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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive

Patch contributed by Mike Smolinski

Sturgeon (SS-187)

Radio Call Sign: November - Alpha - Romeo - Quebec

Salmon Class Submarine: Laid down, 27 October 1936, launched on 15 March 1938; sponsored by Mrs. Charles S. Freeman; Commissioned, USS Sturgeon (SS-187), 25 June 1938; Decommissioned, 15 November 1945, at Boston Navy Yard, Boston, MA.; Struck from the Naval Register, 30 March 1948; Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 12 June 1948, to Interstate Metals Corp., New York, NY. Sturgeon 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
79k	Sturgeon (SS-187), sliding down the launching ways at Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA., 15 March 1938.	USN photo courtesy of ussubvetsofworldwarii.org.
37k	Commemorative postal cover marking Sturgeon's (SS-187) commissioning, 25 June 1938.	Courtesy of of Jack Treutle. Photo added 04/09/06.
37k	Commemorative postal cover marking Sturgeon's (SS-187) launching, 8 November 1938.	Courtesy of of Jack Treutle.
29k	Sturgeon (SS-187), at Mare Island, California, August 22, 1938.	Courtesy of John Hummel.
167k	Commissioning postal cover for the Sturgeon (SS-187), June 25, 1938.	Courtesy of Darryl Baker.
21k	Commemorative postal cover marking Sturgeon's (SS-187) shakedown cruise, 8 November 1938.	Courtesy of 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).	Collection of Vice Admiral George C. Dyer, USN (Retired). U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 77086.
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).	Collection of Vice Admiral George C. Dyer, USN (Retired). U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 77089.
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).	Collection of Vice Admiral George C. Dyer, USN (Retired). U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 98985.
137k	Postal cover marking the 1st birthday of the Sturgeon (SS-187), June 25, 1939.	Courtesy of Darryl Baker.
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.
29k	Commemorative postal cover photo of the Sturgeon (SS-187), 15 Jan. 1941.	USN photo courtesy of Jack Treutle.
53k	Sturgeon (SS-187), off the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, 3 May 1943.	USN photo.
64k	Sturgeon (SS-187), off the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, 3 May 1943. Note the barrage balloon in the right background. A platform has been built out forward of the old bridge fairwater to take a 20-mm cannon, and two gun access trunks have been built into it to serve the 3 in/50 mount moved forward. The top of the old enclosed bridgw has been removed and a venturi added atop it to shield a new open bridge. The fairing around the periscope shears has been removed.	Partial text courtesy of U.S. Submarines Through 1945, An Illustrated Design History by Norman Friedman. Naval Institute Press. Official U.S. Navy Photograph # NH 99230, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
66k	Port side view of Sturgeon (SS-187), off the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, 3 May 1943.	Photograph # 19-N-46400, from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives.
96k	Sturgeon (SS-187), off the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, 3 May 1943. Ship in the left center distance is probably Bushnell (AS-15), which was then completing her post-commissioning outfitting.	Photograph # NH 99231, from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives / U.S. Naval Historical Center.
86k	Stern view of the Sturgeon (SS-187), off the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, 3 May 1943.	Photograph # NH 99232, from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives / U.S. Naval Historical Center.
97k	At the Hunters Point Navy Yard, San Francisco, California, 23 April 1943, following overhaul. White outlines mark recent alterations, among them the relocation of Sturgeon's (SS-187), 3"/50 deck gun, installation of watertight ready service ammunition lockers in her sail, and fitting of 20mm machine guns. Note the large concrete weight on deck, indicating that *Sturgeon* was then undergoing an inclining experiment to check her stability.	Photograph # 19-N-46405, from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives / U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
131k	At the Hunters Point Navy Yard, San Francisco, California, 23 April 1943, following overhaul. White outlines mark recent alterations. Note the weights on Sturgeon's (SS-187) deck, indicating that she was then undergoing an inclining experiment to check her stability.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # NH 99233, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
54k	View of Sturgeon (SS-187), conning tower while at South Boston Navy Yard, circa 15 Nov 1945 to 4 Feb 1946.	Photo by Vincent Grobbel, BM1, USCG, USS Davenport (PF-69), courtesy of Mike Grobbel.
100k	Close up of Sturgeon (SS-187), conning tower kill flags, while at South Boston Navy Yard, circa 15 Nov 1945 to 4 Feb 1946. Notice the parachute markings which probably indicated successful downed pilot recoverys.	Photo by Vincent Grobbel, BM1, USCG, USS Davenport (PF-69), courtesy of Mike Grobbel.
47k	Close up of Sturgeon (SS-187), conning tower showing the "Virgin Sturgeon" artwork and the battle ribbons on the front of the conn, while at South Boston Navy Yard, circa 15 Nov 1945 to 4 Feb 1946.	Photo by Vincent Grobbel, BM1, USCG, USS Davenport (PF-69), courtesy of Mike Grobbel.