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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive

Patch contributed by Mike Smolinski

Dorado (SS-248)
Abbott Collection of Submarine Paintings of the Dorado

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Keel Laying - Sinking
USCS Log

Gato Class Submarine: Laid down, 27 August 1942, at Electric Boat Co., Groton, CT.; Launched, 23 May 1943; Commissioned USS Dorado (SS-248), 28 August 1943; Final Dispostion, lost at sea while in transit from New London, CT. to the Panama Canal; Struck from the Naval Register, (date unknown).

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, 5,400HP, Fuel Capacity, 97,140 gal., four General Electric main motors, 2,740HP, two 126-cell main storage batteries, twin screws.

Size	Image Description	Source
50k	Georges Schreiber & Thomas Hart Benton collaborated in producing the Abbott Collection of Submarine Paintings, a project largely executed aboard the American submarine Dorado (SS-248), that was later lost in action with all hands. The following drawings are from their collection, courtesy of the U.S. Naval Historical Center. "Sleek and cigar-shaped like the submarine itself, marine torpedoes are loaded aboard the undersea warship in dock. The greatest care must be exercised in this operation-- not only because of the danger, which is comparatively slight, but because a slip might injure one of the immensely valuable "tin fish".	USNHC *"Loading Tin Fish"* Georges Schreiber #9 Watercolor, 1943. Gift of Abbott Laboratories 88-159-JB.
64k	Dorado (SS-248), firing on a derelict cargo ship for target practice during its shakedown cruise, summer 1943. Following its commissioning in the fall of that year, *Dorado* , sailed for the Canal Zone, but never arrived. Air searches discovered oil slicks and widely scattered debris, but no specific identification was made. A German submarine was known to be operating in the area, but the actual fate of *Dorado* is unknown.	USNHC *"Score Another for the Subs"* Thomas Hart Benton #22 Oil on board, 1943. 88-159-BN Gift of Abbott Laboratories.
65k	There is no surcease in the vigilance aboard a submarine. Vulnerable to depth charges and bombs, eternally a "lone wolf" on a mission, the Dorado (SS-248) must be ready to crash-dive at an instant's notice. The skipper and executive of "old 204" augment the regular lookouts on the conning tower between submerging.	USNHC *"Conning Tower"* Georges Schreiber #19 Watercolor, 1943. Gift of Abbott Laboratories 88-159-JL.
73k	Relieving the tension of hours below surface, crewmen on board Dorado (SS-248) play a round of cards while a shipmate kibitzes from his bunk. While pondering his cards, each player also listens for the call to battle stations. In the foreground, the bulbous warheads of twin torpedoes seem to peer balefully in quest of targets.	USNHC *"All Hands Below"* Georges Schreiber #2 Watercolor, 1943. Gift of Abbott Laboratories 88-159-IU.
39k	The lowly mule still pulls guns and supply wagons, the foot-soldier still fights hand-to-hand with the foe...and the mess cook must still peel potatoes by hand. Some U.S. Navy ships have automatic peelers, but Dorado (SS-248) doesn't, but don't mention it to this man!	USNHC *"War Isn't All Mechanized"* Thomas Hart Benton #11 Pen and ink on paper, circa 1944. Gift of Abbott Laboratories 88-159-BC.
51k	Sweater-clad U.S. Navy submarine men blend into the gloomy background of their ship, Dorado (SS-248), illuminated in eerie fashion by a light in the overhead, as they go about their duties far below the surface while on a patrol mission. An officer keeps his eyes glued to the periscope as he scans the horizon for the outline of an enemy ship.	USNHC *"Up Periscope"* Thomas Hart Benton #24 Oil on canvas, circa 1944. Gift of Abbott Laboratories 88-159-BP.
51k	A smudge of smoke on the horizon reveals the presence of an enemy ship, pray for the Dorado's (SS-248) hungry torpedoes. Only her periscope shows as the sub races below surface to get within target range of her next victim.	USNHC *"Sighting the Target"* Georges Schreiber #16 Watercolor, 1943. Gift of Abbott Laboratories 88-159-JI.
89k	Men and machinery jam the tiny conning tower of Dorado (SS-248), tense yet cool as they await a report from the officer, Earle (Penrod) C. Schneider, LCDR (CO) peering through the periscope. Navigators pore over their charts at the left, beside them a "talker" awaits a command, while at the right a crewman climbs up the ladder from the control room below.	USNHC *"Up Periscope"* Georges Schreiber #1 Watercolor, 1943. Gift of Abbott Laboratories 88-159-IT.
67k	Specialists of the Silent Service -- the submarine fleet of the U.S. Navy-- eye their gauges and instruments with calculating care as Dorado (SS-248) slides through the dark water eighty feet below the surface. Heart of the undersea vessel, the control room contains the giant wheels which operate the diving planes. Here also is the "Christmas Tree", where green or red lights, constantly gleaming and blinking, reveal whether valves and hatches are safely rigged for diving. At the right a "talker" inputs vital information to other parts of the ship, while at the left a crewman goes up the ladder to the conning tower, located just above the control room.	USNHC *"Eighty Feet Below"* Georges Schreiber #18 Watercolor, 1943. Gift of Abbott Laboratories 88-159-JK.
87k	The crucial moment has arrived-- the vital occasion for which the Dorado (SS-248) was built and the men were trained -- the firing of torpedoes at an enemy ship. In the confinement of the machinery-laden warship the tension is almost a physical presence as all watch the marksmen ready their deadly bolt.	USNHC *"Stand By to Fire"* Georges Schreiber #17 Watercolor, 1943. Gift of Abbott Laboratories 88-159-JJ.
33k	Up from the depth, like a primordial monster, the Dorado (SS-248) rises to charge her batteries, and "air out" under the protective blanket of the night. Often a submarine spends the whole day on the bottom when enemy ships or planes are about.	USNHC *"Surface"* Georges Schreiber #15 Watercolor, 1943. Gift of Abbott Laboratories 88-159-JH.
42k	Crewmen of Dorado (SS-248) race up ladders to get aloft through the open hatchway of the conning tower, exhilarated by their eagerness to get a breath of fresh air after hours of confinement below.	USNHC *"Up the Hatch"* Thomas Hart Benton #25 Oil on press board, circa, 1944. Gift of Abbott Laboratories 88-159-BQ.
63k	Final act in a drama at sea. The skipper of Dorado (SS-248), LCDR Earle (Penrod) C. Schneider, and one of his lookouts watch eagerly through their glasses as the victim of their torpedoes up-ends and plunges toward the bottom... one less ship for the enemy to throw against the Allies. The flame of the fire lights a pathway for the sub as she races toward the sinking ship in the hope of picking up prisoners.	USNHC *"The Kill"* Georges Schreiber #14 Watercolor, 1943. Gift of Abbott Laboratories 88-159-JG.
61k	Choosing to fight on the surface rather than crash-dive, Dorado (SS-248) relies on her three-inch gun rather than costlier torpedoes. While lookouts eye the skies for signs of enemy planes, the gun crew speedily prepares to open fire on the foe. High seas-- a constant peril on the narrow, slippery deck of a sub-- add their menace to the scene.	USNHC *"Clear for Action"* Georges Schreiber #20 Watercolor, 1943. Gift of Abbott Laboratories 88-159-JM.
76k	Completely relaxed in exhaustion, crewmen of Dorado (SS-248) do "bunk duty" above a deadly but quiescent torpedo. A shipmate whiles away his off-duty interlude by reading.	USNHC *"Slumber Deep"* Thomas Hart Benton #19 Watercolor on paper, circa 1944. Gift of Abbott Laboratories 88-159-BK.
67k	Excited gestures add emphasis to a crewman's comments on some news contained in a letter received from home. His shipmates peruse the letter while a fourth crewman does "bunk duty" on board Dorado (SS-248).	USNHC *"News from Home"* Georges Schreiber #13 Watercolor, 1943. Gift of Abbott Laboratories, Inc. 88-159-JF.
43k	Eyes almost closed in concentration as he reads a periodical spread open on his leg, a crewman munches on a sandwich and sips a cup of the ubiquitous Navy "jamoke"--coffee aboard Dorado (SS-248).	USNHC *"Coffee and Chow"* Thomas Hart Benton #18 Pen and ink on paper, circa 1944. Gift of Abbott Laboratories 88-159-BJ.
50k	"Going Home", that phrase sounds sweeter to a submarine man than the men of perhaps any other branch of the Navy. Fine-drawn and weary from weeks of patrolling enemy waters, with death often just around the corner, the submarine man and his ship both need rest and "overhauling" when their mission is concluded. A dark, pencil-like shadow under lowering skies, the Dorado (SS-248) skims along on the surface while the night hides her from enemy eyes.	USNHC *"Going Home"* Georges Schreiber #21 Watercolor, 1943. Gift of Abbott Laboratories 88-159-JN.