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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive
Contributed by Don McGrogan, BMCS, USN (ret.)

V-8 (SC-4)
Cachalot (SS-170)

Radio Call Sign: November - India - Delta - Delta
Cachalot Class Submarine: Authorized as V-8 (SC-4); Laid down, 21 October 1931, as Cachalot (SS-170) at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, ME.; Launched, 19 October 1933; Commissioned USS Cachalot (SS-170), 1 December 1933; Decommissioned, 17 October 1945, at Philadelphia Navy Yard, Philadelphia, PA.; Struck from the Naval Register, 1 November 1945; Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 26 January 1947. Cachalot received three battle stars for World War II service.

Specifications: Displacement, Surfaced: 1,110 t., Submerged: 1,650 t.; Length 271' 10" ; Beam 24' 0"; Draft 12' 10"; Speed, surfaced 17 kts, submerged 8 kts; Depth Limit 250'; Complement 4 officers 39 enlisted; Armament, four 21" torpedo tubes forward, two 21" torpedo tubes aft, 18 torpedoes; one 3"/50 deck gun, two 30 cal. mgs.; Propulsion, diesel electric, Maschinfabrik - Augusburg- Nurnburg, New York Navy Yard diesel engines, hp 3100, Fuel Capacity, 83,290 gal., Electro Dynamic Electric Co., electric motors, hp 1600, Battery Cells 240, twin propellers.
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For Full Size Image		Size Image Description Source
Cachalot 44k The Cachalot (SS-170) makes her way to the dock following her launching at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, ME., on 19 October 1933. Courtesy of petloveshack.com.
Cachalot 21k Commemorative postal cover marking Cachalot's (SS-170) launching at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, ME., 19 October 1933. Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
Cachalot 16k Commemorative postal cover marking Cachalot's (SS-170) commissioning at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, ME., 1 December 1933. Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
Cachalot 102k Cachalot (SS-170), leaving the Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, Maine, for a 5000-mile endurance test, 7 March 1934.
Photograph # 19-N-14689, from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives.
Cachalot 66k Cachalot (SS-170) with the tug Pennacook about to enter the drydock at Portsmouth N.H. Navy Yard, 9 July 1934.
Note the loop antenna (a pair of insulated lines) extending from the frame forward to stubs atop the bridge, as well as the flat top lines extending up to the telescoping mast. Part of the after loop is also visible. These radio antennas severly limited machine gun arcs of fire for submarine air defense.
Partial text courtesy of U.S. Submarines Through 1945, An Illustrated Design History by Norman Friedman. Naval Institute Press. U.S. Navy photo courtesy of ussubvetsofworldwarii.org
Cachalot 17k Cachalot (SS-170), circa mid 1930's.
 US Navy photo courtesy of Hyperwar US Navy in WWII.
Cachalot 33k Image of the Cachalot (SS-170) from a 8mm home movie on Kodachrome color, circa 1936.
Photo courtesy of periscopefilm.com.
Cachalot 61k Stern view of the Cachalot (SS-170) from a 8mm home movie on Kodachrome color, circa 1936.
Photo courtesy of periscopefilm.com.
Cachalot 84k Bow view of the Cachalot (SS-170) tieing up to a pier; from a 8mm home movie on Kodachrome color, circa 1936.
Photo courtesy of periscopefilm.com.
Cachalot 67k Bow view of the Cachalot (SS-170) tieing up to a pier; from a 8mm home movie on Kodachrome color, circa 1936.
Photo courtesy of periscopefilm.com.
Cachalot 88k Officer onboard the Cachalot (SS-170) giving orders to the crew while tieing up to a pier; from a 8mm home movie on Kodachrome color, circa 1936.
Photo courtesy of periscopefilm.com.
Cachalot 37k Commemorative postal cover marking Independence Day aboard the Cachalot (SS-170), 4 July 1936. Courtesy of cgi.ebay.com. Photo added 02/22/09.
Cachalot 77k Photo by W.O. Waterman of the Cachalot (SS-170) at the U.S. Naval Training Station at San Diego, CA., sometime after 17 October 1934 & between 16 June 1937,when she joined the Submarine Force, U.S. Fleet.
US Navy photo courtesy of John Shane, whose grandfather, Lieutenant Commander Louis Shane, Jr. served aboard the Cachalot at New London Naval Yard in the mid 1930's and was lost at sea while commanding the Shark (SS-174), approximately 11 February 1942.
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). 		Official U.S. Navy Photograph, NH # 80-G-63334, now in the collections of the National Archives.
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).
Photograph NH # 82789, from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives.
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.
Cachalot 27k Operating until 1937 principally on the west coast, Cachalot (SS-170) engaged in fleet problems, torpedo practice, antisubmarine, tactical, and sound training exercises. She cruised twice to Hawaiian waters and once to the Canal Zone to participate in large- scale fleet exercises. This commemorative postal cover marks the occasion of the Cachalot's (SS-170) first visit to Hawaii, 30 Nov 1936. Photo courtesy of Jack Treutle. Text courtesy of DANFS.
Cachalot 105k Stern view of the Cachalot (SS-170), circa mid-/late 1930's.
 Courtesy of Erminio Bagnasco book, "Submarines of WW II", submitted by Aryeh Wetherhorn.
SS-17127kCommemorative postal cover marking the Cachalot (SS-170) & Cuttlefish (SS-171) celebration of Xmas & New Years, 1938.
Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
Cachalot 27k Commemorative postal cover marking Xmas & New Year 1938-9 aboard the Cachalot (SS-170). Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
Fleet Problem XX 43k Commemorative postal cover marking Snapper (SS-185), Stingray (SS-186), Skipjack (SS-184), Plunger (SS-179), Cachalot (SS-170), Salmon (SS-182), Perch (SS-176) & Pollack (SS-180) participating in Fleet Problem XX, 28 January 1939. Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
AS 3 59k Panoramic photograph of Holland (AS-3) moored at Buoy 19, San Diego, CA, 1940, with eleven submarines alongside. Submarines are (from left to right):
Salmon (SS-182);
Seal (SS-183);
Stingray (SS-186);
Perch (SS-176);
Pollack (SS-180);
Cachalot (SS-170);
Cuttlefish (SS-171);
Skipjack (SS-184);
Sturgeon (SS-187);
Snapper (SS-185)
and Sargo (SS-188).
SS-182 through SS-187 were members of Submarine Division 15, commanded by R.W. Christie. Richmond (CL-9), flagship of the Commander Submarine Force, Pacific, is in the right distance.
 US Navy photo # NH 68481, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center, courtesy of US Naval Institute, James C Fahey Collection.
Pearl Harbor106 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.
Cachalot 72k Cachalot (SS-170), underway off the New England coast where she served as a training ship for the Submarine School at New London, 1943.
 US Navy photo, text courtesy of DANFS.
Cachalot 34k Cachalot (SS-170), May 1944, place unknown.
US Navy photo courtesy of Hyperwar US Navy in WWII. Text contributed from "U S Warships of World War II" by P Silverstone courtesy of Aryeh Wetherhorn.
Cachalot 44k Cryptologic Technician Operator 3rd Class Evan Allen, assigned to the amphibious assault ship Peleliu (LHA 5) pours the cremated remains of his grandfather Darrell Allen, a Pearl Harbor survivor, over the side of the Utah Memorial during Peleliu's brief port visit to Pearl Harbor on Aug. 30, 2003. Darrell Allen was a Machinist Mate on the submarine Cachalot (SS-170), which was anchored at Berth 1, Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard on Dec. 7, 1941. The Cachalot was one of four U.S. subs in Pearl Harbor that day.
U.S. Navy photo # N-3228G-005, by Photographer's Mate 1st Class William R. Goodwin. Photo courtesy of news.navy.mil.
View the Cachalot (SS-170)
DANFS history entry located on the Haze Gray & Underway
Crew Contact And Reunion Information
U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation
Fleet Reserve Association
Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
Through the Looking Glass, A Historic Look at Submarines.

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