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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive
Contributed by Jack Treutle

Scamp (SS-277)

Radio Call Sign: November - Whiskey - Bravo - Victor
Gato Class Submarine: Laid down, 6 March 1942, at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, ME.; Launched, 20 July 1942; Commissioned USS Scamp (SS-277), 18 September 1942; Sunk on 8th patrol by depth charge south of Tokyo Bay, 11 November 1944, all hands lost; Struck from the Naval Register, 28 April 1945. Scamp received seven battle stars for World War II service.

Specifications: Displacement, Surfaced: 1,526 t., Submerged: 2,410 t.; Length 311' 8"; Beam 27' 4"; 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 Fairbanks Morse main generator diesel engines, HP 5400, Fuel Capacity, 94,400 gals., four General Electric main motors, HP 2740, two 126-cell main storage batteries, twin propellers.
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Scamp & Scorpion 124k Scamp (SS-277), on left & Scorpion (SS-278) at right, dual commissioning ceremony on 20 July 1942, at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, ME. U.S. Navy photo, courtesy of ussubvetsofworldwarii.
Scamp 133k Scamp (SS-277), going down the ways, 20 July 1942, at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, ME. U.S. Navy photo, courtesy of ussubvetsofworldwarii.
Scamp 100k With a supportive tug in the wings waiting for her to finish going down the ways, the Scamp (SS-277) slides into the Piscataqua River, 20 July 1942, at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, ME. U.S. Navy photo.
Scamp 16k Commemorative post mark on the occasion of the Scamp's (SS-277) launching, 20 July 1942, at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, ME. Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
Scamp 77k Scamp (SS-277), underway, circa 1943-1944. Official U.S. Navy Photograph # NH 98379, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
Scamp 65k Scamp (SS-277), in Pearl Harbor, Oahu, 1943-1944. Ford Island is in the background.
 Official U.S. Navy Photograph # 80-G-63898, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
Scamp 77k Under a partly overcast sky, the Scamp (SS-277) arrives at Pearl Harbor, circa 1943-1944.
 U.S. Navy photo.
Scamp 136k With a small escort craft accompanying her, the Scamp (SS-277) arrives at Pearl Harbor, circa 1943-1944. U.S. Navy photo.
Scamp 55k Portside at frame 78, Scamp (SS-277), suffered severe damage from a Japanese bomb received on 7 April 1944 off of Davao Gulf while diving. Heroic damage control by skipper and crew saved life of the sub. Scamp would not be so lucky the next time in November 1944. US Navy photo, courtesy of Theodore Roscoe, from his book "U.S. Submarine Operations of WW II", published by USNI.
Scamp 55k John Christie Hollingsworth, Commander (Commanding Officer) of the Scamp (SS-277) at the time of her loss. USN photo courtesy of oneternalpatrol.com.
Scamp 335k Type C Escort by Takeshi Yuki, indicative of Coastal Defense Vessel No. 4, which may have participated in sinking the Scamp (SS-277).Drawing by Takeshi Yuki scanned from "Color Paintings of Japanese Warships", courtesy of combinedfleet.com. Photo added 04/23/08.
Scamp 59k Google Earth satellite photo area south of Tokyo Bay, Scamp's (SS-277) last approximate position based during post-war debriefings. This position is thought to be the final resting place of the Scamp and her crew.
View courtesy of Google Earth.
Scamp 40k In memory of the Scamp (SS-277). Photo courtesy of Tom Kermen.
Scamp 47k Scamp (SS-277) memorial.
 U.S. Navy photo, courtesy of ussubvetsofworldwarii.
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.
Scamp 153kThe launching party is seated on the platform for the launching of the Scamp (SSN-588) at Mare Island Naval Shipyard on 8 Oct 1960. The first row on notables are from left to right: Mrs. C. A. Lockwood; Vadm C. A. Lockwood, USN(Ret); Mrs. T. S. Sutherland (Matron of Honor) She is the widow of the Executive Officer of the Scamp (SS-277). Next is Mrs. J. C. Hollingworth (Sponsor). She is the widow of the Commanding Officer of the Scamp which was reported lost on 16 Nov 1944.

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./" 		U.S. Navy photo # NY9 49175-10-60, contributed by Darryl Baker.
View the Scamp (SS-277)
DANFS history entry located on the Haze Gray & Underway .
Crew Contact And Reunion Information
U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation
Fleet Reserve Association
Additional Resources and s of Interest
On Eternal Patrol
Commander Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet USS SCAMP (SS 277) November 9 1944 - 84 Men Lost
Full Fathom Five, U.S. Submarine War Against Japan
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