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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive
Contributed by Mike Smolinski

V-3 (SF-6)
Bonita (SS-165)
1932 - 1945

Radio Call Sign: November - India - Charlie - Sierra,
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Keel Laying - 1931

Barracuda Class Submarine: Laid down, 16 November 1921, at Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA.; Launched, 9 June 1925; Commissioned USS V-3 (SF-6), 22 May 1926; Renamed Bonita, 9 March 1931; Reclassified (SS-165), 1 July 1931; Decommissioned, 4 June 1937, at Philadelphia, Navy Yard, Philadelphia, PA.; Recommissioned, 5 September 1940, at Submarine Base New London, CT.; Decommissioned, 3 March 1945, at Philadelphia Navy Yard, Philadelphia, PA.; Struck from the Naval Register, 10 March 1945; Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 28 October 1945.

Specifications: Displacement, Surfaced: 2,000 t., Submerged: 2620 t.; Length 341' 6" ; Beam 27' 7"; Draft 14' 7"; Speed, surfaced 21 kts, Submerged 8 kts; Depth Limit 200'; Complement, 6 officers, 50 enlisted; Armament, six 21" torpedo tubes, four forward, two aft, 12 torpedoes; one 5"/51 deck gun; Propulsion, Busch-Sulzer Diesel Engine Co., diesel engines, hp 4100; Fuel Capacity, 90,935 gal., Elliot Motor Co., electric motors, hp 2400, Battery Cells 120, twin propellers.
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SS 164 & 165 139k Bass (SS-164), outboard and Bonita (SS-165) at San Francisco, California, circa the early 1930s. US Navy photo # NH 56516, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center. Courtesy of J.A. Casoly.
SS 164 & 165 98k Bass (SS-164), outboard and Bonita (SS-165) with civilian visitors on board, at San Francisco, California, May 1932. Photographed by Lauzin. US Navy photo # NH 91779, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
SS 164 & 165 104k Bass (SS-164), outboard and Bonita (SS-165) with civilian visitors on board, at San Francisco, California, May 1932. Photographed by Lauzin. US Navy photo # NH 91780, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
SS 164 & 165 89k Bass (SS-164), outboard and Bonita (SS-165) with civilian visitors on board, at San Francisco, California, May 1932. Note that Bass has a 3"/50 deck gun, while Bonita carries a 5"/51. Also note the retractable embarkation ladder built into Bass's hull amidships. Photographed by Lauzin. US Navy photo # NH 91778, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
SS 164 & 165 111k Bass (SS-164), outboard and Bonita (SS-165) with civilian visitors on board, at San Francisco, California, May 1932. Photographed by Lauzin. US Navy photo # NH 91782, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
SS 165 91k V-3 (SS-165) tied up at San Francisco, California, circa the early 1930s. Courtesy of J.A. Casoly. US Navy photo # NH 56515, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
SS 164 & 165 128k Bonita (SS-165) meets Alcatraz. USN photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com. Photo added 09/01/10.
SS 165 81k Bonita (SS-165) off Muir Glacier, Alaska, in July 1934. US Navy photo # NH 78674, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
SS 165 106k Color reproduction of the 1934-vintage Christmas calendar of the Bonita (SS-165) off Muir Glacier, Alaska, in July 1934. US Navy photo # NH 78674-KN, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
Navy Day 78k Commemorative postal cover marking:
Bass (SS-164);
Dolphin (SS-169);
Porpoise (SS-172);
Argonaut (SS-169);
Nautilus (SS-168);
Cuttlefish (SS-171)
Barracuda (SS-163);
Narwahl (SS-167)
Bonita (SS-165); &
Cachalot (SS-170)
on Navy Day, October 27, 1935.
Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
SS 165 332k Bonita (SS-165) underway, circa the middle 1930s. Note that her original 5"/51 deck gun has been replaced with a 3"/50. US Navy photo # NH 56514, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
Winter & Pond 83k Tender and submarines at dock in Juneau, Alaska, July, 1934. At far left, tender Holland (AS-3), submarines (l to r) Bass (SS-164), Bonita (SS-165), Barracuda (SS-163), Nautilus (SS-168) and Narwhal (SS-167). The mill of the Alaska Juneau Gold Mining Company is in the background. Photo by Winter & Pond courtesy of the Alaska State Library. Submitted by Joe Radigan.
SS-170,169,163,164,165,168 & 167 86k Holland (AS-3) with seven submarines alongside, in San Diego harbor, California, 24 December 1934. The submarines are (from left to right):
Cachalot (SS-170);
Dolphin (SS-169);
Barracuda (SS-163);
Bass (SS-164);
Bonita (SS-165);
Nautilus (SS-168); and
Narwahl (SS-167). 		Photo courtesy of the USNHC, NH # 80-G-63334, Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.
SS 165 38k Bonita (SS-165) underway circa 1935, West Coast. She is marked as B-3 on her conning tower. She rejoined Submarine Division 12 in September 1933 and cruised in Caribbean, west coast, and Hawaiian waters through 1936. U.S. Navy photo courtesy of Robert Hurst. Text courtesy of DANFS.
SS-170,163,164,165,168 & 167 94k Holland (AS-3) in San Diego harbor, California, circa 1935. Submarines alongside are (from outboard to inboard):
Cachalot (SS-170);
Barracuda(SS-163);
Bass (SS-164);
Bonita (SS-165);
Nautilus (SS-168); and
Narwahl (SS-167).
Closest ship in the nest of destroyers at far right is Yarnall (DD-143).
Photo courtesy of the USNHC, NH # 82789. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives.
SS 163 69k Commemorative postal cover marking Valentine's Day, Feb 14, 1937, issued from the Barracuda (SS-163) and commemorating all the boats in her class:
Bass (SS-164);
Barracuda and
Bonita (SS-165). 		Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
SS 165 18k Commemorative post mark on the occasion of Bonita's (SS-165) last birthday, 22 May 1937, at the Phila. Navy Yard when she was placed out of commission pending being put in reserve at Philadelphia 4 June 1937. Photo courtesy of Jack Treutle.
SS 165 97k Commemorative post mark on the occasion of Bonita's (SS-165) decommissioning, 4 June 1937. Photo courtesy of Paul Petosky.
SS 165 21k Commemorative post mark on the occasion of Bonita's (SS-165) decommissioning, 4 June 1937. Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
SS 165 18k Commemorative post mark on the occasion of Bonita's (SS-165) recommissioning, 4 October 1940. Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
SS 165 91k Port side view of the Bonita (SS-165) underway when she joined Submarine Division 13, Submarine Squadron 1, on training duty out of New London, CT., in 1944. US Navy photo, text courtesy of DANFS.
SS 165 170k V-3 (SS-165), date and place unknown. USN photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com. Photo added 09/01/10.
View the V-3 / Bonita (SS-165)
DANFS history entry located on the Haze Gray & Underway Web Site.
Crew Contact And Reunion Information
U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation
Fleet Reserve Association
Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
Ep-21 (1) - Victory At Sea ~ Full Fathom Five - HQ
Through the Looking Glass, A Historic Look at Submarines.
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