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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive


Patch at left contributed by Harold F.(Carl) Carlson, on right by Mike Smolinski

Peto (SS-265)
Construction - Sea Trials

Radio Call Sign: November - Bravo - Delta - Golf
To Additional Pages

Commissioning - Scrapping

Gato Class Submarine: Laid down, 16 June 1941, at Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co, Manitowoc, WI.; Launched, 30 April 1942; Commissioned USS Peto (SS-265), 21 November 1942, at Manitowoc; Decommissioned, 25 December 1942, barged to New Orleans, LA; Recommissioned, 1 January 1943, at New Orleans; Decommissioned, 25 June 1946, at New London, CT.; Laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, New London, CT.; Placed in service as a Naval Reserve Training Vessel in the 8th Naval District in November 1956; Placed out of service and struck from the Naval Register, 1 August 1960; Final Disposition, sold for scrapping to Commercial Metals, Dallas, TX for $ 35.686.00, and scrapped in Houston, TX. 10 November 1960. Removed 1/17/61. Peto received 8 battle stars for World War II service.
Partial data submitted by Ron Reeves, HTC, USNR (ret.)

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, 116,000 gal., four General Electric main motors, 2,740HP, two 126-cell main storage batteries, twin propellers.
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Peto78kInterior hull sections of the Peto (SS-265), 4 May 1941. The building where the sub sections were fitted together is not the building ways but is the spot where the sections are welded up before removing them to the building ways. The sections are upside down in the building and are turned right-side up before taking outside.
Editors Note: There are over 200 images submitted on these pages covering the following submarines that were constructed at the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co, Manitowoc, WI,: SS-265 through SS-274, and SS-361 through SS-380.
None of them would have seen the light of day if it were not for the efforts of Curator, Asst. Director, Bill Thiesen of the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, Manitowoc, Wisconsin, and Larry Bohn, who sent them to NavSource for publication.
A special debt of gratitude is owed to these two men and the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, Manitowoc, Wisconsin, home of the Cobia (SS-245) for allowing these photographs to be seen by the lovers of naval history worldwide.
Peto106kInterior hull sections of the Peto (SS-265), 4 May 1941.
Photo by Harry Berns, Official photographer of the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co., Manitowoc, WI.
Submitted by Larry Bohn, courtesy of the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, Manitowoc, Wisconsin, home of the Cobia (SS-245)
Peto106kGeneral view of the structural shop where the Peto's (SS-265) first sections were put together, 18 May 1941.
Photo by Harry Berns, Official photographer of the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co., Manitowoc, WI.
Submitted by Larry Bohn, courtesy of the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, Manitowoc, Wisconsin, home of the Cobia (SS-245)
Peto63kCensored photo of the hull section of the Peto (SS-265), being brought out of the structural shop.
Photo by Harry Berns, Official photographer of the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co., Manitowoc, WI.
Submitted by Larry Bohn, courtesy of the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, Manitowoc, Wisconsin, home of the Cobia (SS-245)
Peto83kHuman interest story: Navy and shipyard personel take a break to watch the laying down of the first section of the Peto (SS-265), being brought out of the structural shop.
Photo by Harry Berns, Official photographer of the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co., Manitowoc, WI.
Submitted by Larry Bohn, courtesy of the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, Manitowoc, Wisconsin, home of the Cobia (SS-245)
Peto84k"Speed Cranes" lifting Section H of the Peto (SS-265), into place 21 June 1941. The ship alongside this berth is the passenger boat SS Theodore Rosevelt which was laid up at the yard all during WWII. It was used to hide goings on from possible prying eyes.
Note: The "Speed Cranes" were designed and built by the shipyard specifically to handle the Submarine Sections. At the time they were about the biggest capacity crawler cranes built. The design later became the standard 3900 model produced by Manitowoc Co. and was one of their most popular models until superseded by heavier models.
Photo by Harry Berns, Official photographer of the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co., Manitowoc, WI.
Submitted by Larry Bohn, courtesy of the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, Manitowoc, Wisconsin, home of the Cobia (SS-245)
Peto94kForward end sections of the Peto (SS-265), 10 August 1941.
Photo by Harry Berns, Official photographer of the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co., Manitowoc, WI.
Submitted by Larry Bohn, courtesy of the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, Manitowoc, Wisconsin, home of the Cobia (SS-245)
Peto125kForward end of the Peto (SS-265), November 30, 1941.
Photo by Harry Berns, Official photographer of the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co., Manitowoc, WI.
Submitted by Larry Bohn, courtesy of the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, Manitowoc, Wisconsin, home of the Cobia (SS-245)
Peto68kPeto (SS-265), hull section under construction, circa late 1941.
Photo by Harry Berns, Official photographer of the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co., Manitowoc, WI.
Submitted by Larry Bohn, courtesy of the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, Manitowoc, Wisconsin, home of the Cobia (SS-245)
Peto76kPeto (SS-265), hull section under construction, circa late 1941.
Photo by Harry Berns, Official photographer of the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co., Manitowoc, WI.
Submitted by Larry Bohn, courtesy of the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, Manitowoc, Wisconsin, home of the Cobia (SS-245).
Peto73kPeto (SS-265), transporting a section of the hull during her construction, circa late 1941. This is typical of U.S. double hull construction, with tank-age wrapped completely around the circular-section pressure hull. The ends of such a "fleet boat" were single hull because it was difficult to get into very narrow tanks to maintain them and the pressure hull inside.
Submitted by Larry Bohn, courtesy of the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, Manitowoc, Wisconsin, home of the Cobia (SS-245) . Text courtesy of U.S. Submarines Through 1945, An Illustrated Design History by Norman Friedman. Naval Institute Press.
Peto102k Hull section of the Peto (SS-265), under construction, circa mid November, 1941.
Submitted by Larry Bohn, courtesy of the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, Manitowoc, Wisconsin, home of the Cobia (SS-245.
Peto91kThe first engine of the Peto (SS-265),is hoisted aboard, 29 December 1941.
Photo by Harry Berns, Official photographer of the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co., Manitowoc, WI.
Submitted by Larry Bohn, courtesy of the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, Manitowoc, Wisconsin, home of the Cobia (SS-245)
Peto59kSetting the conning tower of the Peto (SS-265), 19 January 1942.
Photo by Harry Berns, Official photographer of the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co., Manitowoc, WI.
Submitted by Larry Bohn, courtesy of the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, Manitowoc, Wisconsin, home of the Cobia (SS-245)
Peto3896kPeto (SS-265), on the ways getting ready for launching 30 April 1942.
Photo by Harry Berns, Official photographer of the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co., Manitowoc, WI.
Submitted by Larry Bohn, courtesy of the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, Manitowoc, Wisconsin, home of the Cobia (SS-245)
Peto350kPeto (SS-265), side launching at a 48 degree angle at Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co, Manitowoc, WI. 30 April 1942.
"The boat had been built on the building ways, consisting of a set of wooden blocks in a horizontal line and parallel to the face of the sea wall. After the sections were placed on these blocks a cribbing, or supporting structure, was erected to support the sections in place and to prevent movement.
As the date for the launch approached the workers constructed a second set of ways. These launching ways were at right angels to the sea wall and extended inboard under the boat. They were massive fur timbers, 16" x 24", placed about 14" apart and supported by cribbing of a size and strength to support the weight of the boat during the launch.
The launching was sloped down toward the seawall at an angle of 1 and 19/32" per horizontal foot. For the launch of a submarine, a total of 21 launching ways were used. All except the forward and after three extended 12' past the sea wall, and were capable of tilting when the submarine went over the sea wall. This was to eliminate the possibility of damage to the vessel's structure and to the launch-ways at the moment when the boat pivoted at the dock's edge.
The forward and after three ways were known as the fixed ways and extended only to the sea wall and did not tilt. They were firmly fixed in place to take the full horizontal thrust of the vessel just prior to launch. The trigger was held in place by means of a trigger line, an 8" manila line was set up with a block and tackle to a fixed point, a dead-man or other fitting, inboard of the vessel.
Sliding ways were placed on the launching ways and on these were built the launching cradles. The cradles were built to confirm to the shape of the hull and were constructed so as to be as snug as possible to the hull. Between individual pieces of the cradles were inserted oak wedges, so positioned as to be readily accessible for driving by hand.
The trigger lines were cut at the moment of launch by means of pneumatic rope cutters or guillotines containing a piston attached to a cutting knife and actuated by compressed air from a central master valve. They were so calibrated that air reached each cutter at precisely the same instant."
Text from Fresh Water Submarines, The Manitowoc Story,. pg 43-44, by Rear Admiral William T. Nelson, U.S.N. (Ret.)
Photo by Harry Berns, Official photographer of the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co., Manitowoc, WI., courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Photo added 03/26/11.
Manitowoc55k Watercolor print by the artist Tom Denton of the side launching of a Manitowoc built boat. Courtesy of Submarine Art
Peto80kFitting berth of the Peto (SS-265), 4 days after her launching, 3 May 1942.
Photo by Harry Berns, Official photographer of the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co., Manitowoc, WI.
Submitted by Larry Bohn, courtesy of the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, Manitowoc, Wisconsin, home of the Cobia (SS-245)
Peto59kThe Peto (SS-265), in drydock, 26 July 1942.
Photo by Harry Berns, Official photographer of the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co., Manitowoc, WI.
Submitted by Larry Bohn, courtesy of the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, Manitowoc, Wisconsin, home of the Cobia (SS-245)
View the Peto (SS-265)
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
Ep-21 (1) - Victory At Sea ~ Full Fathom Five - HQ
Manitowoc Built Submarines
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