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

Harder (SS-257)

Radio Call Sign: November - Alpha - Lima - Alpha

Unit Awards, Campaign and Service Medals and Ribbons


Presidential Unit Citation
Gato Class Submarine: Laid down, 1 December 1941, at the Electric Boat Co., Groton, CT.; Launched, 19 August 1942; Commissioned USS Harder (SS-257), 1 December 1942; Sunk on 6th patrol by depth charging in Davol Bay, west coast of Luzon Island, PI, 24 August 1944, all hands lost; Struck from the Naval Register, (date unknown). Harder was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation and received 6 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 Hoover, Owens, Rentschler Co. main generator diesel engines, 5,400HP, Fuel Capacity, 97,140 gal., four Allis Chalmers Manufacturing Co. main motors, 2,740HP, two 126-cell main storage batteries, twin screws.
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Harder 18k Commemorative post mark on the occasion of the keel laying of the Harder (SS-257), 1 December 1941, at the Electric Boat Co., Groton, CT. Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
Harder 112k The Harder (SS-257) slides down the ways at the Electric Boat Co., Groton, CT., 19 August 1942. Courtesy of ussubvetsofworldwarii.org.
Harder 152k Plan view forward of the Harder (SS-257) at Mare Island, CA. Feb. 7, 1944 following a refit and overhaul. USN photo # 921-44 courtesy of Darryl Baker.
Harder 74k Harder (SS-257) at Mare Island, CA. Feb. 19, 1944 following a refit and overhaul. USN photo # 1147-44 courtesy of ussubvetsofworldwarii.org.
Harder 95k Stern view of the Harder (SS-257) at Mare Island, CA. Feb. 19, 1944 following a refit and overhaul. USN photo # 1145-44 courtesy of ussubvetsofworldwarii.org.
Harder 117k Bow view of the Harder (SS-257) at Mare Island, CA. Feb. 19, 1944 following a refit and overhaul. USN photo # 1149-44 courtesy of ussubvetsofworldwarii.org.
Harder 103k Broadside view of the Harder (SS-257) at Mare Island, CA. Feb. 19, 1944 following a refit and overhaul. USN photo # 1146-44 courtesy of ussubvetsofworldwarii.org.
Harder 163k Aft plan view of the Harder (SS-257) at Mare Island on 7 Feb 1944. Harder was in overhaul at the shipyard from 12 Dec 1943 until 19 Feb 1944. The stern of Prince William (CVE-31) is to the right. USN photo # 919-44 courtesy of Darryl Baker.
Harder 68k The Harder (SS-257) is seen here in this February 19, 1944 photo taken at Mare Island during refit. The newly installed gun access hatch and door is seen on the forward part of the bridge. Also, a 5"/51 cal gun has sbben installed with an extension added to the deck. The pressure proof locker is for ready service ammunitation. Added to the front of the number 1 scope is a reinforcing guard to protect the scope housing during crash drives. The "SJ" metal radar mast has been moved to behind the scopes. Photo and text courtesy of The Floating Drydock, "Fleet Subs of WW II" by Thomas F. Walkowiak.
Harder 104k Harder (SS-257) on deck with ship's pennant. E.J.Levin at left, served as Comm Officer for 4 patrols. Courtesy of John Levin.
Harder 47k E.J.Levin at right with the Harder's (SS-257) pennant, 1944. Courtesy of John Levin.
Harder 56k Com. Dealey, skipper of the Harder (SS-257), on right on deck with the ship's pennant, 1944. Courtesy of John Levin.
Harder 76k Oil on canvas by the artist Tom Freeman entitled "The Harder (SS-257) Rescues Ensign John Gavlin". Date is 1 April 1944. Courtesy of usni.org
Harder 37k Harder (SS-257) moving dangeroulsy close to shore, as she teams up with a Curtiss SO3C Seagull scout-observation seaplane to rescue Ensign John Gavlin in the face of Japanese gunfire from the trees. Photo from Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships, 1947-1995, and submitted courtesy of Robert Hurst.
Harder 32k Pictured on board Harder (SS-257) are 6 members of an Australian commando unit rescued by Harder from the occupied coast of Borneo during her fifth war patrol. The two others in the group were aboard Harder to assist with the rescue.
They were all aboard Harder during the famous sinking of 2 destroyers with one spread of torpedoes and one of Commander Dealey's "Down the Throat" shots. The commando unit had been inserted 9 months earlier by Kingfish (SS-234).
They are identified from top row left to right:
Sgt L L Cottee, Sgt F Olsen, Sgt S Dodds & Sgt S Neil
Bottom row left to right: Major W Jinkins, W/O A Chew, Major G Chester, Lieut L Woods.
While these men were aboard the Harder when she received her Presidential Unit Citation, they were not included for consideration for inclusion of the above personnel in the PUC awarded to the Harder.
Photo courtesy of John Levin, text courtesy of Milton Cottee.
Harder 127k Harder (SS-257) downs the destroyers! She is shown surfacing after sinking two Jap DD's with one torpedo spread. This action in Sibutu Passage (night of June 9, 1944) caused Admiral Toyoda to move the Japanese fleet precipitately from Tawi Tawi. Harder's skipper was "the submariner's submariner." Drawing by Lt. Cmdr. Fred Freemen, courtesy of Theodore Roscoe, from his book "U.S. Submarine Operations of WW II", published by USNI.
Coastal Defense Vessel No. 8 161k Coastal Defense Vessel No. 8,(indicative of the class of Coastal Defense Vessel,) No. 22, which sank the Harder (SS-257), according to Submarines Lost Through Enemy Action. Photo courtesy of A. J. Watts, "Japanese Warships of World War II", submitted by Aryeh Wetterhorn.
Harder 56k Google Earth satellite photo of the site and surrounding area of Dasol Bay (Davol Bay, west coast of Luzon Island), Harder's (SS-257) last approximate position based during post-war debriefings. This position is thought to be the final resting place of the Harder and her crew.
View courtesy of Google Earth.
Harder 12k View of Dasol Bay (Davol Bay, west coast of Luzon Island) at sunset, where the Harder (SS-257) was lost. Photo courtesy of sailwx.info.
Harder 12k Samuel David Dealey, Commander (Commanding Officer) of the Harder (SS-257) at the time of her loss. US Navy photo courtesy of oneternalpatrol.com.
Harder 44k Commemorative photo in memory of the Harder (SS-257). Photo courtesy of Tom Kermen.
Tolling the Boats 117k The wife of a World War II U.S. submarine veteran, 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 Bullen of Illinois was killed in the battle, and just before it he had written to his wife, 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!"		 U.S. Navy photo N-1159B-021 by Journalist 2nd Class Brian Brannon, courtesy of news.navy.mil.
Harder 173k Harder (SS-257) at Woleai. She is closing the beach to pick up Ensign John Gavlin in one of the war's more daring rescues. On lifeguard duty, U.S. submarines saved 504 aviators from capture by the enemy or death in the open sea.

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./"		 Courtesy of Theodore Roscoe, from his book "U.S. Submarine Operations of WW II", published by USNI.
View the Harder (SS-257)
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
Commander Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet USS HARDER (SS 257) August 24 1944 - 79 Men Lost
Full Fathom Five, U.S. Submarine War Against Japan
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