theodore Roscoe, from his book "U.S. Submarine Operations of WW II", published by USNI.
99k	Captain Ralph W. Christie, USN, Commander Task Force 42 and Submarine Squadron Five (left), congratulates Lieutenant Commander John R. Moore, USN, Commanding Officer of S-44 (SS-155)," as he returned to this South Pacific base after a very successful week of patrol activity". (quoted from original World War II photo caption). The original caption date is 1 September 1942, which is presumably a release date. *S-44* returned to Brisbane, Australia, on 23 August 1942 at the end of a war patrol in the Solomon Islands, during which she sank the Japanese heavy cruiser *Kako*. The photograph was probably taken at about that time.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. US Navy photo # 80-G-12171 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
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 theatre 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.
130k	The S-44's (SS-155) 4"/50 deck gun crew manning her gun, January 1943. The Chief all the way left in the photo is Chief Torpedoman Harold Arvid Stromsoe. He went down with the boat when she was sunk.	US National Archives photo # 80-G-33750, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives. Text i.d. courtesy of Ric Hedmen.
77k	S-44 (SS-155), underway off the Panama Canal Zone, circa February 1943, while en route to the Philadelphia Navy Yard for overhaul.	US National Archives photo # 19-N-41382, a US Navy photo from the Bureau of Ships Collection now in the collections of the US Naval Archives.
62k	S-44 (SS-155), underway off Philadelphia Navy Yard, after her last overhaul, 11 June 1943.	US National Archives photo # 19-N-46193, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives
127k	Francis Elwood Brown, Commander (Commanding Officer) of the S-44 (SS-155) at the time of her loss.	USN photo courtesy of oneternalpatrol.com.
73k	Drawing of a Type C Escort vessel similair to the *Ishigaki, which sank the S-44* (SS-155).	Type C Escort by Takeshi Yuki scanned from "Color Paintings of Japanese Warships." Photo courtesy of combinedfleet.com.
92k	In memory of the S-44 (SS-155).	Photo courtesy of Tom Kermen.
55k	Google Earth satellite photo of the S-44's (SS-155) last approximate position based during post-war debriefings. This position is thought to be the final resting place of the *S-44* and her crew.	View courtesy of Google Earth. Photo added 04/25/08.
45k	Paramushiru, Northern Kuriles. The survivors of the S-44 (SS-155) were taken to here after the boat was lost somewhere off her coast.	Photo # ISS004-E-11695, 12 May 2002, 20:16 UTC, courtesy of Earth sciences and image analysis laboratory, NASA, Johnson Space Center / oceandots.com.
117k	The wife of a World War II U.S. submarine veteran, tosses a flower into a reflecting pool to honor the memory of one of the 52 submarines lost during World War II at the National Submarine Memorial-West on board Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach, Calif. On this Veterans Day, the Submarine Veterans of World War II transferred ownership of the memorial to the U.S. Navy. The following text is from The Coming Fury by Bruce Catton., pg. 478. "Major Sullivan Bullen of Illinois was killed in the battle, and just before it he had written to his wife, Sarah, to tell her that he believed he was going to be killed and to express a tremulous faith that could see a gleam of light in the dark: "But O Sarah! If the dead can come back to this earth and float unseen around those they loved, I shall always be near you in the gladdest days and in the gloomiest nights, always, always, and if there be a soft breeze upon your chest it shall be my breath, as the cool air fans your throbbing temple it shall be my spirit passing by. Sarah, do not mourn me dead; think I am gone and wait, for we shall meet again!"	U.S. Navy photo # N-1159B-021 by Journalist 2nd Class Brian Brannon, courtesy of news.navy.mil.
56k	S-44 (SS-155), underway off Philadelphia Navy Yard, after her last overhaul, 11 June 1943. She would be lost in less than 4 months with almost her entire crew. In Memorium: In the Second Book of Shmuel (Samuel), 22nd chapter, 5th through the 20th verses, translated from the original in Hebrew and published by the Koren Publishers of Jerusalem, Israel, 1982, can perhaps aptly describe the fate of the crew and all other U.S. submariners who died defending their county: "When the waves of death compassed me / the floods of ungodly men made me afraid; / the bonds of She'ol encircled me; / the snares of death took me by surprise; / in my distress I called upon the Lord, / and cried to my G-D: / and he heard my voice out of his temple, / and my cry entered into his ears. / Then the earth shook and trembled; /the foundations of heaven moved / and shook because of his anger /...the heavy mass of waters, and thick clouds of the skies /... And the channels of the sea appeared, / the foundations of the world were laid bare, / at the rebuking of the Lord, at the blast at the breath of his nostrils. / He sent from above, he took me; / he drew me out of many waters; / he delivered me from my strong enemy, and from those who hated me; for they were too strong for me. / They surprised me in the day of my calamity: / but the Lord was my stay / He brought me forth also into a large place: / he delivered me because he delighted in me./"	US National Archives photo # 19-N-46194, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.