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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive

Contributed by Mike Smolinski

V-4 (SF-7)
Argonaut (SM-1 / APS-1 / SS-166)

Argonaut Class Submarine: Laid down, 1 May 1925, at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, ME; Launched, 10 November 1927; Commissioned Fleet Submarine USS V-4 (SF-7), 2 April 1928; Renamed Argonaut, 19 February 1932; Redesignated Minelayer Submarine (SM-1), 1 July 1931; Redesignated Transport Submarine APS-1, 22 September 1942; Lost to enemy action, sunk by aircraft depth charge (582d Kokutai), and Japanese destroyers, Isokaze and Maikaze, 10 January 1943, between New Britain and Bougainville, south of St. George's Channel, in the Solomon Sea; Struck from the Naval Register, February 1943. Argonaut won two battle stars for her World War II service.

Specifications: Displacement, Surfaced: 2,710 t., Submerged: 4,164 t.; Length 381' ; Beam 33' 10"; Draft 15' 4"; Speed, Surfaced 15 kts, Submerged 8 kts; Depth Limit 300'; Complement 8 officers 80 enlisted; Armament, four 21" torpedo tubes forward, two mine launch tubes, 16 torpedoes; two single 6"/53 deck gun, two 30 cal. mgs.; Propulsion, diesel electric, Maschinfabrik - Augusburg- Nurnburg, New York Navy Yard diesel engines, hp 3175, Fuel Capacity, 173,875 gal., Ridgeway Dynamo and & Electric Co., electric motors, hp 2400, Battery Cells 240, twin propellers.

Size	Image Description	Source
82k	Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, Maine. Waterfront and covered shipways, circa summer-fall 1927.V-4 (SF-7) and V-5 (SC-1) are under construction in inside shipways building.V-4 (later renamed *Argonaut) is on the nearer way and appears to be nearly ready for her launching, which took place on 10 November 1927. V-5* (later renamed *Narwhal) is in a much earlier stage of construction, having been laid down on 10 May 1927. S-13* (SS-118) and another *"S"-type* submarine are alongside the waterfront, at left. Note automobiles parked in the center and right.	Courtesy of Lieutenant Gustave Freret, USN (Retired), 1970. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 70910.
58k	V-4 (SF-7) "Ready for commissioning at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, April 1928" (quoted from the original picture caption). Though this view might show the ship when ready for commissioning (which took place on 2 April 1928), it is more probable that it shows *V-4* immediately after she was launched, at the Portsmouth Navy Yard, on 10 November 1927.	Courtesy of the San Francisco Maritime Museum, San Francisco, California, 1969. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 69136.
113k	V-4 (SF-7) was built specificlly as a minelayer. Her special mine stowage tube, compensating tank, and minelaying tube are visible aft in the inboard view. As a long-range crusier, she had special habitability features: just abaft the torpedo room forward was alarge crew's mess, with refrigerated stowage below it. Abaft those spaces were officer's quarters above a 6-in magazine. Below the control room (directly below the conning tower) were pumps and forward (battery charging) engine rooms. Abaft them were CPO quarters and the maneuvering room above the after battery and the after 6-in magazine. Mines were stowed above and abaft the motors. The space above the torpedo room was awindlass room. This was the first U.S. submarine design to have a horizontal cylindrical conning tower. This type later became standard.	Drawing by Jim Christley, text courtesy of U.S. Submarines Through 1945, An Illustrated Design History by Norman Friedman. Naval Institute Press.
80k	V-4 (SF-7) ready for launching, at the Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, Maine, 10 November 1927. At the time of her launching she was the fleet's largest submarine, as noted in the caption.	Courtesy of Lieutenant Gustave Freret, USN (Retired), 1970. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 70911.
117k	V-4 (SF-7) just before launching, at the Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, Maine, on 10 November 1927. This view, taken from off the submarine's starboard quarter, shows the twin mine-launching tubes fitted to her stern, just below the waterline.	Courtesy of the San Francisco Maritime Museum, San Francisco, California, 1969.U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 69136.
84k	V-4 (SF-7), crewman training the submarine's forward 6"/53" deck gun, during shakedown tests off Provincetown, Massachusetts, 21 June 1928.	Courtesy of the San Francisco Maritime Museum, San Francisco, California, 1969.U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 69206.
56k	V-4 (SF-7) emerging from a crash dive, while making her shakedown tests off Provincetown, Massachusetts, 21 June 1928.	Courtesy of the San Francisco Maritime Museum, San Francisco, California, 1969. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 69163.
95k	V-4 (SF-7), reclassified as minelaying type SM1 and renamed the Argonaut (SS-166) circa 1928.	U.S. National Archives # 43-1317.
102k	V-4 (SF-7), Hudson River, New York City, circa 1929.	US Naval Historical Center.
87k	V-4 (SF-7), transiting the Panama Canal, circa 1929.	U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 91776.
180k	V-4 (SF-7), seen forward of the Nautilus V-6 (SC-2). View on deck, looking forward from the bridge. Taken while she was fitting out at the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, 12 April 1930. Note that her forward 6"/53 deck gun has not yet been fitted.Argonaut (SM-1)and barge *YR-5* are in the background.V-6 was renamed *Nautilus* in 1931.	Courtesy of the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, 1970. U.S. National Archives Photo # 70676.
104k	Argonaut (SM-1) photograph taken in about 1930.	U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 61687.
104k	V-4 (SF-7) became Argonaut (SM-1) in 1931. She is shown here in peacetime gray, circa 1930. Note the 6-inch guns forward and aft of the conning tower, and what appear to be exercise torpedoes on deck just forward of mount one. Also note her alphanumeric "name," *V-4*, in white on a black rectangle on the tower structure, and repeated in black at the bow.	US Navy Photo # NH 54425, submitted by Joe Radigan, MACM, USN Ret.
196k	*Argonaut, along with Nautilus* (SS-168) and Narwhal (SS-167), enjoyed the distinction of mounting the largest guns of any American submarine; here, *Argonaut's* men draw a crowd as they train out her forward 6-incher in the 1930's.	US Navy Photo submitted by Joe Radigan, MACM, USN Ret, from DANFS.
59k	Closeup view of the submarine's conning tower and after 6"/53 gun, taken as she was submerging, circa 1930. *V-4* was renamed *Argonaut* in 1931.	U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 57635.
59k	Closeup view of the submarine's conning tower, taken as she was submerging, circa 1930. V-4 (SF-7), was renamed *Argonaut* in 1931.	U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 57636.
65k	Gunnery exercises with the Argonaut (SS-166), forward 6"/53 deck gun, during the 1930s.	Collection of Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 62906.
94k	Nautilus (SS-168), Argonaut (SS-166); and Narwhal (SS-167); (listed left to right) Tied up together in port, circa the early 1930s.	Courtesy of J.A. Casoly. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 45667.
72k	Nautilus (SS-168); Argonaut (SS-166); and Narwhal (SS-167); (listed left to right) Tied up together in port, circa the early 1930s.	Courtesy of J.A. Casoly. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 45668.
262k	Stern view of the S-31 (SS-136), S-33 (SS-138) , and S-32 (SS-137) (just visible) at Pearl Harbor cirica 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, (USNR). US Navy photo courtesy of Darryl Baker.
450k	Submarines S-47 (SS-158), S-32 (SS-137) , S-26 (SS-131) & most likely the Argonaut (SS-166) in Honolulu Harbor in 1936. Notice Aloha Tower in the background. Notice that all the *S-boats* have the post S-4 (SS-109) accident messenger buoy modifications to their stern, and how deeply in the water the stern light sits, making visibility of this light problematic in anything but glass calm seas.	Partial text & i.d. courtesy of David Johnston (USNR). Photo by Edward Cwalinski, submitted by Barry Litchfield.
64k	Commemorative postal cover marking the Argonaut's (SS-166) deep dive test on March 23, 1937.	Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
67k	Commemorative postal cover marking the Argonaut's (SS-166) 10th anniversary, April 2, 1938.	Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
16k	Commemorative postal cover marking the Argonaut's (SS-166) participation in Fleet problem XXI, April 23, 1940.	Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
34k	Argonaut (SS-166), stern pre-war photo, location unknown.	Hyperwar US Navy in WWII.
32k	Argonaut (SS-166) underway, starboard view. Date and location unknown.	Courtesy of ussubvetsofworldwarii.org.
10k	Argonaut (SS-166), port side view underway, circa 1940.	Hyperwar US Navy in WWII.
144k	Aerial view of the Submarine Base,Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii, with part of the supply depot beyond and the fuel farm at right, looking north on 13 October 1941. Note the fuel tank across the road from the submarine base, painted to resemble a building. The building beside the submarine ascent tower (in left center, shaped like an upsidedown "U") housed the U.S. Fleet Headquarters at the time of the Japanese attack on 7 December 1941. Office of Admiral Husband E. Kimmel, the Fleet's Commander in Chief, was in the upper left corner of the building's top floor. Wharton (AP-7) is in right foreground. Among the submarines at the base are Tuna (SS-203), Gudgeon (SS-211), Argonaut (SS-166), Narwhal (SS-167), Triton (SS-201) and Dolphin (SS-169). Holland (AS-3) and Niagara (PG-52) are alongside the wharf on the base's north side. In the distance (nearest group in upper left) are the battleship Nevada (BB-36), at far left, Castor (AKS-1) and the derelict old minelayer *Baltimore. Cruisers in top center are Minneapolis* (CA-36), closest to camera, and Pensacola (CA-24), wearing a Measure 5 painted "bow wave".	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # 80-G-451125, now in the collections of the National Archives.
110k	Photograph of an artwork of the Argonaut (SS-166) by Ike R. Lloyd, circa 1942.	Courtesy of Ike Lloyd. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 57634.
87k	Argonaut (SS-166) off California - July 42.	Courtesy of Erminio Bagnasco book, "Submarines of WW II", submitted by Aryeh Wetherhorn.
81k	Discussion on board Argonaut (SS-166) after she returned to Pearl Harbor from Makin Island, 26 August 1942. Those present are (from left to right): Lieutenant Colonel Evans F. Carlson, USMC, Commander, Second Raider Battalion; Major James Roosevelt, USMCR, Executive Officer, Second Raider Battalion; and Lieutenant Commander John R. Pierce, USN, Commanding Officer, *Argonaut* .	U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 57636.
76k	Argonaut (SS-166) docks at Pearl Harbor upon her return from the Makin raid, 26 August 1942.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph, # 80-G-11742, now in the collections of the National Archives, courtesy of the U.S. Naval Historical Center.
59k	Argonaut (SS-166) at Pearl Harbor, 26 August 1942, with Marine Raiders on deck, returning from the Makin Island raid.	US Navy photo courtesy of Hyperwar US Navy in WWII.
112k	Argonaut (SS-166) crewmen reading their mail, after returning to Pearl Harbor from the Makin Island Raid, 26 August 1942. The gun behind them is a 6"/53.	U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # 80-G-11741.
229k	The *Kagero* class Japanese destroyer *Isokaze* which sank the Argonaut (SS-166) on 10 January 1943, between New Britain and Bougainville, south of St. George's Channel, in the Solomon Sea.	Courtesy of ibiblio.org.
46k	A drawing of the *Kagero* class Japanese destroyers *Isokaze* & *Maikaze* which sank the Argonaut (SS-166) on 10 January 1943, between New Britain and Bougainville, south of St. George's Channel, in the Solomon Sea.	Courtesy of combinedfleet.com.
46k	Map area showing the general location between New Britain and Bougainville, south of St. George's Channel, in the Solomon Sea where the Argonaut (SS-219) was sunk.	Courtesy of destroyerhistory.org by D.W. McComb.
68k	St. George's channel looking southeast toward New Ireland looking torward Cape St. George in far distance at right. The Argonaut (SS-219) was lost not far from here.	Courtesy of destroyerhistory.org by D.W. McComb.
48k	Map area showing the general location between New Britain and Bougainville, south of St. George's Channel, in the Solomon Sea where the Argonaut (SS-219) was sunk. The average depth varies from 1600 to 3500 feet.	Courtesy of destroyerhistory.org by D.W. McComb.
23k	John Reeves Pierce, Commander (Commanding Officer) of the Argonaut (SS-166) on her last patrol.	USN photo courtesy of oneternalpatrol.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.
75k	Commemorative drawing & photo honoring the memory of the crew of the Argonaut (SS-166).	Courtesy of Tom Kermen.
114k	A Marine Raider, injured during the Makin operation, is lifted through a hatch on Argonaut (SS-166) to be taken ashore at Pearl Harbor, 26 August 1942. In less than than 5 months time, the boat and her entire company would be listed as M.I.A. 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..."	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # 80-G-13879, now in the collections of the National Archives., courtesy of the U.S. Naval Historical Center.