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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive
Contributed by Lester Palifka

Darter (SS-227)

Radio Call Sign: November - India - Hotel - Xray
Gato Class Submarine: Laid down, 20 October 1942, at the Electric Boat Co., Groton, CT.; Launched, 6 June 1943; Commissioned USS Darter (SS-227), 7 September 1943; Final Disposition, grounded on Bombay Shoal off Palawan on 4th patrol, 24 October 1944, scuttled by her crew, destroyed by a bomb from a Japanese aircraft; Struck from the Naval Register, (date unknown). Darter was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation, and received four battle stars for World War II service.

Specifications: Displacement, Surfaced: 1,526 t., Submerged: 2,424 t.; Length 311' 9"; Beam 27' 3"; Draft 15' 3"; Speed, Surfaced 20.25 kts, Submerged 8.75 kts; Complement 6 Officers 54 Enlisted; Operating Depth, 300 ft; Submerged Endurance, 48 hrs at 2 kts; Patrol Endurance 75 days; Cruising Range, 11,000 miles surfaced at 10 kts; Armament, ten 21" torpedo tubes, six forward, four aft, 24 torpedoes, one 3"/50 deck gun, two .50 cal. machine guns, two .30 cal. machine guns; Propulsion, diesel electric reduction gear with four General Motors main generator engines, HP 5400, Fuel Capacity, 97,140 gals., four General Electric main motors, HP 2740, two 126-cell main storage batteries, twin propellers.
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0822719		 793k With some of the workmen wearing their identity badges on their hats or caps, Darter's (SS-227) keel is laid on an autumn day in Groton. U.S. Navy Bureau of Ships Photograph 19-LCM-SS 227-1, National Archives and Records Administration, Still Pictures Division, College Park, Md.
Photo courtesy of history.navy.mil
Darter 154k Commemorative postal cover marking the laying of Darter's (SS-227) keel at the Electric Boat Co., Groton, CT., 20 October 1942. Courtesy of Jack Treutle (of blessed memory).
Darter 126k Commemorative postal cover marking the laying of Darter's (SS-227) keel at the Electric Boat Co., Groton, CT., 20 October 1942. Courtesy of Jack Treutle (of blessed memory).
Bonefish 198k Two WAVES to Participate in Ceremonies to Select Sponsors for Sub Launchings.Photo courtesy of New London Day, 5 March 1943, through the kindness of Wendy S. Gulley, Archivist, Submarine Force Museum, Naval Submarine Base NLON, Groton, CT.
Darter 254k Launching of Darter (SS-227) at Electric Boat Company, Groton, Connecticut, 6 June 1943. Ship's Sponsor Mrs. Edwin B. Wheeler is shown with christening bottle. USN photo # 80-G-72625, courtesy of the Library of Congress, from the National Museum of the U.S. Navy, courtesy of flickr.com.
Darter 259k Darter's (SS-227) sponsor party at the Electric Boat Co., Groton, CT., 6 June 1943.
Left to Right: Lieutenant Commander William S. Stovall, Jr., Darter's first Commanding Officer; Mrs. William S. Stovall, Jr.; Miss Shirley Stovall; Mrs. Edwin B. Wheeler; Mr. Edwin B. Wheeler, Shipbuilding Manager of Electric Boat Company, Groton, Connecticut.		USN photo # 80-G-72628, courtesy of the Library of Congress, from the National Museum of the U.S. Navy, courtesy of flickr.com.
Darter 293k Darter (SS-227) slides down the ways at the Electric Boat Co., Groton, CT., 6 June 1943. Electric Boat / USN photo.
Darter 20k Commemorative postal cover marking Darter's (SS-227) launching on 6 June 1943. Courtesy of Jack Treutle (of blessed memory).
227
0822720		 NR Mrs. E. B. Wheeler Sponsors Darter (SS-227). Mr. Wheeler Honored
Edwin B. Wheeler, Shipbuilding Manager of the Electric Boat Company, has been in charge of the Construction of many submarines during his long career with the Electric Boat Company, but there is one boat whose career he will follow with particular interest. That submarine is the Darter.....		 Image and text provided by Connecticut State Library, Hartford, CT.
Photo from The SUB. (Groton, Conn.) (Groton, Conn.) 193?-1946, 17 June 1943, Image 9, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
227
0822721		 NR Helen Brogan Draws Depts For Sponsorships Of Subs
Holding the shipyard hard hat is Mrs. Edwin B. Wheeler, wife of Shipbuilding Manager Wheeler, who was sponsor of the submarine Darter (SS-227). The drawing was a part of pre-electiion ceremonies. 		Image and text provided by Connecticut State Library, Hartford, CT.
Photo from The SUB. (Groton, Conn.) (Groton, Conn.) 193?-1946, 17 June 1943, Image 9, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
Cero 245k On the Bridge of Cero (SS-225). Lieutenant Commander David H. McClintock, left, who would go on to command the Darter (SS-227) in her last battle at Leyte Gulf in 14 months; with Commander David C. White, Commanding Officer of the ship. Lookout with binoculars in background, August 1943. USN photo # 80-G-468696, photographed by Lieutenant Commander Charles Jacobs, courtesy of NARA via Rob Hanshew and Tracy White @ Researcher @ Large.
Darter 23k Commemorative postal cover marking the commissioning of the Darter (SS-227), 7 September 1943. Courtesy of Jack Treutle (of blessed memory).
Darter 144k General madness surrounding the Darter (SS-227) crew during battle-surface. Courtesy of ussubvetsofworldwarii.org.
Darter 850k Life aboard the Darter (SS-227), the lighter side, 6 photo PDF. PDF photos courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Darter 1.71k Admiral Charles Lockwood pinning the Bronze Star Medal on Commander David H. McClintock, Commanding Officer of the Darter (SS-227), for sinking the Japanese minelayer, IJN Tsugaru, on 29 June 1944.
Nine page PDF history of the Darter.		Photo courtesy of John Mansfield, Jr., RM2(SS), Menhaden, 1963-65.
PDF photos courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Darter 140k Japanese heavy cruiser Atago, 1932 - colorized photo by Irotokoo, Jr.
24 October 1944:Atago sinks bow first in about 1000 fathoms of water at 09-30N, 117-13E after being hit by 4 torpedoes fired 20 minutes earlier by the Darter (SS-227). Her sister ship, Takao is hit by 2 torpedoes also by Darter, heavily damaged and later towed to Brunei. 		Photo & partial text courtesy of combinedfleet.com
Darter 693k Darter (SS-227) grounded on Bombay Shoal off Palawan on 4th patrol, 24 October 1944. Courtesy of ussubvetsofworldwarii.org.
Darter 145k Darter (SS-227) grounded on Bombay Shoal off Palawan on 4th patrol, 24 October 1944. Courtesy of ussubvetsofworldwarii.org.
Darter 498k Darter (SS-227) grounded on Bombay Shoal off Palawan on 4th patrol, 24 October 1944.Photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Darter 234k The Darter (SS-227) has just grounded off Bombay Shoal off Palawan; a raft full of her sailors makes to the waiting Dace (SS-247) nearby for rescue. USN photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Darter 60k General view of the destruction wrought on the deck of the Darter (SS-227) after she was grounded and destroyed by shellfire on Bombay Shoal off Palawan on 4th patrol, 24 October 1944. USN / USNI photo.
Darter 41k Darter (SS-227) after receiving 55 point-blank hits from the 6-inch deck gun of the Nautilus (SS-168) on 31st October 1944. Her Commander noted, "It is doubtful that any equipment in Darter at 11:31 this date would be of any value to Japan -- except as scrap." (U.S. Navy Official Photo, courtesy of Ron Reeves (of blessed memory), HTC, USN, Retired), courtesy of Dave Carpenter.
Darter 735k 12 photo PDF of the damage inflicted by the Darter after receiving 55 point-blank hits from the 6-inch deck gun of the Nautilus (SS-168) on 31st October 1944.Photos courtesy of trumanlibrary.org.
Darter 51k Darter's (SS-227) Commander, David Hayward McClintock, at the time of her loss. Photo courtesy of Bill Gonyo.
Darter 50k Commemorative photo remembering the Darter (SS-227). Photo courtesy of Tom Kermen.
Darter 51k Darter (SS-227) grounded on Bombay Shoal off Palawan on 4th patrol, 1952. Courtesy of Dave Carpenter.
Darter 69k Darter (SS-227) grounded on Bombay Shoal off Palawan on 4th patrol, 1998. Courtesy of Dave Carpenter.
Darter 64k Google Earth satellite photo of the general area in which Darter's (SS-227) position off Palawan. View courtesy of Google Earth.
Darter 368k Latitude 9.4560255, Longitude 116.9325918.
Nothing remains of the wreckage anymore, probably scattered by typhoons. As late as 1998 there was still visible wreckage above the water. 		View courtesy of grandpasnavy.blogspot.com
Darter 202k Darter (SS-227) & Dace (SS-247) Memorial photo. Photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Tolling The Boats 669k Active duty and veteran submariners stand together at the 29th annual "Tolling The Boats" Memorial Service held at the World War II National Submarine Memorial-West, Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach, Calif. 29 May 2006. The ceremony honored members of the Silent Service who gave their lives during World War II and the Cold War for their country and the cause of freedom. USN photo # N-1159B-052 by Journalist 1st Class Brian Brannon, courtesy of navy.news.mil.
View the Darter (SS-227)
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
ComSubPac Report of loss of USS Darter (SS-227) October 24 1944, No Men Lost
Ep-21 (1) - Victory At Sea ~ Full Fathom Five - HQ
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