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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive

Patch courtesy of
Don McGrogan BMCS, USN (ret.)

Seal (SS-183)

Radio Call Sign: November - Alpha - Quebec - Xray

Salmon Class Submarine: Laid down, 25 May 1936, at Electric Boat Company, Groton, CT.; Launched, 25 April 1937; Commissioned, USS Seal (SS-183), 30 April 1938; Decommissioned, 15 November 1945; Laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet; Placed In service, 19 June 1947 at Boston, MA. as a Naval Reserve Training Ship; Placed Out of service and struck from the Naval Register, 1 May 1956, at Portsmouth, NH; Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 7 May 1956. Seal earned ten battle stars for World War II service.

Specifications: Displacement, Surfaced: 1,449 t., Submerged: 2,198 t.; Length 308' ; Beam 26' 1"; Draft 14' 2"; Speed, Surfaced 21 kts, Submerged 9 kts; Complement 5 Officers 50 Enlisted; Armament, eight 21" torpedo tubes, 24 torpedoes, one 3"/50 deck gun, two .50 caliber machine guns, two .30 caliber machine guns; Propulsion, diesel-electric, four Hoover, Owens, Rentschler Co. diesel engines, (replaced in 1943-1944 with four General Motors 278A diesel engines), 5,500 hp, Fuel Capacity, 96,025 gals. four Elliot Motor Co. electric motors, 3,300 hp, Battery Cells 252, twin propellers.

Size	Image Description	Source
21k	Commemorative postal cover on the occasion of the keel laying of the Seal (SS-183), 25 May 1936, at Electric Boat Company, Groton, CT.	Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
17k	Commemorative postal cover on the occasion of the Seal's (SS-183) launching, 25 April 1937.	Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
73k	View of Navy personnel and civilians standing on and by the Seal's (SS-183) fairwater, as she was delivered to the Naval Submarine Base, New London, by her builders, the Electric Boat Company of Groton, Connecticut, circa April 1937. Note that she is painted *S-2*.	U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 103421.
101k	Starboard broadside view of the Seal (SS-183), most likely off Provincetown, Massachusetts, during her trials, 5 March 1938.	USN photo courtesy of ussubvetsofworldwarii.org. Photo added 05/02/07.
58k	Full length broadside view of the Seal (SS-183) off Provincetown, Massachusetts, during her trials, 5 March 1938.	Photograph # 19-N-19022 from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives.
59k	Full length stern view of the Seal (SS-183) off Provincetown, Massachusetts, during her trials, 5 March 1938.	Photograph # 19-N-19021 from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives.
58k	Commemorative postal cover on the occasion of Seal's (SS-183)commissioning, 30 April 1938.	Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
37k	Commemorative postal cover on the occasion of Seal's (SS-183) commissioning, 30 April 1938.	Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
53k	Seal (SS-183) photographed when first completed, circa mid-1938.	U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 91833, courtesy of the Electric Boat Company, Groton, Connecticut.
190k	Montage of photographs by Robertson & Fresh, Tampa Florida, 20 July 1938, showing the Seal (SS-183), her officers and her crew. Among the officers seen in the upper left are *Seal's* Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Commander Karl G. Hensel, and Ensigns B.C. Hills and F.E. Brown.	U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 83625, courtesy of the Electric Boat Company, Groton, Connecticut.
64k	Commemorative postal cover on the occasion of Seal's (SS-183) shakedown cruise, 28 June 1938 and postmarked from Columbia, South America.	Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
17k	Commemorative postal cover on the occasion of Seal's (SS-183) shakedown cruise, 30 July 1938 and postmarked from Baltimore, Maryland.	Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
60k	Commemorative postal cover on the occasion of Navy Day 1938 honoring the six Salmon-class (SS-182-187) submarines: Salmon (SS-182) Seal (SS-183), Skipjack (SS-184) Snapper (SS-185) Stingray (SS-186) & Sturgeon (SS-187).	US Navy photo courtesy of Darryl Baker.
110k	Stingray (SS-186) foreground operating in formation with other submarines, during Battle Force exercises, circa 1939. The other three submarines are (from left to right): Seal (SS-183); Salmon (SS-182) and Sturgeon (SS-187).	U.S. Naval Historical Center photo # NH 77086. Collection of Vice Admiral George C. Dyer, USN (Retired).
110k	Stingray (SS-186) submerging in formation with other submarines, during Battle Force exercises, circa 1939. Sturgeon (SS-187) is immediately beyond Stingray (SS-186), with the wakes further in the distance probably belonging to Seal (SS-183) and Salmon (SS-182).	U.S. Naval Historical Center photo # NH 77089. Collection of Vice Admiral George C. Dyer, USN (Retired).
107k	Stingray (SS-186) submerging in formation with other submarines, during Battle Force exercises, circa 1939. The other three submarines are (from left to right): Seal (SS-183); Salmon (SS-182) and Sturgeon (SS-187).	U.S. Naval Historical Center photo # NH 98985. Collection of Vice Admiral George C. Dyer, USN (Retired).
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.
104k	Plunger (P6) (SS-179) backing clear of a nest of submarines, alongside their tender in San Diego harbor, California, in 1940. Other identifiable submarines present are: Salmon (SS-182); Seal (SS-183); and Stingray (SS-186).	U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 68482. courtesy of the U.S. Naval Institute, James C. Fahey Collection.
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.	U.S. Naval Historical Center photo # NH 68479, courtesy of the U.S. Naval Institute. James C. Fahey Collection.
156k	Stern of the Seal (SS-183) at Mare Island on 21 Mar 1943. Shipyard workers are conducting an inclining experiment. Modifications made by the shipyard during her refit are circled.	USN / Mare Island photo # 1866-43, courtesy of Darryl Baker.
175k	Bow of the Seal (SS-183) at Mare Island on 21 Mar 1943. Shipyard workers are conducting an inclining experiment. Modifications made by the shipyard during her refit are circled.	USN / Mare Island photo # 1867-43, courtesy of Darryl Baker.
147k	Stern of the Seal (SS-183) at Mare Island on 21 Mar 1943. Shipyard workers are conducting an inclining experiment.	USN / Mare Island photo # 1886-43, courtesy of Darryl Baker.
144k	Plan view of the Seal (SS-183) at Mare Island on 21 Mar 1943. Shipyard workers are conducting an inclining experiment.	USN / Mare Island photo # 1887-43, courtesy of Darryl Baker.
106k	Stern view of the Seal (SS-183) off Mare Island on 24 Mar 1943.	USN / Mare Island photo # 2015-43, courtesy of Darryl Baker.
43k	Seal (SS-183) off the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, 24 March 1943.	Photograph # NH 19-N-42270, from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives.
102k	Broadside view of the Seal (SS-183) off Mare Island on 24 Mar 1943.	USN / Mare Island photo # 2017-43, courtesy of Darryl Baker.
99k	Bow view of the Seal (SS-183) off Mare Island on 24 Mar 1943.	USN / Mare Island photo # 2019-43, courtesy of Darryl Baker.
60k	Seal (SS-183) underway off Mare Island, on 2 June 1944. Note *Seal's* fully extended after periscope.	US Navy photo courtesy of John Hummel. Partial text courtesy of USNHC photo # 19-N-69043.
127k	Bow on view of Seal (SS-183) in Mare Island channel on 22 Jun 1944. She was in overhaul at the yard from 3 April until 5 July 1944.	USN / Mare Island photo # 3757-44, courtesy of Darryl Baker.
192k	Stern view of Seal (SS-183) in Mare Island channel on 22 Jun 1944. She was in overhaul at the yard from 3 April until 5 July 1944.	USN / Mare Island photo # 3777-44, courtesy of Darryl Baker.
161k	Forward plan view of the Seal (SS-183) in Mare Island channel on 22 Jun 1944. She was in overhaul at the yard from 3 April until 5 July 1944. The barge tied up to her starboard side is *YF-557*.	USN / Mare Island photo # 3888-44, courtesy of Darryl Baker. Partial text courtesy of USNHC photo # NH 103426.
131k	Plan view of the Seal (SS-183), amidships looking forward, taken at the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, 26 June 1944. The barge tied up to her starboard side is *YF-557. White outlines mark recent alterations to Seal*.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # NH 103427, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
107k	Plan view of the Seal (SS-183), amidships looking aft, taken at the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, 26 June 1944. The barge tied up to her starboard side is *YF-557. White outlines mark recent alterations to Seal*.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # NH 103426, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
336k	Seal (SS-183) open for business in this post war photo, most likely after 19 June 1947 at Boston, MA. when she was a Naval Reserve Training Ship. She has her war record and number painted on the conning tower. Note the civilians on the 20mm guns.	US Navy photo courtesy of David Buell. Photo added 11/30/07.
348k	Two boys race over the Seal's (SS-183) deck trying to catch up to other members of a group of civillians in this post war photo, most likely after 19 June 1947 at Boston, MA. when she was a Naval Reserve Training Ship. Note the civilians going below into the hatch.	US Navy photo courtesy of David Buell. Photo added 11/30/07.