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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive

Contributed by Mike Smolinski

V-5 (SC-1)
Narwahl (SS-167)
Keel Laying - Pre WW II Service

Radio Call Sign: November - India - Charlie - Victor

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WW II - Decommissioning

Narwhal Class Submarine: Laid down, 10 May 1927, at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, ME; Launched, 17 December 1929; Commissioned Cruiser Submarine USS V-5 (SC-1), 15 May 1930; Renamed Narwahl (SS-167), 19 February 1931; Decommissioned, 23 April 1945, at Philadelphia, PA.; Struck from the Naval Register, 19 May 1945; Final Disposition, sold for scrapping. Narwhal received 15 battle stars for World War II service.

Specifications: Displacement, Surfaced: 2,730 t., Submerged: 3,960 t.; Length 371' ; Beam 33' 3"; Draft 15' 9"; Speed, Surfaced 17 kts, Submerged 8 kts; Depth Limit 300'; Complement 8 officers 80 enlisted; Armament, four 21" torpedo tubes forward, two 21" torpedo tubes aft, four 21" torpedo tubes topside, 24 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, 182,778 gal., Westinghouse Electric Co., electric motors, hp 2500, 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 (SM-1) and V-5 (SC-1) are under construction in inside shipways building. V-4 (SC-1) later renamed Argonaut (SM-1), is on the nearer way and appears to be nearly ready for her launching, which took place on 10 November 1927. V-5 (SC-1) 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-boat* are alongside the waterfront, at left. Note automobiles parked in the center and right.	U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph, USNHC # NH 70910. Courtesy of Lieutenant Gustave Freret, USN (Retired), 1970.
41k	V-5 (SC-1) starts her slide down the ways at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, ME., on 17 December 1929.	U.S. Navy photo courtesy of ussubvetsofworldwarii.org.
74k	V-5 (SC-1) underway, circa 1930.	US Navy photo courtesy of Mike Green.
94k	Nautilus (SS-168), Argonaut (SS-166); and Narwhal (SS-167); (listed left to right) Tied up together in port, circa the early 1930s.	U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph, USNHC # NH 45667, courtesy of J.A. Casoly.
72k	Nautilus (SS-168); Argonaut (SM-1); and Narwahl (SS-167); (listed left to right) Tied up together in port, circa the early 1930s.	U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph, USNHC # NH 45668, courtesy of J.A. Casoly.
109k	Early 1930's photo of the Narwahl (SS-167). She was one of two crusier submarines inspired by the German U-cruisers of WW I, armed with 6in/53 guns. Her high freeboard reflects great reserve buoyancy.	Text courtesy of U.S. Submarines Through 1945, An Illustrated Design History by Norman Friedman. Naval Institute Press. Photo courtesy of Hyperwar US Navy in WWII.
124k	Circa 1931 - 41 photo of the Narwahl (SS-167).	US Navy photo courtesy of John L. Ross.
89k	Barracuda (SS-163) inboard & Narwhal (SS-167) tied up circa early 1930's, possibly at San Francisco.	Photo courtesy of Jerry Crow. Photo added 03/17/08.
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. Photo added 03/17/08.
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).	Official U.S. Navy Photograph, USNHC NH # 80-G-63334, now in the collections of the National Archives.
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.
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).	Photograph NH # 82789, from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives.
78k	Commemorative postal cover marking Narwahl's (SS-167) fifth anniversary of commissioning, 15 May 1935.	Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
35k	Commemorative postal cover & photo inset marking Narwahl's (SS-167) arrival at Pearl Harbor, 17 August 1936.	Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
119k	Holland (AS-3) circa 1936-1939, with seven submarines alongside, circa 1936-1939. These "boats" are, from left to right: Nautilus (SS-168); Narwhal (SS-167); Shark (SS-174), marked *"P3"; Dolphin* (SS-169), marked *"D1"; Porpoise* (SS-172), marked *"P1"; Pike* (SS-173), marked *"P2"; and Tarpon* (SS-175), marked *"P4"*.	Photo NH # 3036, courtesy of U.S. Naval Historical Center.
82k	Holland (AS-3) circa 1936-1939, with seven submarines alongside, circa 1936-1939. These "boats" are, from left to right: Nautilus (SS-168); Narwhal (SS-167); Shark (SS-174), marked *"P3"; Dolphin* (SS-169), marked *"D1"; Porpoise* (SS-172), marked *"P1"; Pike* (SS-173), marked *"P2"; and Tarpon* (SS-175), marked *"P4"*.	Photo NH # 3037, courtesy of U.S. Naval Historical Center.
90k	Holland (AS-3) circa 1936-1939, with seven submarines alongside, circa 1936-1939. These "boats" are, from left to right: Nautilus (SS-168); Narwhal (SS-167); Shark (SS-174), marked *"P3"; Dolphin* (SS-169), marked *"D1"; Porpoise* (SS-172), marked *"P1"; Pike* (SS-173), marked *"P2"; and Tarpon* (SS-175), marked *"P4"*.	Photo NH # 3038, courtesy of U.S. Naval Historical Center.
96k	Holland (AS-3) circa 1936-1939, with seven submarines alongside, circa 1936-1939. These "boats" are, from left to right: Nautilus (SS-168); Narwhal (SS-167); Shark (SS-174), marked *"P3"; Dolphin* (SS-169), marked *"D1"; Porpoise* (SS-172), marked *"P1"; Pike* (SS-173), marked *"P2"; and Tarpon* (SS-175), marked *"P4"*.	Photo NH # 3039, courtesy of U.S. Naval Historical Center.
102k	Pre war photo of the Narwhal (SS-167) towing a seaplane with engine trouble back to Pearl Harbor.	U.S. Navy photo courtesy of Robert Hirst.
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.