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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive
Patch courtesy of
Don McGrogan BMCS, USN (ret.)

Pompano (SS-181)
Construction - Pre War Service

Radio Call Sign: November - Echo - November - Quebec
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WW II Service & Loss

Porpoise Class Submarine: Laid down, 14 January 1936, at Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA.; Launched, 11 March 1937; Commissioned, USS Pompano (SS-181), 12 June 1937; Final Disposition, lost at sea, possibly due to striking an enemy mine of the coast of Japan, 29 August 1943; Struck from the Naval Register, 12 January 1944. Pompano earned seven 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 19.25 kts, Submerged 8.75 kts; Max. Operating Depth 250'; Complement 5 Officers 45 Enlisted; Armament, six 21" torpedo tubes, 18 torpedoes, one 3"/50 deck gun, two .50 caliber machine guns, four .30 caliber machine guns; Propulsion, diesel-electric, four Hoover, Owens, Rentschler Co. diesel engines, (replaced in September 1942 with four OP Fairbanks-Morse 38D diesel engines), 4,300 hp, Fuel Capacity, 92,801 gals. four Allis Chalmers Manufacturing Co.. electric motors, 2,285 hp, Battery Cells 240, twin propellers.
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For Full Size Image		SizeImage DescriptionSource
Volador 92k Trachinotus carolinus, the Common Pompano which spawned the Pompano (SS-181) & Pompano (SS-491). Photo courtesy of photolib.noaa.gov. via wikipedia.org.
Pompano174kPompano (SS-181) at left, Henley (DD-391), at right, under construction at the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, 16 April 1936.
US National Archives photo # 19-N-18021, photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection.
Pompano1.8mHenley (DD-391) is ready for christening at Mare Island on 12 January 1937. The Pompano (SS-181) is on the ways to the right. US Navy photo courtesy of Darryl Baker.
Photo added 01/28/11.
Pompano2.1mHenley (DD-391) is at the end of the ways at Mare Island on 12 January 1937. The Pompano (SS-181) is on the ways to the right. US Navy photo courtesy of Darryl Baker.
Photo added 01/28/11.
Pompano229kPompano (SS-181) dressed with flags prior to launching at Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, California, 11 March 1937.
Photo and text from The World Encyclopedia of Submarines by John Parker courtesy of Robert Hurst.
Pompano114k Christening party for the Pompano (SS-181) at Mare Island on 11 March 1937. Pictured from left to right are Mrs. Isaac I. Yates (Sponsor), Mrs W. H. Price (Maid of Honor), Captain Isaac I. Yates, USN, and Col. Raymond S. Pratt, USA, Chief of Staff, 7t California Artillery.
 US Navy photo # 193-37, courtesy of Darryl Baker.
Pompano77kPompano (SS-181), afloat immediately after her launching, at the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, 11 March 1937.
Official U.S. Navy Photograph / US National Archives # NH 44005, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
Pompano23kCommemorative postal cover on the occasion of the Pompano's (SS-181) launching, 11 March 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.
Pompano18kCommemorative postal cover on the occasion of the Pompano's (SS-181) first Xmas, 25 Dec. 1937.
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.
Pompano79kPompano (SS-181) in San Francisco Bay, California, 1938.
Official U.S. Navy Photograph / US National Archives # 80-G-456127, now in the collections of the National Archives.
Pompano28kCommemorative postal cover on the occasion of the Pompano's (SS-181) shakedown cruise, 19 January 1938.
Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
Pompano25kCommemorative postal cover on the occasion of the Pompano's (SS-181) shakedown cruise, 23 November 1939.
Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
Pompano52kPompano (SS-181), entering Pearl Harbor, circa 1937 - 41.USN photo.
Pompano24k Prewar photo of the Pompano (SS-181), probably off the coast of Mare Island, CA.USN photo courtesy of Kathy Krucker, niece of Lieutenant Commander (Executive Officer) Thomas Patrick McGrath, K.I.A. with the rest of the 76 man crew of the Pompano.
View the Pompano (SS-181)
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
Ep-21 (1) - Victory At Sea ~ Full Fathom Five - HQ
ComSubForPac USS POMPANO (SS 181) August 29, 1943 - 77 Men Lost
On Eternal Patrol
Through the Looking Glass, A Historic Look at Submarines.
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