Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster. Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive

Patch contributed by Don McGrogan, BMCS, USN (ret.)

V-7 (SF-10 / SC-3)
Dolphin (SS-169)

Radio Call Sign: November - India - Charlie - Zulu

Dolphin Class Submarine: Authorized as V-7 (SF-10), redesignated (SC-3), Laid down, as V-7 (SC-3),14 June 1930, at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, ME.; Launched, 6 March 1932; Commissioned USS Dolphin (SS-169), 1 July 1932; Decommissioned, 12 October 1945, at Portsmouth Navy Yard, NH; Struck from the Naval Register, 24 October 1945; Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 26 August 1946. Dolphin earned 2 battle stars for her service during World War II.

Specifications: Displacement, Surfaced: 1,560 t., Submerged: 2,215 t.; Length 319' 1" ; Beam 27' 11"; Draft 13' 1"; Speed, surfaced 17 kts, submerged 8 kts; Depth Limit 250'; Complement 5 officers 52 enlisted; Armament, four 21" torpedo tubes forward, two 21" torpedo tubes aft, 18 torpedoes; one 4"/50 deck gun, four 30 cal. mgs.; Propulsion, diesel electric, Maschinfabrik - Augusburg- Nurnburg, New York Navy Yard diesel engines, hp 3500, Fuel Capacity, 103,018 gal., Electro Dynamic Electric Motor Co., electric motors, hp 1750, Battery Cells 240, twin propellers.

Size	Image Description	Source
54k	Driving of first rivet in laying of keel of submarine V-7 (SC-3), later renamed Dolphin (SS-169) at the Portsmouth (New Hampshire) Naval Shipyard, 14 June 1930.	U.S. Navy photo courtesy of Milne Collection at the Univerity of New Hampshire.
82k	Dolphin (SS-169) underway, circa 1932.	NH # 54542, courtesy of U.S. Naval Historical Center.
56k	Commemorative postal cover marking the Dolphin's (SS-169) Alaska cruise in July, 1934.	Photo courtesy of Jack Treutle.
113k	Holland (AS-3) at anchor during the 1930s, with Barracuda (SS-163) tied up to her port side. Dolphin (SS-169) is partially visible, tied to *Holland's* starboard side.	NH # 65018, courtesy of U.S. Naval Historical Center.
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 # 80-G-63334, now in the collections of the National Archives. Photo courtesy of the USNHC.
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.
119k	Holland (AS-3) 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"*.	NH # 3036, courtesy of U.S. Naval Historical Center.
82k	Holland (AS-3) 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"*.	NH # 3037, courtesy of U.S. Naval Historical Center.
90k	Holland (AS-3) 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"*.	NH # 3038, courtesy of U.S. Naval Historical Center.
96k	Holland (AS-3) 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"*.	NH # 3039, courtesy of U.S. Naval Historical Center.
18k	Dolphin (SS-169), circa 1936-1939.	US Navy photo courtesy of Hyperwar US Navy in WWII.
17k	Commemorative postal cover marking Fleet Maneuvers of the following subs off Midway, 5 April 1937: Argonaut (SS-166), Nautilus (SS-168), Dolphin (SS-169), Porpoise (SS-172), Pike (SS-173), & Shark (SS-174) .	Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
23k	Commemorative postal cover and photo inset showing the Dolphin(SS-169) on 16 October 1937 before *Dolphin* departed San Diego for her new home port, Pearl Harbor, on 1 December 1937.	Photo courtesy of Jack Treutle. Text courtesy of DANFS.
25k	Commemorative postal cover marking the Dolphin's (SS-169) deep dive, 28 November 1939.	Photo courtesy of Jack Treutle.
72k	Dolphin (SS-169), at the Underwater Sound School, Hawaii, circa 1940. Note the date (maybe) on the photo is 342. The ship is painted in pre-war light navy gray. As far as I know, all the submarines were painted black well before the attack on Pearl Harbor.	US Navy photo courtesy of Harry E. Royer. Photo i.d. & text courtey of Aryeh Wetherhorn (USNR).
39k	Dolphin (SS-169) at the Underwater Sound School, Hawaii, circa 1940.	U.S. Navy photo courtesy of USNI.
39k	Port side view of the Dolphin (SS-169), circa 1939-43.	U.S. Navy photo courtesy of ussubvetsofworldwarii.org
44k	Dolphin (SS-169), in this undated photo, was an attempt to prune back submarine size. She would have had at least two sister ships but for the London Treaty of 1930, which cut size even further.	Photo & partial text courtesy of U.S. Submarines Through 1945, An Illustrated Design History by Norman Friedman. Naval Institute Press.
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.
53k	Oil/alkyd on canvas by the artist John Meeks entitled "Pearl". Just a few minutes after America's unexpected and violent entry World War II, this painting depicts the scene at the submarine base with Dolphin (SS-169) (to the left) and Narwhal (SS-167) acquitting themselves to the best of their abilities, and honorably, during the first wave of the attack. In the background, a pall of smoke rises from the disaster that has befallen "Battleship Row" and the Navy Yard, and Japanese "Kate" torpedo bombers race in from the south to add to the mayhem. A lone "Kate", its torpedo already spent, circles - perhaps to take photographs. As it crosses astern of the moored submarines, their hastily prepared anti-aircraft fire scores a hit and it sustains fatal damage. Credit for the 'kill' is shared by *Narwhal, Tautog* (SS-199) and a destroyer (- although in detailed battle reports, the skipper of *Dolphin* claims the victory...).	Photo & text courtesy of subart.net. Photo added 02/22/07.
106	Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Territory of Hawaii view looking northward, with the Navy Yard industrial area in the foreground and the Marine Barracks in the lower right, 28 July 1942. Ford Island is at left, with Oklahoma (BB-37) and Arizona (BB-39) under salvage nearby. San Diego (CL-53) is in the upper center. West Virginia (BB-48) is in Drydock Number One, in the lower left, and California (BB-44) is alongside the wharf at the extreme right. Cruisers alongside the pier in right center are Northampton (CA-26) (left) and Pensacola (CA-24). Submarines alongside 1010 Dock, just beyond Drydock # 1, are Trout (SS-202), Pollack (SS-180), Dolphin (SS-169) and Cachalot (SS-170). Note camouflage on many of the Navy Yard's buildings.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # NH 84002, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Courtesy of the Naval Historical Foundation. Collection of The Honorable James V. Forrestal.
112k	Dolphin (SS-169), shown about 1943, is little modified from her peacetime appearance. She was then being used to train submariners at Pearl Harbor. After an inspection revealed considerable corrision in her tanks, she was sent back to New London for less demanding work. Torpedoes were stowed, as shown, in the external tubes abaft the bridgefairwater. Designated torpedo capacity was initially 18; in 1933, the General Board ordered that 3 more torpedoes be stowed externally, as shown, in a space originally planned for boat stowage. Note the seperate generator engine in the compartment forward of the engine room.	Photo & text courtesy of U.S. Submarines Through 1945, An Illustrated Design History by Norman Friedman. Naval Institute Press.
18k	Commemorative postal cover marking the Dolphin's (SS-169) 40th anniversary, June 1970.	Photo courtesy of Jack Treutle.