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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)
Commissioning - Scrapping

Radio Call Sign: November - Bravo - Delta - Golf
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Construction - Sea Trials

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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Peto24kCommemorative post mark on the occasion of the Peto's (SS-265) commissioning, 21 November 1942, at Manitowoc.Courtesy of petloveshack.com.
Peto47kPeto (SS-265), commemorative emblem detailing the ship's history as the first submarine to be built and side launched at Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co, Manitowoc, WI. 21 November 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)
Peto92kPeto (SS-265), commissions at Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co, Manitowoc, WI. 21 November 1942. Rear Admiral J. T. Nelson USNR, Ret, father of the C.O., Mrs. Nelson, wife of the C.O. and Lcdr W.T. Nelson, the C.O.
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)
Peto156kPeto (SS-265), returning to Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co, Manitowoc, WI. November 1942 after first day of trials under trial crew of Electric Boat Company.
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)
Peto136kPeto (SS-265), plank-owners at commissioning ceremony salute the colors, 21 November 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)
Peto81kPeto (SS-265), conning tower and ship's bell, November 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)
Peto182kPeto (SS-265), starboard view on her way for sea trials on Lake Michigan, November 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)
Peto30kPeto (SS-265), leaving dockside on her way for sea trials on Lake Michigan, November 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)
Peto100k Calling card of the Peto (SS-265) while she dove for depth tests in Lake Michigan, 8 November 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)
Peto48kOfficers and crew of the Peto (SS-265), December 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)
Rasher & Peto108kRasher (SS-269), has just been docked after launching, 20 December 1942. The sub in the background is the Peto (SS-265), which will be decommissioned on Christmas Day and taken to New Orleans for recommissioning. 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)
Peto78 kRADIOPHOTO CHICAGO BUREAU, MID-WEST BUILT SUBMARINE ON WAY TO THE SEA; The Peto (SS-265), first U.S. Navy submarine built on the Great Lakes, arrives at Lockport, IL after a trip down Lake Michigan and through The Chicago Drainage Canal and Illinois Waterway, from the shipyards at Manitowoc, Wis. The sub was placed in drydock to be towed the balance of the trip through the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers to New Oreleans LA, where it will receive its final fitting.
Official U.S. Navy Photo from ACME courtesy of the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History and submitted by Bill Gonyo.
Newspaper article courtesy of Ron Reeves.
Peto47k In order to deliver the subs to New Orleans, the equipment above the conning tower had to be removed and secured on deck to enable the sub to pass under a bridge in the Chicago river. The sub was then mounted on a floating drydock to get it through the shallow areas in the Mississippi river. The Peto (SS-265) is being placed in the drydock on a cold day in Lockport, Illinois 26 December 1942, in preparation for the move south. In early January, because of the rise of the waters in Illinois the Peto was tied up to a willow tree near a cornfield in Morris, Illinois for a week.
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)
Harry Berns485kPhoto of Harry Berns, Official photographer of the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co., Manitowoc, WI.
The photo of the Golet (SS-361) encased in snow appears on the wall above him on the upper right.
His obituary appears here. 		Photo courtesy of Susan Menk, Archives Assistant, Wisconsin Maritime Museum, Dee Anna Grimsrud,Reference Archivist, Wisconsin Historical Society, Steve Khail, CBC, Director of Investor Relations & Corporate Communications, The Manitowoc Company, Inc. & William Young.
Peto105k RADIOPHOTO CHICAGO BUREAU, MID-WEST BUILT SUBMARINE ON WAY TO THE SEA; The Peto (SS-265), the first U.S. Navy submarine ever built on the Great Lakes, is placed in a drydock at Lockport, IL for the trip to New Orleans, LA and the sea, over shallow lower reaches of the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers. The sub is being towed from Chicago through the inland waterways after tests and trial run from Manitowoc, Wis. Shipyards, where it was built.
Official U.S. Navy Photo from ACME courtesy of the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History and submitted by Bill Gonyo.
Peto83k The Peto (SS-265) in a floating dock, being pushed by a tug Kansas City of the Federal Barge Lines. Note her periscopes and masts have not yet been installed, to permit passage under low bridges.
USN photo from "The American Submarine" by Norman Polmar, courtesy of Robert Hurst.
Peto285kThe Peto (SS-265) on the first day of her trip down river, 26 December 1942. The tug is the Kansas City of the Federal Barge Lines.
Submitted by Bob Peppard, courtesy of the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, Manitowoc, Wisconsin, home of the Cobia (SS-245)
Peto82k Capt and officers of Peto (SS-265) at Guam 1945 with rescued New Zealand pilot Derick Morten.
Photo courtesy of John Hummel.
Brisbane 640k Photo caption reads:
Submarines refitting alongside Fulton (AS-11) in the Brisbane River. A torpedo is being loaded onto one, and bridge modifications to reduce silhouette are in progress on another.
Boat #1: Grouper (SS-214),
Boat #2: Peto (SS-265),
Boat #3: Scamp (SS-277),
Boat #4: Albacore (SS-218),
Boat #5: Drum (SS-228), 4-7 June, 1943.

EB plan 2053-29, and BuShips plan 388778. Its a general outboard arrangement for SS-214-221 and SS-253-254. It shows very plainly that boats from SS-214 onwards only had the one small boat locker. Grouper only had the one small boat locker offset to port, but she carried the bulge to starboard as if she had one there too, only she didn't! The plan very clearly shows the bulge to starboard for Grouper, but then states, "DECKLINE FOR SS-214 ONLY."
Grouper being modified with her bridge being cut down after her May 29 return from patrol with a high fairwater as in the US Subs Down Under photo, which would explain the whitish look to her bridge face; it was probably primer or wet paint. The bulge to starboard that I originally thought indicated either Gato (SS-212) or Greenling (SS-213) is there, but there just isn't any locker beneath it! Why EB built Grouper like this is anyone's guess. Perhaps when the change order came, construction on Grouper was already too far ahead to stop and re-contour the deck casing? EB wasn't known for deviating from the plans lightly, so perhaps this was the best the Navy could get out of them? They then went to the single locker and no starboard bulge of any kind starting with Growler (SS-215). This might explain why the Manitowac boats had the single locker, too, since their contract was to build copies of Growler herself, portholes in the bridge face notwithstanding.
EB initially resisted pressure from the Navy to alter the plans, citing concerns about delays in production if they did. What they were really worried about was making a profit, each little change cost more and ate into their profit margin. This attitude was somewhat understandable, as EB is a civilian company and they existed to make a profit for their shareholders. However, EB's intransigence got so bad that the Bureau of Ships had to threaten the company with making them build the boats to the Government plans supplied by Portsmouth, wiping out their design capability, which would have put them in a very bad spot commercially after the war. EB backed off when they realized how serious the Bureau was. They took on a whole new attitude and their resistance to change quickly evaporated. What you are seeing with Grouper is an outgrowth of this situation. As part of an attempt to eliminate what the Bureau thought was "frivolous" peacetime equipment on the boats, an order was issued on 10 May 1942 to eliminate the motorboat. This was the official order that legitimized a practice that was already going on in the fleet. Many of the submarines beached the motorboat(s) between patrols as it became clear that they were just not needed anymore. Grouper was probably built with the original capacity of having two boats, as was the original intent for the Gato class. But she may have only gotten one boat when she was finished.
Albacore's patrol report backs up her being Boat #4. It reads, in part, "Major items accomplished during refit - alteration of bridge superstructure for mounting additional 20 mm gun." This was for her refit between 27 May and 10 June, 1943, so the dates connect up nicely with the photo.
Either way, the dates look solid, and the activity in the photo looks like a June, 1943, photo. Peto would depart on patrol on June 13th, so the boxes on her foredeck are probably supplies being loaded up. 		Photo i.d. & text courtesy of Robert Morgan & Dave Johnston (USNR).
Photo courtesy of Robert Morgan courtesy of US Subs Down Under, 1942-1945 by David Jones & Peter Nunan.
Brisbane 391k The boats shown are all Gato's.
Boat #1: Grouper (SS-214),
Boat #2: Peto (SS-265),
Boat #3: Scamp (SS-277),
Boat #4: Albacore (SS-218),
Boat #5: Drum (SS-228), 4-7 June, 1943.
 Photo i.d. & text courtesy of Dave Johnston (USNR).
Photo courtesy of Gerhard Mueller-Debus via Gary Priolo.
Peto160kPeto (SS-265), partially submerged while on war patrol, date and location unknown.
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)
Peto396kThis looks like the Peto (SS-265) at Midway, where she was between 9 April and 4 May 1945. The submarine tender behind her is probably Aegir (AS-23) which was also at Midway at the time. The Quonset huts of Midway submarine base appear to the left and above Peto.
This photo was dated for release on 22 July, when Peto was conducting her final war patrol of World War II. The caption was about airing submarine bedding, and Peto was not referred to by name. The submarine in the forground where the sailor is airing bedding is not identified either.
Close examination of the photo shows that the 40mm single gun forward on the conning tower has been censored out and a poor job of drawing in railings was done (which extends past the gun sponson!).
Official USN photo file # TR-15131-C. Photo courtesy of David Buell.
Peto61k WW II battle-flag of the of Peto (SS-265).
Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
Peto188kLate career photo of the Peto (SS-265) underway, possibly when she was in reserve until November 1956 when she became Naval Reserve Training submarine for the 8th Naval District.USN photo # 80-G-468408 courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com Photo i.d. courtesy of Dave Johnston.
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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