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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive


Contributed by Don McGrogan, BMCS, USN (ret.)

Pollack (SS-180)

Radio Call Sign: November - Echo -Lima - Foxtrot

Perch Class Submarine: Laid down, 1 October 1935, at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Portsmouth, NH; Launched, 15 September 1936; Commissioned, USS Pollack (SS-180), 15 January 1937; Decommissioned, 21 September 1945, at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Portsmouth, NH; Struck from the Naval Register, 29 October 1946; Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 2 February 1947, to Ship-Shape Inc., Philadelphia, PA. Pollack earned ten 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, Fairbanks-Morse and Co. diesel engines, HP 4300, Fuel Capacity, 92,801 gals.; Elliot Motor Co., electric motors, HP 2368, 240 battery cells, twin screws.
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SS 18024kCommemorative post mark on the occasion of the Pollack's (SS-180) launching at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Portsmouth, NH, 15 September 1936.
Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
SS179 and 18065kStern view of the Pollack (SS-180) & Plunger (SS-179) at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, ME. They are pictured here fitting out, circa April 1937.
USN photo courtesy of ussubvetsofworldwarii.org.
SS 18071kCommemorative post mark on the occasion of the shakedown cruise of the Pollack (SS-180), 20 July 1937.
Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
Navy Day 193721kCommemorative 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.
SS 18064k Pollack (SS-180) photographed circa 1937.
Official U.S. Navy Photograph NH 99777, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
SS 18016kCommemorative post mark on the occasion of Pollack's (SS-180), first Xmas, 1937.
Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
SS 18061kPollack (SS-180), circa late 1930's, possibly at at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, ME.
US Navy photo courtesy of Harry E. Royer.
SS 178, 179 and 18081kPhoto entitled "Weekly Inspection, Permit (SS-178). The Pollack (SS-180) and the Plunger (SS-179) flank the Permit." Naval Recruiting Dept, New York, circa late 1937.US Navy photo, courtesy of Darryl Baker.
SS 18034k Pollack (SS-180) underway, portside view, circa late 30's.
Courtesy of submarinesailor.com.
SS 18024kCommemorative post mark on the occasion of the Fleet Review by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt at San Francisco, CA, 14 July 1938.
Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
SS 139 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.
SS-172 123k Holland (AS-3) in Alaskan waters with submarines Pollack (SS-180) and Porpoise (SS-172) alongside, circa the later 1930s. US Navy photo # 68480, U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
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.
SS 180129k Postal cover marking the 4th birthday of the Pollack (SS-180), 15 January 1941.
Courtesy of Darryl Baker.
SS 18050k Pollack (SS-180) entering Pearl Harbor.
This is actually a pre war photo, probably taken in 1939 or 1940. The hull numbers were painted out immediately after hostilities began and the conning tower fairwaters on the P class (SS-176-81) boats were cut down during refits between patrols and during overhauls in 1942. I think this picture was a generic shipboard souvenir postcard or photo obtained by the Senior Chief who wrote the caption on the front during his wartime service.
USN photo courtesy of ussubvetsofworldwarii.org. Text courtesy of David Johston (USNR).
Navy Day 193763kOil 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.
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.
Trout 21k Pearl Harbor Navy Yard, Oahu, Territory of Hawaii. Vertical aerial view of the drydock area, 28 July 1942. Floating drydock YFD-2 is at left, with Alywin (DD-355) inside. Small drydock in center holds Growler (SS-215) and Nautilus (SS-168). Litchfield (DD-336) and an ARD floating drydock are in Drydock # 2, in right center. Drydock # 1, at right, contains West Virginia (BB-48). Submarines partially visible alongside 1010 Dock, in the extreme upper right, are Trout (SS-202) and Pollack (SS-180). Note anti-torpedo nets and booms protecting this area.
Official U.S. Navy Photograph, # NH 83998, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Courtesy of the Naval Historical Foundation. Collection of The Honorable James V. Forrestal.
SS 18074kReconnaissance photo taken by the Pollack (SS-180) on March 17, 1943, off the North east coast of Honshu Island, Japan, shows store installations and a beached Japanese freighter.
Text & photo courtesy of Theodore Roscoe, from his book "U.S. Submarine Operations of WW II", published by USNI.

View the Pollack (SS-180)
DANFS history entry located on the Haze Gray & Underway Web Site.
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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