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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive

Patch on left contributed by Mike Smolinski, patch on right contributed by Don McGrogan, BMCS, USN (ret.)

V-9 (SC-5)
Cuttlefish (SS-171)

Radio Call Sign: November - India - Delta - Juliet

Cachalot Class Submarine: Authorized as V-9 (SC-4); Laid down, 7 October 1931, as Cuttlefish (SS-171) at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, ME.; Launched, 21 November 1933; Commissioned USS Cuttlefish (SS-171), 8 June 1934; Decommissioned, 24 October 1945, at Philadelphia Navy Yard, Philadelphia, PA.; Struck from the Naval Register, 3 July 1946; Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 12 February 1947. Cuttlefish received two battle stars for World War II service.

Specifications: Displacement, Surfaced: 1,130 t., Submerged: 1,650 t.; Length 274'; Beam 24' 0"; Draft 12' 11"; 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, Electric Boat Co., diesel engines, hp 3100, Fuel Capacity, 83,290 gal., Westinghouse Electric Co., electric motors, hp 1600, Battery Cells 240, twin propellers.

Size	Image Description	Source
61k	Commemorative postal cover marking the commissioning of the Cuttlefish (SS-171), 8 June 1934.	Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
141k	Starboard broadside photo of the Cuttlefish (SS-171) circa probably around commissioning time, 1934.	US Navy photo courtesy of John L. Ross. Photo added 07/28/06.
139k	V-9 (SC-4), has *C-2* painted on her conning tower in this starboard side view, circa 1934, probably during trials off Portsmouth Navy Yard & before her official commissioning & renaming to Cuttlefish (SS-171).	US Navy photo from NARA # 19-N-14770, courtesy of Daniel Dunham.
100k	V-9 (SC-4), has *C-2* painted on her conning tower in this port side view, circa 1934, probably during trials off Portsmouth Navy Yard.	US Navy photo from NARA # 19-N-15253, courtesy of Daniel Dunham.
136k	V-9 (SC-4), has *C-2* painted on her conning tower in this port side view, circa 1934, probably during trials off Portsmouth Navy Yard.	US Navy photo from NARA # 19-N-15260, courtesy of Daniel Dunham.
18k	Commemorative postal cover marking the Cuttlefish's (SS-171) shakedown cruise to New Orleans, 3 September 1934.	Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
16k	Commemorative postal cover & photo marking the first Xmas of the Cuttlefish (SS-171), 25 December 1934.	Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
118k	A submerging Cuttlefish (SS-171) circa probably around commissioning time, May 1935 - May 1938.	US Navy photo courtesy of John Shane, whose grandfather, Lieutenant Commander Louis Shane, Jr. served aboard the *Cuttlefish* 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.
68k	Commemorative postal cover marking the third anniversary of the launching of the Cuttlefish (SS-171), 8 June 1937.	Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
18k	Cuttlefish (SS-171), during the 1930s.	Hyperwar US Navy in WWII.
56k	Cuttlefish (SS-171), surfacing, during the 1930s.	US Naval Historical Center, # NH 55542.
79k	Cuttlefish (SS-171), in port, during the mid-1930s.	Courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1972. US Naval Historical Center, # NH 77108.
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.
27k	Commemorative postal cover marking the Cachalot (SS-170) & Cuttlefish (SS-171) celebration of Xmas & New Years, 1938.	Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
71k	Port side view of the Cuttlefish (SS-171) about to enter Pearl Harbor, HI., circa 1939.	U.S. Navy photo courtesy of ussubvetsofworldwarii.org web site.
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.
57k	Cuttlefish (SS-171) is shown in a prewar configuration. Although C & R developed the basic design, the builder, E.B., was responsible for detailed arrangement. It provided a seperate crew's mess, as in the much larger V-4 & 5 classes (SS-166-168). Both versions of this design had full double hulls, a feature taken from WW I German practice: narrow tanks at the ends provded very difficult to clean & preserve. Note the boat's direct-drive diesel. Note also the considerable space around the conning tower, within the large bridge fairwater. As in later boats, the fairwater was drastically cut down in WW II & the 3-in gun relocated forward at the bridge.	Drawing by Jim Christley. Text courtesy of U.S. Submarines Through 1945, An Illustrated Design History by Norman Friedman. Naval Institute Press. US Navy photo courtesy of the US Naval Historical Center.
81k	Cuttlefish (SS-171), firing a torpedo while submerged, in company with a number of amberjacks, dolphins and other fish. Painting by Harrison Miller, 1942.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # 80-G-K-13794, now in the collections of the National Archives.
450k	Black and white full size print of the above painting of the Cuttlefish (SS-171), firing a torpedo while submerged, in company with a number of amberjacks, dolphins and other fish. Painting by Harrison Miller, 1942.	Official USN photo courtesy of George K.Chastain, Executive Director of The Belle W. Baruch Foundation. Photo added 08/15/06.
76k	Cuttlefish (SS-171), underway, circa mid-1943, while serving on training duty out of New London, Connecticut.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph, # 80-G-K-3350, now in the collections of the National Archives.
76k	Cuttlefish (SS-171), submerging, while serving on training duty out of New London, Connecticut, circa mid-1943.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # 80-G-K-3348, now in the collections of the National Archives.
70k	Cuttlefish (SS-171), making a practice dive, while serving on training duty out of New London, Connecticut, circa mid-1943.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # 80-G-K-3349, now in the collections of the National Archives.
63k	Cuttlefish (SS-171), off the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania, 15 November 1943.	Photograph # 19-N-54179, from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives.
55k	Cuttlefish (SS-171), off the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania, 15 November 1943.	Photograph # 19-N-54178, from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives.
49k	Cuttlefish (SS-171), off the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania, 15 November 1943.	Photograph # 19-N-54180, from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives.
83k	Cuttlefish (SS-171), was one of the last two V-boats (SS-163-171), a link between the big crusiers and the much smaller submarines that the London Treaty of 1930 forced the U.S. Navy to accept. Although externally she was much like the later "fleet submarines," internally she was quite different, with vastly different propulsion.	Text courtesy of U.S. Submarines Through 1945, An Illustrated Design History by Norman Friedman. Naval Institute Press. US Navy photo courtesy of the US Naval Historical Center.
32k	Commemorative postal cover marking the 40th anniversary of the decommissioning of the Cuttlefish (SS-171) at Philadelphia, Pa, 24 October 1985.	Courtesy of Jack Treutle.