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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive


Patches contributed by Mike Smolinski

Sculpin (SS-191)

Radio Call Sign: November - Echo - Lima - Sierra

Sargo Class Submarine: Laid down, 7 September 1937, at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Portsmouth, NH; Launched, 27 July 1938; Commissioned, USS Sculpin (SS-191), 16 January 1939; Lost to enemy action, depth charge attack, 19 November 1943; Struck from the Naval Register, 25 March 1944. Sculpin was awarded eight battle stars for her service in World War II and received the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation.

Specifications: Displacement, Surfaced: 1,450 t., Submerged: 2,350 t.; Length 310' ; Beam 27' 1"; Draft 13' 8"; Speed, Surfaced 20 kts, Submerged 7.75 kts; Max Operating Depth, 250'; 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, 90,000 gals. four General Electric Co. electric motors, 2,740 hp, Battery Cells 252, twin propellers.
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For Full Size		Size Image Description Source
Sculpin 18k Commemorative postal cover marking the Sculpin's (SS-191) keel and launching on 7 September 1937, & 27 July 1938 at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Portsmouth, NH. Courtesy of Jack Treutle (of blessed memory).
Sculpin 48k Mrs Joseph Rollie Defrees sponsored the Sculpin (SS-191) on 27 July 1938.
As of the moment, I have no photo of her, so this will have to do.
Younger set at Navy loft. Wash. D.C. Helen Defrees, left, daughter of Rear Admiral and Mrs. Joseph R. Defrees, commandment of the Navy Yard, and Lucil van Deer Friedell, daughter of Capt. W.L. Friedell, photographed at the Navy Loft party given by the command and officers for Vice Admiral Matthew R. Best of the Royal Navy, 11/2/35.
Ironically, Helen Defrees' brother, Lieutenant Joseph Rollie Defrees, Jr., was K.I.A. aboard the Sculpin (SS-191) on 19 November 1943.		 Photo # LC-H2-B-8560 by Harris & Ewing, & text courtesy of loc.gov.
Sculpin 243k Launching of the Sculpin (SS-191) at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Portsmouth, NH; 27 July 1938. Tugs at the stern & bow secure the boat for berthing. USN photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Sculpin 168k Starboard side view of the Sculpin (SS-191), probably during her shakedown cruise, summer 1938. USN photo courtesy of ussubvetsofworldwarii.org.
Sculpin 21k Commemorative postal cover marking the Sculpin's (SS-191) commissioning on 16 January 1939. Courtesy of petloveshack.com.
Sculpin 519k Navy Yard Portsmouth N.H., U.S. submarine Sculpin (SS-191) periscope support (with fairwater) looking forward, 3 March 1939. Neg. # 89-39. Photo Source: NARA College Park, Maryland, Record group 19E.
Photo courtesy of Tracy White @ Researcher @ Large.
Sculpin 138k Commemorative postal cover marking the Deep Dive of the Sculpin (SS-191) on 18 April, 1939. Courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.
Sculpin 90k Still photo from a video of the Sculpin (SS-191).Video courtesy of Ron Reeves (of blessed memory).
Sculpin 489k Sculpin (SS-191) and tugs.Photo # 08_06_023276 courtesy of the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection via Sean Hert & flickr.com.
Sculpin 291k Painting of the Sculpin (SS-191) by the artist W.W. Calvert. Official USN photo courtesy of George & Linda Salava. This photo was from the collection of FC3 Frank Salava who was K.I.A. when the Sculpin (SS-191) was sunk & 62 other crewmen were K.I.A. on 19 November 1943.
Sculpin 201k The Sculpin (SS-191) standing by over Squalus (SS-192) after locating her on 23 May 1939. USN photo # 209-38 courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Squalus
0819224		 137k RESCUE PLAN CHARTED—This is how rescue ship Falcon (ASR-2) lowered the Navy's new "diving bell" to save men entrapped in the Squalus (SS-192). Use of the bell, which fits over the submarine's hatch, was ordered by Admiral C. W. Cole, Portsmouth Navy Yard commandant. Inset A Is an enlargement of the bell, which accommodates six or eight men.
A cross-section diagram of the Navy's new nine-ton diving bell. Ten feet high, the bell has two compartments and carries its own operating engine. A rubber jacket at its base fits over the hatch of the submarine, allowing men to enter the lower chamber and climb from there to the upper.
With the crew anxiously scanning the sea for sign of the Squalus crew, the submarine Sculpln (SS-191) stands by at the scene—unable to give aid. 		A. P. Wirephoto.
Image and text provided by Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
Photo from the Evening Star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 24 May 1939, Image 4, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
Sculpin 24k Commemorative postal cover marking the Sculpin's (SS-191) part in the rescue of the crew of the Squalus (SS-192), 25 May 1939. Courtesy of Jack Treutle (of blessed memory).
Sculpin 893k Members of the crew of the submarine Sculpin (SS-191), sister ship of the ill fated Squalus (SS-192), stand at attention on the deck on Memorial Day as they pay tribute to the 26 dead in the gray hull of the Squalus, 240 feet below the surface off the Isles of Shoals. The flag of the Sculpin is at half mast as the sailors stand at silent prayer. The entire rescue fleet of ships around the Squalus's grave took part in the memorial services as the guns of the cruiser Brooklyn (CL-40) boomed a salute of 21 guns, 30 May 1939. Image and text provided by David Wright via Acme Newpictures.
Sailfish 829k Aerial View of the Rescue Operation of the Squalus (SS-192).
The Sculpin (SS-191) is off the port side of the Falcon (ASR-2) in center.		 National Archives Identifier: 6281167
Photo courtesy of catalog.archives.gov
Sculpin 891k Sculpin (SS-191) lying off the Port Beam of the Salvage Ship Falcon (ASR-2), Assisting with Pumping Operations through a Hose Line. National Archives Identifier: 6281166
Local Identifier: 165-WW-332A-002.
Photo courtesy of catalog.archives.gov
Sculpin 145k Falcon (ASR-2) moored over the sunken Squalus (SS-192), during salvage operations off the New Hampshire coast in the Summer of 1939. Sculpin (SS-191) is in the right background. USN photo # USN 1149028, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
Sculpin 109k Men working on salvage pontoons over the sunken Squalus (SS-192), during salvage operations off the New Hampshire coast in the Summer of 1939. Falcon (ASR-2) is at left and Sculpin (SS-191) is in the center background. USN photo # USN 1149030, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
Sculpin 376k Broadside view of the Sculpin (SS-191) anchored off Portsmouth, NH in May, 1939, as part of the Squalus (SS-192) salvage fleet. While on her initial shakedown cruise on 23 May 1939, Sculpin was diverted to search for the Squalus. Sighting a red smoke bomb and a buoy from Squalus, she established communications, first by underwater telephone and then by signals tapped in Morse code on the hull. Source: LIFE Magazine Archives - Carl Mydans Photographer, shared by Peter DeForest, courtesy of Mike Green.
Navy Day 21k Commemorative post mark on the occasion of the submarines
Sargo (SS-188),
Saury (SS-189),
Spearfish (SS-190),
Sculpin (SS-191),
Squalus (SS-192) &
Swordfish (SS-193) honoring Navy Day, 27 October 1939. 		Courtesy of Jack Treutle (of blessed memory).
Sculpin 19k Commemorative postal cover marking the Sculpin's (SS-191) cruise to the West Coast after participating in rescue operations for the Squalus (SS-192), 26 February 1940. Courtesy of Jack Treutle (of blessed memory).
Sculpin 246k The Sculpin (SS-191) entering Pearl Harbor sometime between 9 April 1940 - 23 October 1941. Official USN photo probably by Tai Sing Loo, courtesy of George & Linda Salava. This photo was from the collection of FC3 Frank Salava who was K.I.A. when the Sculpin (SS-191) was sunk & 62 other crewmen were K.I.A. on 19 November 1943.
SS=168 & 191 880kA painting by William Beaumont of the Nautilus (SS-168) & Sculpin (SS-191) meeting on the surface in 1941. Image courtesy of National Geographic/Corbis via "Silent Killers: Submariens and Underwater Warfare" by James P. Delgado via Robert Hurst.
Sculpin NR Undersea Hunters Mark Up 13 Victories
They found good hunting. Back at a Pacific base after a cruise in enemy waters, officers and crew of the Sculpin (SS-191) display a flag symbolic of three Japanese warships and ten merchantmen sent to the bottom.
Crew photo taken 7 March 1943.
The men are from left to right, (Front Row)
Carlos Tulea, 29, OS2c (officers steward) of Cavite, P.I.; Lt Corwin G. Mendenhall, USN, 26, of Anehuac, Texas; Weldon E. Moore, Chief Signalman, 34, of Colorado Springs. Colorado;(KIA), Lt. John H. Turner, USN, 29.
(Back Row) John J. Pepersack, Chief Electrician, 42 of Baltimore, MD; A. W. Coulter, QM3/c, 20, of St. Louis, MO; K. E. Waidelich, SM3c, 21, of Jackson, Michigan; Charlie Coleman, MoMM2c, 24, Philadelphia, PA (KIA); John Swift, EM1c, 25, of Newfane, NY; John J. Hollenbach, MM1c, 27 of Brookville, ID; Ralph S. Austin, MM2c, 21, of Springtown, TX; F. J. Dyboske, CEM, 33, of Rockford, IL; C. A. De Armond, MM1c, 30, of Denver CO. 		Text i.d. courtesy of Ric Hednan .
(Official U. S. Navy photo from NEA).
Image and text provided by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library, Chapel Hill, NC.
Photo & text by The Wilmington Morning Star. (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 10 March 1943, FINAL EDITION, Image 1, courtesy of chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
Sculpin 361k U.S. Sub skipper directed the sinking of 13 Japanese ships. Lieut. Comdr. Lucius Henry Chappell, of Columbus, Georgia, was the commanding officer of the submarine Sculpin (SS-191) that sent ten Jap merchant ships and three of Nippon's warships to their Pacific Ocean graves it was revealed in Washington today. Slung over his arm is a flag bearing symbols for each enemy ship sunk. AP Wire photo from the U.S. Navy (8 March 1943), courtesy of Bill Gonyo.
Sculpin 90k Sculpin (SS-191), in San Francisco Bay, CA., on 1 May 1943, following an overhaul. The San Francisco Bay Bridge is in the background. USN photo # NH 97303, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
Sculpin 532k The Sculpin (SS-191) in San Francisco Bay, CA., on 1 May 1943, following an overhaul. USN photo MI-3168-43 courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Sculpin 73k Sculpin (SS-191), bow view in San Francisco Bay, California, on 1 May 1943, following an overhaul. USN photo # NH 97302, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
Sculpin 204k Sculpin (SS-191) off Hunters Point Navy Yard on 1 May 1943. USN photo # 3169-43, from the collections of the Vallejo Naval & Historic Museum & submitted by Darryl L. Baker.
Sculpin 168k Sculpin (SS-191), at Bethlehem Steel Company shipyard, San Francisco, CA., 1 May 1943, following an overhaul. This view of her midships area, port side, identifies changes recently made to the ship. Note outlined hull number ("191") on the side of her sail. Among the ships and craft in the background are the small tug Lucien (center, middle distance) and Navy barge YC-826 (right, middle distance). USN photo # NH 97304, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center
Sculpin 113k Sculpin (SS-191), at Bethlehem Steel Company shipyard, San Francisco, CA.1 May 1943, following an overhaul. This view of the forward end of her sail identifies changes recently made to the ship. Note 20mm and 3"/50 guns; SD and SJ radar antennas. USN photo # NH 97305, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
Sculpin 108k Sculpin (SS-191), at Bethlehem Steel Company shipyard, San Francisco, CA., 1 May 1943, following an overhaul. This view of the after end of her sail identifies changes recently made to the ship. Note 20mm gun; SD and SJ radar antennas. The Coast Guard lighthouse tender Balsam (WAGL-62) is in the floating drydock in the right background. USN photo # NH 97306, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
Sculpin 197k FC3 Frank Salava who was K.I.A. when the Sculpin (SS-191) was sunk 19 November 1943. Official USN photo courtesy of George & Linda Salava. This photo was from the collection of FC3 Frank Salava who was K.I.A. when the Sculpin (SS-191) was sunk & 62 other crewmen were K.I.A. on 19 November 1943.
Sculpin 121k Letter from SecNav Forrestal concerning the Bronze Star posthumously awarded FC3 Frank Salava who was K.I.A. when the Sculpin (SS-191) was sunk 19 November 1943. Official USN photo courtesy of George & Linda Salava. This photo was from the collection of FC3 Frank Salava who was K.I.A. when the Sculpin (SS-191) was sunk & 62 other crewmen were K.I.A. on 19 November 1943.
Sculpin 103k Photo of Frank Salava with brother Charles (on right). Charles joined the Army and was killed in a training accident in 1943.
Letter from Admiral Lockwood awarding the USN Submarine Combat Insignia posthumously to FC3 Frank Salava who was K.I.A. at his post when the Sculpin (SS-191) was sunk 19 November 1943.
Likewise a PDF from the Submarine Force Emergency Welfare Fund concerning the financial help available to their families.		 Official USN photo courtesy of George & Linda Salava. This photo was from the collection of FC3 Frank Salava who was K.I.A. when the Sculpin (SS-191) was sunk & 62 other crewmen were K.I.A. on 19 November 1943.
Sculpin 37k 5 November 2005 photo of the Sculpin's (SS-191) original battle flag. Photo courtesy of Randy Chappell, son of Lt. Commander Lucius H. Chappell & Ric Hedman.
Trigger 292k Bow view of the Trigger (SS-237) & former Sculpin (SS-191) commander Lt. Commander Lucius H. Chappell off Guam in March 1945. Photo i.d. courtesy of Ric Hedman.
Photo by Bob Adams, courtesy of Rick Connole, son of Commander David R. Connole,K.I.A. while commanding the Trigger (SS-237), lost with the entire crew of 89 on 28 March 1945.
Asashio class638kPhoto of the Japanese Asashio class destroyer Asashio sister ship of the Yamagumo which damaged the Sculpin (SS-191), and caused her crew to scuttle her. Courtesy of wikimedia.org
Sculpin 1.16k 14 page PDF history of the Sculpin (SS-191). Photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Sculpin NR Two D. C. Area Sailors Believed Aboard Lost Submarine Sculpin (SS-191). Image and text provided by Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
Photo & text by Evening Star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 03 April 1944, Image 31, courtesy of chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
Sculpin 191k Google Earth satellite photo of the general area in which Sculpin (SS-191) is assumed to have been lost.View courtesy of Google Earth.
Sculpin 97k Lieutenant Commander Fred Connaway, USN photographed circa 1942. On 19 November 1943, while in command of Sculpin (SS-191), he was lost when his ship was sunk. This image was published in the book "United States Submarine Losses in World War II". USN photo # NH 50661, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
Sculpin 81k Captain John P. Cromwell, USN photographed circa 1943. He was lost with Sculpin (SS-191) on 19 November 1943 and was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at that time.
"For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as Commander of a Submarine Coordinated Attack Group with Flag in the Sculpin, during the Ninth War Patrol of that vessel in enemy-controlled waters off Truk Island, 19 November 1943.
Undertaking this patrol prior to the launching of our first large-scale offensive in the Pacific, Captain Cromwell, alone of the entire Task Group, possessed secret intelligence information of our submarine strategy and tactics, scheduled Fleet movements and specific attack plans. Constantly vigilant and precise in carrying out his secret orders, he moved his underseas flotilla inexorably forward despite savage opposition and established a line of submarines to southeastward of the main Japanese stronghold at Truk. Cool and undaunted as the submarine, rocked and battered by Japanese depth-charges, sustained terrific battle damage and sank to an excessive depth, he authorized the Sculpin to surface and engage the enemy in a gun-fight, thereby providing an opportunity for the crew to abandon ship. Determined to sacrifice himself rather than risk capture and subsequent danger of revealing plans under Japanese torture or use of drugs, he stoically remained aboard the mortally wounded vessel as she plunged to her death.
Preserving the security of his mission at the cost of his own life, he had served his country as he had served the Navy, with deep integrity and an uncompromising devotion to duty. His great moral courage in the face of certain death adds new luster to the traditions of the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country."
This image was published in the book "United States Submarine Losses in World War II".
Medal of Honor citation for Captain John P. Cromwell (as printed in the official publication "Medal of Honor, 1861-1949, The Navy", page 170). 		USN photo # NH 51733, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
Sculpin 45k Commemorative photo in honor of the memory of the crew of the Sculpin (SS-191).Photo courtesy of Tom Kermen.
Dante's Prayer courtesy of Loreena McKennitt via loreenamckennitt.com
Fremantle 365k This plaque was unveiled 20 March 1995 by His Excellency Major General P.M. Jeffery OA MC, Governor of Western Australia to commemorate the sacrifices made by Allied submarines that operated out of Fremantle, Western Australia during WW II. Photo courtesy of Ron Reeves (of blessed memory).
Tolling the Boats 117k Joyce DaSilva, the wife of Jesse DaSilva of the Tang (SS-306), one of the nine survivors of the boat, 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 Ballou of Rhode Island was killed in the battle, and just before it he had wrote to his wife, Sarah, 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!"		 Text i.d. courtesy of Marlynn Starring. Photo i.d. courtesy of Chuck Senior, Vice Commander, Los Angeles-Pasadena Base, USSVI.
USN photo # N-1159B-021 by Journalist 2nd Class Brian Brannon, courtesy of news.navy.mil.
Sculpin 33k Mrs. Connaway prepares to break the traditional bottle of champagne on the bow of Sculpin (SSN-590) at Ingalls Shipbuilding Co., Pascagoula, MS., on 31 March 1960.
She was the wife of Lieutenant Commander Fred Connaway, USN. He and 62 other crewmen were lost with the first Sculpin (SS-191) when it was sunk on 19 November 1943 in action against the Japanese. 		Courtesy of home.cshore.com / Stanley J. Bice.
Sculpin 204k "There is a port of no return-" Captain John P. Cromwell goes down with the stricken Sculpin (SS-191) to prevent seizure and possible enemy extortion of special information confided to his care. The sea will keep his secret well, and his name will become a naval synonym for valor. "Sailor, rest your oar-"

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 / He brought me forth also into a large place: / he delivered me because he delighted in me./" 		Drawing by Lt. Cmdr. Fred Freemen, courtesy of Theodore Roscoe, from his book "U.S. Submarine Operations of WW II", published by USNI.
View the Sculpin (SS-191)
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
oneternalpatrol.com
WHY CAPTAIN JOHN CROMWELL CHOSE TO GO DOWN WITH THE SHIP
ComSubForPac USS SCULPIN (SS 191) November 19, 1943 - 63 Men Lost
PigBoats.COM TM - A Historic Look at Submarines
World War II Submarine Warfare - rare footage
Ep-21 (1) - Victory At Sea ~ Full Fathom Five - HQ
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