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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive

Contributed by Mike Smolinski

Pompon (SS-267) (SSR-267)

Radio Call Sign: November - Echo - Quebec - Victor

Gato Class Submarine: Laid down, 26 November 1941, at Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co, Manitowoc, WI.; Launched, 15 August 1942; Commissioned USS Pompon (SS-267), 17 March 1943; Decommissioned, 11 May 1946, at New London, CT.; Laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, New London Group; Reclassified Radar Picket Submarine (SSR-267), 11 December 1951, Recommissioned, USS Pompon (SSR-267), 15 June 1953; Decommissioned, 2 February 1959, at Charleston, SC.; Struck from the Naval Register, 1 April 1960; Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 25 November 1960, to Commercial Metals, Co. Pompon received 4 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, 5,400HP, Fuel Capacity, 116,000 gal., four General Electric main motors, 2,740HP, two 126-cell main storage batteries, twin propellers.

Size	Image Description	Source
98k	Large positioning table, hull section of the Pompon (SS-267), on 5 October 1941.	*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.
79k	Hull sections of the Pompon (SS-267), 28 December 1941. On the right is a finished section that has been removed from the center of the mock up and is ready for taking out and mounting on the keel blocks for final assembly. It is likely Section "H" which was in the middle and was first erected so that they could build in both directions from it. 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.	Text courtesy of Larry Bohn. 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)
82k	Puffer (SS-268), & Pompon (SS-267) bulkheads 47, 58 & 99. Material hull of the *Puffer* & stern assembly of the Pompon (SS-267), 6 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)
95k	Hull sections for the Puffer (SS-268), and bow and conning tower of the Pompon (SS-267), 8 March, 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)
115k	Forward port view of the Pompon (SS-267), on 12 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)
37k	Pompon (SS-267), starts her slide into the water at Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co, Manitowoc, WI. during ler launching, 15 August 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)
113k	The Pompon (SS-267) about to take her first swim on her launching day, 15 August 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)
160k	Pompon (SS-267), starboard view, on sea trials on Lake Michigan, August 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)
29k	Pompon (SS-267), stern view, on sea trials on Lake Michigan, August 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)
251k	Pompon (SS-267), starboard view, on sea trials on Lake Michigan, August 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)
24k	Pompon (SS-267), bow view approaching the pier while on sea trials on Lake Michigan, August 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)
25k	Pompon (SS-267), port side view, on sea trials on Lake Michigan, August 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)
33k	Pompon (SS-267), emblem detailing the ship's building and launching history as the third sub to be built at Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co, Manitowoc, WI.	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)
115k	Plank-owners of the Pompon (SS-267), on 17 March 1943.	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)
485k	Photo 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.
143k	Pompon (SS-267) returned to Pearl Harbor 3 September for onward routing to San Francisco Bay for modernization and overhaul conducted at the Mare Island Navy Yard. She is seen here in drydock.	Text courtesy of DANFS. USN Photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
147k	A dry-dock photo of the Pompon (SS-267), with a fresh coat of the new 32/3SS-B camouflage paint scheme. The forward part of the superstructure and the bridge is painted with Haze Gray and the after part is # 16 Medium Gray which blends into black aft.	Text courtesy of "The Floating Drydock, Fleet Subs of WW II", by Thomas F. Walkowiak. USN Archives Photo # 19-N-75576, courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
229k	Stern view of the Pompon (SS-267) at Mare Island, 18 Nov. 1944.	USN photo # 7017-44, courtesy of Darryl Baker.
213k	Port broadside view of the Pompon (SS-267) at Mare Island, 18 Nov. 1944.	USN photo # 7019-44, courtesy of Darryl Baker.
197k	Bow view of the Pompon (SS-267) at Mare Island, 18 Nov. 1944.	USN photo # 7022-44, courtesy of Darryl Baker.
140k	Five Atlantic Reserve Fleet subs in mothballs at New London CT., late 1940's: Pompon (SS-267), Gunnel (SS-253), Whale (SS-239), Lapon (SS-260) and unidentified sub.	Text courtesy of Dave Johnston. Photo courtesy of John Hummel.
190k	"Naval engineers and shipyard workers at the PNS met the problem of installing a large amount of new electronic equipment in a submarine with typical Yankee ingenuity. Instead of jamming the gear into the subs already snugly packed, like all subs-they cut the subs in two and inserted a prefabricated section. The round the sub cut was made with acetylene burners. It was done just a little forward of amidships. The inserted section was 30 feet long, making the sub's length 342 feet. Four other Fleet-type subs are scheduled for the same operation. The six boats will be "an entirely new type of underseas weapon"-all that can be disclosed at the present". Cut in two, Pompon (SS-267) has her bow section pulled forward on greased rails to allow for the installation of a new 30-foot section.	Submitted by Stan Svec.
156k	On 15 June 1953 Pompon (SSR-267) recommissioned, after being converted to the latest type of radar picket submarine on 11 December 1951.	Text courtesy of DANFS. Photo courtesy of John Hummel
80k	Pompon (SSR-267) as a radar picket submarine.	Text courtesy of DANFS. Photo courtesy of John Hummel
354k	The Pompon (SSR-267) as a Radar Picket Submarine docked alongside a destroyer in Genoa Italy, 29 August 1956. From 6 July to 3 October she operated in the Mediterranean.	Partial text courtesy of DANFS. Photo courtesy of Carlo Martinelli.
426k	The Pompon (SSR-267) as a Radar Picket Submarine docked alongside a destroyer in Genoa Italy, 29 August 1956. From 6 July to 3 October she operated in the Mediterranean.	Partial text courtesy of DANFS. Photo courtesy of Carlo Martinelli.
1.70k	Pompon (SSR-267) and Thornback (SS-418) next to Saratoga (CV-62) for replenishment - 17 August 1958.	Photo # USN 1038277 scanned by Ryan Crierie, via flickr, courtesy of Stephen Gower. Photo added 11/01/11.
190k	Alexandria VA: The Pompon's (SS-267) propeller appears to have been set there purely for aesthetic reasons.	Photo & text courtesy of pacerfarm.org.
90k	Inscription of the screw of the Pompon's (SS-267): A-BU SHIPS SERIAL NO.11872 B-BU SHIPS DRAW NO.SS212-S-447ALT6N.Y.P.H 7.7.44 C-SUITABLE FOR SS212 TO 424 INCL. D-STARBOARD. RH E-DIA 7 FT. 9.500 IN. F-PITCHDESIGNED 8 FT. 9.75 IN. AT 33.5 RAD G-MF MARE ISLAND NAVY YARD. H-U O NO. X0603-8888-A-2467S /5511 I-WEIGHT 2800LBS POMPON 3TO8 267	Photo & text courtesy of pacerfarm.org.
23k	Cap Inscription on the Pompon's (SS-267) propeller: POMPON .267 .PORT	Photo & text courtesy of pacerfarm.org.

View the Pompon (SS-267)
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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