Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster.
Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

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

Squalus / Sailfish (SS-192)
Re-commissioning and WW II Service

Radio Call Sign: November - India - Delta - Zulu
To Additional Pages

Construction - Launching
Loss & Rescue

Unit Awards, Campaign and Service Medals and Ribbons


Presidential Unit Citation
Sargo Class Submarine: Laid down, 18 October 1937, at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, ME.; Launched, 14 September 1938; Commissioned, USS Squalus (SS-192), 1 March 1939; Sunk by mechanical failure, 23 May 1939; Refloated, 13 September 1939; Decommission, 15 November 1939, at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Portsmouth, NH; Recommissioned, USS Sailfish (SS-192), 15 May 1940; Decommissioned, 27 October 1945; Struck from the Naval Register, 30 April 1948; Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 18 June 1948, to Luria Brothers, Philadelphia, PA. Sailfish was awarded nine battle stars for service in the Pacific and received the Presidential Unit Citation.

Specifications: Displacement, Surfaced: 1,400 t., Submerged: 2,350 t.; Length 310' 6" ; Beam 27' 1"; Draft 13' 8"; Speed, Surfaced 20 kts, Submerged 7.75 kts; Complement 5 Officers, 50 Enlisted; Maximum Depth Limit, 250'; Armament, eight 21" torpedo tubes, 24 torpedoes, one 3"/50 deck gun, two .50 cal machine guns, two .30 cal machine guns; Propulsion, diesel-electric engines, GE diesel engines, HP 5500, Fuel Capacity, 190,000 gals., GE motors, HP 2740, 252 battery cells. twin screws.
Click On Image
For Full Size Image		Size Image Description Source
Sailfish 12k Istiophorus platypterus, a Sailfish. Illustrated by Diane Rome Peebles. Photo courtesy of myfwc.com.
Squalus - Sailfish 17k One year commemorative postal cover dedicated to the memory of the crew of the Squalus (SS-192) who died at their posts when the boat sank by mechanical failure, 23 May 1939.
 Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
Squalus 134k The salvage pontoons proceed the sunken submarine to drydock. US Navy photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Squalus 44k Damage to conning tower by lifting pontoons. Sub is still being pumped out. Photo from Milne Special Collections, University of New Hampshire Library, Durham, N.H. courtesy of Ric Hedman & pigboats.com.
Squalus - Sailfish 441k Forward torpedo room of the Squalus (SS-192) after raising 15 Sep. 1939. US Navy photo # 448-39, courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Squalus - Sailfish 450k Salvaging of the Squalus (SS-192) in dry-dock showing the general condition of the boat.
US Navy photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Squalus - Sailfish 223k Salvaging of the Squalus (SS-192) at dockside. US Navy photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Squalus 157k Post salvage photo of the Squalus (SS-192). Note the position of the bow planes and the condition of the fairwater. The damage caused by the salvage chains and pontoons is evident but hard to make out clearly. You can see how the bridge was crushed. Photo from The World Encyclopedia of Submarines by John Parker courtesy of Robert Hurst.
Photo i.d. courtesy of John Hart, Ric Hedman & Dave Johnston.
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.
Squalus - Sailfish 32k Commemorative postal cover on the occasion of the de-commissioning of the Squalus (SS-192), 15 November 1939.
Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
Squalus - Sailfish 24k Commemorative postal cover on the occasion of the de-commissioning of the Squalus (SS-192), 15 November 1939.
Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
Squalus - Sailfish 181k The scene on the deck of the ill-fated U. S. Navy submarine Squalus (SS-192), 15 May 1940 as it was re commissioned under a new name---Sailfish, 15 May at the Portsmouth, N. H. Navy Yard today, 15 May. Lieutenant Commander John B. Longstaf, Aide to the Commandant at the Yard, read the orders of the Navy Department placing the submarine in commission and naming her Commander Lieut. Comm. Morton C. Mumma. The Squalus sank last 23 May off the Isles of Shoals, N. H., with a loss of 26 lives. Some of the survivors serve on the renamed sub.
Photo courtesy of the National Historical Center via Bill Gonyo.
Squalus - Sailfish 281k The scene on the deck of the ill-fated U. S. Navy submarine Squalus (SS-192), 15 May 1940 as it was re commissioned under a new name---Sailfish, at the Portsmouth, N. H. Navy Yard.
US Navy photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Squalus - Sailfish 70k Commemorative postal cover on the occasion of the re-commissioning of the Sailfish (SS-192), 15 May 1940.
Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
Squalus - Sailfish 181k Sailfish (SS-192) in New York City harbor, with the Porto Rico (that's how it is spelled in the photo) terminal buildings behind her, sometime after her recommissioning after 15 May 1940 to 16 January 1941, when she parted Portsmouth and headed for the Pacific.
U.S. Navy photo contributed by Skip Riser. Partial text courtesy of DANFS.
Squalus - Sailfish 163k Re-introducing the Squalus (SS-192), on the occasion of her re-commissioning on 15 May 1940. Photo courtesy of Bill Gonyo.
Squalus - Sailfish 36k Commemorative postal cover on the occasion of the Sailfish's (SS-192) first submergence, 29 June 1940.
 Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
Squalus - Sailfish 160k Commemorative postal cover on the occasion of Squalus (SS-192) shakedown cruise with Lt. Comdr. Morton C. Mumma commanding on 18 Nov. 1940. Photo courtesy of Bill Gonyo.
Squalus 455k Pre-war photo of the Sailfish (SS-192) underway. My guess would be late January 1941 while transiting to the Pacific. I believe this to be the Cape Cod Canal, Massachusetts Photo courtesy of Arnold Putnam.
Photo i.d. courtesy of Dave Johnston & Robert Morgan.
Photo added 12/04/11.
Sealion68kCommander Richard George Voge served a four-month tour of duty as commissioning executive officer of Rowan (DD-405) from late September 1939 to late January 1940. In mid-February Comdr. Voge returned to the Asiatic Fleet and assumed command of Sealion (SS-195), based at Cavite in the Philippines, and commanded that submarine until the opening day of American participation in World War II. At the outbreak of hostilities on 8 December 1941 (West Longitude Time), Voge suffered the double ignominy of having his command caught in overhaul and, three days later, of losing her to enemy bombs while still at Cavite Navy Yard. Voge, however, quickly recovered from that blow, assumed command of Sailfish (SS-192) on 17 December 1941.
Photo courtesy of the Lucky Bag yearbook – Class of 1925 via Bill Gonyo.
Sailfish 90k Sailfish (SS-192) off the Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA., 13 April 1943.
US National Archives photo # 19-N-43269, from the Bureau of Ships Collection.
Sailfish 90k Sailfish (SS-192) off the Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA., 13 April 1943.
US National Archives photo # 19-N-43270, from the Bureau of Ships Collection.
Sailfish 90k Sailfish (SS-192) off the Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA., 13 April 1943, following an overhaul.
US Navy photo # NH 97307, from the collections of the US Naval Archives.
Sailfish 90k Sailfish (SS-192) off the Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA., 13 April 1943, following an overhaul.
US Navy photo # NH 97308, from the collections of the US Naval Archives.
Sailfish 90k Sailfish (SS-192) at the Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA., 13 April 1943, following an overhaul. Circles on the photograph identify recent alternations to the ship. Gilmore (DE-18) is in the left background.
US National Archives photo # 19-N-43274, from the Bureau of Ships Collection.
Sailfish 95k Broadside view of the Sailfish (SS-192) off Mare Island on 13 April 1943.
USN photo # 2566-43, courtesy of Darryl Baker.
Sailfish 90k Sailfish (SS-192) at the Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA., 13 April 1943, following an overhaul. Circles on the photograph identify recent alternations to the ship. Note men in rowboat inspecting her limber holes, by the stubs of her removed propeller guards. Barges YF-200 and YF-190 are in the center background.
US National Archives photo # 19-N-43273, from the Bureau of Ships Collection.
Sailfish 16k Sailfish (SS-192), oil painting, unknown artist, circa 1943/45.
Author's collection.
SS 154 192k Aft plan view of the S-43 (SS-154) at Bethlehem Shipbuilding in San Francisco on 26 Jan 1944. The scaffolding belongs to the Sailfish (SS-192) to the right; Shad (SS-235) is forward of S-43 (SS-154), and unknown covered barge is berthed between Shad and Sailfish. US Navy photo # 642-44 courtesy of Darryl Baker.
Photo i.d. courtesy of Dave Johnston.
Sailfish 90k Sailfish (SS-192) crew members pose by the after end of the conning tower, while Sailfish was at Naval Submarine Base, New London, Groton, CT., in 1945. Her Presidential Unit Citation flag is behind the periscope sheers, in upper center. Original photo is dated September 1945.
"The man kneeling on the left is Ray Bunt holding shell of a sea turtle he caught and the crew ate. Other crew shown are Joe McGrievy, in the Navy chief's hat, (left to right) Gail Lusk, Bob Kempf, and Troy Ray. The man standing on the smoking deck to the left of the flag staff is "William J. Dillon (known as "Skippy" on the Sailfish since I was the radioman,radarman, sonarman on board)" and provided the above identifications. 		US National Archives photo # 80-G-700762. Thanks to William J. "Skippy" Dillon via Ric Hedman for supplying the names of his shipmates in this photo.
Squalus - Sailfish 230k Crowds line the shore 27 October 1945 at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. The Sailfish (SS-192) was making one last pierside dive prior to decommissioning. US Navy photo # 326-39, courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com. Photo i.d. courtesy of David Johnston (USNR).
Memorial plaque91kMemorial plaque at Independence Seaport Museum, Philadelphia PA, July 2006 for the crews of United States submarines lost during peace time accidents:
F-1 (SS-20), F-4 (SS-23), G-2 (SS-27), H-1 (SS-28), O-5 (SS-66), O-9 (SS-70), S-4 (SS-109), S-51 (SS-162), Squalus (SS-192), Scorpion (SSN-589) & Thresher (SSN-593). 		Photo courtesy of Wendell Royce McLaughlin Jr.
Sailfish 1.0k The sail of the Sailfish (SS-192) preserved as a memorial to its crew, at the US Navy's Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine. Photo courtesy of Charles A. Thompson.
Sailfish 892k This 2010 photo shows the gun access hatch in the after CT bulkhead, located inside the dog house of the Sailfish (SS-192). Photo i.d. courtesy of John Hummel.
Photo courtesy of Charles A. Thompson.
Sailfish 697k This photo shows the hatch leading down to the conning tower from the bridge. Photo courtesy of Charles A. Thompson.
Sailfish 656k This is looking down and forward from the bridge. On the lower left the hatch to the conning tower below is visible, and on the right is the open door to the forward gun deck. Photo courtesy of Charles A. Thompson.
Sailfish 1.0k The after cigarette desk sloping down, with a couple of ready service lockers below the raised aft TDC platform. Photo courtesy of Charles A. Thompson.
View the Squalus / Sailfish (SS-192)
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
On Eternal Patrol
Through the Looking Glass - A Historic Look at Submarines
Ep-21 (1) - Victory At Sea ~ Full Fathom Five - HQ
Back To The Main Photo Index Back To the Submarine Index
Problems and site related matters, E-mail Webmaster
This page is created by Gary Priolo and maintained by Michael Mohl
© 2012, Michael Mohl © 2012, NavSource Naval History. All Rights Reserved.