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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive

Contributed by Mike Smolinski

Pickerel (SS-177)

Radio Call Sign: November - Alpha - Quebec - Mike

Perch Class Submarine: Laid down, 25 March 1935, at Electric Boat Company, Groton, CT.; Launched, 7 July 1936; Commissioned, USS Pickerel (SS-177), 26 January 1937; Final Disposition, officially reported as lost to enemy action (Japanese warships) during 6th patrol, on or about 3 April 1943, off Honshu, Japan, all hands lost; Struck from the Naval Register, 19 August 1943. Pickerel earned three battle stars for World War II service.

Specifications: Displacement, Surfaced: 1,330 t., Submerged: 1,997 t.; Length 300' 7" ; Beam 21' 5"; Draft 13' 10"; Speed, Surfaced 21 kts, Submerged 9 kts; Maximum Operating Depth, 250'; Complement 5 Officers, 45 Enlisted; Armament, six 21" torpedo tubes, 18 torpedoes, one 3"/50 deck gun, two .50 cal. machine guns, four .30 cal. machine guns; Propulsion, diesel-electric, Winton diesel engines, HP 4300, Fuel Capacity, 92,801 gals.; GE motors, HP 2368, 240 battery cells, twin screws.

Size	Image Description	Source
53k	Northern pike (E. lucius), or Pickerel.	Courtesy of wikipedia.org.
22k	Commemorative postal cover marking the launching of the Pickerel (SS-177) at Electric Boat Company, Groton, CT., 7 July 1936.	Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
90k	Wooden pattern for the Pickerel's (SS-177) brass data plaque, photographed by the Electric Boat Company, Groton, Connecticut, circa 1936 or early 1937.	Photograph 19-N-16354, from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives, courtesy of USNHC.
20k	Commemorative post mark on the occasion of the Pickerel's (SS-177) shakedown cruise, postmarked from Brazil, March 27, 1937.	Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
65k	Pickerel (SS-177), photographed circa 1937.	Photograph # NH 42614, from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives, courtesy of USNHC.
21k	Commemorative postal cover marking the boats of the P-class (SS-176/81) first Navy Day, 27 October 1937; Perch (SS-176), Pickerel (SS-177), Permit (SS-178), Plunger (SS-179), Pollack (SS-180) & Pompano (SS-181).	Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
171k	Bow view of the S-34 (SS-139) tied up to wharf, taken in the mid to late 30's, probably in Pearl Harbor. The sub is getting a new battery. The new cells are loaded on the railcars to the right. The photo was dated by looking at the sub moored behind it. It is a fleet boat, and probably a *Pike/Permit* class. It is painted black, so that puts it in the later 1930's. Also, the *S-34's* skeg has been cut away as part of a safety and maintenance mod, and that was done in April, 1932. The *S-34* was stationed almost exclusively in the P.I. and Pearl until 1941. The mountainous background looks a lot like Pearl (although it may be Subic or Cavite).	US Navy photo courtesy of ussubvetsofwwii.org. Photo i.d. courtesy of David Johnston (USNR), Darryl Baker & John Hummel. Text i.d. courtesy of David Johnston (USNR) & Darryl Baker. Photo added 03/17/07.
40k	Pickerel (SS-177), starboard bow view, circa 1938-43.	US Navy photo, courtesy of Harry E. Royer.
19k	Commemorative post mark on the occasion of Pickerel's (SS-177) joining the Asiatic Fleet, August 1940. She prepared for war with a vigorous training schedule in the Philippines.	Courtesy of Jack Treutle. Text courtesy of DANFS.
103k	Submarines in San Diego harbor, California, 1940 Moored alongside Holland (AS-3), from which the photograph was taken, the submarines are (from left to right): Salmon (SS-182); Seal (SS-183); Pickerel (SS-177); Plunger (SS-179); Snapper (SS-185) and Permit (SS-178). Note the small motor boats, of the type carried by fleet submarines prior to World War II. One of the men standing on Salmon's (SS-182) deck is Yeoman Clayton Johnson, who in 1969 was a Commander serving at the Naval History Division. Enterprise (CV-6) is in the distance, tied up at Naval Air Station, North Island.	US Navy photo # NH 68479, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center. Courtesy of the U.S. Naval Institute. James C. Fahey Collection.
53k	Pickerel (SS-177),off the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, 22 December 1942.	Photograph # 19-N-38937 from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives, courtesy of USNHC.
91k	Pickerel (SS-177), off the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, 22 December 1942.	USN photo courtesy of ussubvetsofworldwarii.org. Text courtesy of DANFS.
80k	Pickerel (SS-177), at the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, 28 December 1942. While outlines mark recent alterations to the ship, among them the addition of a pair of external bow torpedo tubes.	Photograph # 19-N-38939, from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives, courtesy of USNHC.
102k	Plan view of the Pickerel (SS-177), amidships and aft, taken at the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, 28 December 1942. While outlines mark recent alterations to the ship, among them the relocation of the 3"/50 deck gun and addition of a radar antenna mast forward of the conning station. Note the anti-torpedo net floats beyond the submarine.	Photograph # 19-N-38942, from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives, courtesy of USNHC.
63k	Oil on canvas painting by the artist Jim Christley entitled "Off To War". Although mismanaged and crippled with defective torpedoes, the boats such as this one of the Perch-class (SS-176/81) headed out to do battle with the Imperial Japanese Navy.	Photo & text courtesy of subart.net.
25k	Map area showing the general area of Hokkaido Island where the Pickerel (SS-177) was lost.	Photo courtesy of sailwx.info.
68k	Agriculture, Eastern Hokkaido, Japan, October 1994. Located at the eastern end of Japan's northernmost large island, Hokkaido, color infrared film (reddish hues represent a variety of green vegetation) helps to delineate a unique, gridded pattern on the landscape. The thin-looking, linear, intersecting pattern appears to be part of an extensive irrigation system that is being used to improve agricultural productivity in the region. In spite of a short growing season (varying from 130 to 150 days) the eastern end of Hokkaido does enjoy a vigorous livestock and dairy farming economy. The large, dark areas are forested terrain (found mainly in hilly or low-lying, swampy areas). There are also a few river valleys visible as the streams flow generally towards the southeast coast of Hokkaido. The locations of two rural cities, Nakashibetsu (lower left) and Shibecha (right middle), can be identified as small, gray-looking areas. Akkeshi Bay is the large bay slightly above the center of the image. The lighter blue waters along the coast and in the bay are actually brownish-looking sediment plumes. The same sediment coloration (lighter blue) is also visible in the small lakes, located northeast of the seaport city of Kushiro (upper right). The Pickerel (SS-177) is thought to be possibly laying off these waters off Shiranuka Light, near Kushiro.	Photo STS068-200-023 & text courtesy of jsc.nasa.gov.
7k	Augustus Howard Alston, Jr., Commander (Commanding Officer) of the Pickerel (SS-177) at the time of her loss.	US Navy photo courtesy of oneternalpatrol.com.
100k	In memory of the Pickerel (SS-177).	Photo courtesy of Tom Kermen.
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.
46k	Pickerel (SS-177), underway, entering Pearl Harbor, circa 1938-41. In Memorium: 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..."	Courtesy of US Navy.