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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive

Contributed by Mike Smolinski

Scorpion (SS-278)

Gato Class Submarine: Laid down, 20 March 1942, at Portsmouth Navy Yard, (N.H.).; Launched, 20 July 1942; Commissioned USS Scorpion (SS-278), 1 October 1942; Sunk on 4th patrol by mine in January-February 1944 in the Yellow Sea, all hands lost; Struck from the Naval Register, (date unknown). Scorpion received three 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.

Size	Image Description	Source
124k	Scamp (SS-277), on left & Scorpion (SS-278) at right, dual launching ceremony on 20 July 1942, at Portsmouth Navy Yard,N.H.	U.S. Navy photo, courtesy of ussubvetsofworldwarii.org
35k	Scorpion (SS-278) all decked out with flags for her commissioning ceremony in the Piscataqua River at Portsmouth Navy Yard,N.H., 1 October 1942.	Courtesy of MMCM (SS) Greg Peterman USN, Retired.
124k	Starboard broadside view of the Scorpion (SS-278) in the Piscataqua River at Portsmouth Navy Yard, N.H. sometime after her commissioning, 1 October 1942.	U.S. Navy photo, courtesy of ibiblio.org.
115k	Scorpion (SS-278) at Portsmouth Navy Yard, N.H., sometime after her commissioning, 1 October 1942.	Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
106k	Stern view of the Scorpion (SS-278), probably during her trials at Portsmouth Navy Yard, N.H., circa July 1942 - Feb 1943.	USN photo.
78k	Scorpion (SS-278) at the Portsmouth Navy Yard, N.H., October 1942.	Courtesy of ussubvetsofworldwarii.org.
240k	This painting is entitled 'Up Scope! by the artist Drawn by Cdr. Griffith Baily Coale. On 3 July 1943 Scorpion (SS-278) sighted a five-freighter convoy with one escort making its way through the eastern waters of that sea. By 0955, she had sent torpedoes toward the convoy and dived. As the depth charging began, she struck bottom at 25 fathoms. Two charges exploded close by. Between 1002 and 1006, five more shook her hull. Fearing that she was stirring up a mud trail, her screws were stopped and she settled on the bottom at 29 fathoms. At 1008, a chain or cable was dragged over her hull. Four minutes later, her hull was scraped a second time. Immediately underway again, she began evasive course changes and escaped further exploding charges. The hunt continued for over an hour; and, at 1149, *Scorpion* came to periscope depth; spied the destroyer 7,000 yards off; and cleared the area. Postwar examination of Japanese records show that *Scorpion* scored five hits and sank the 3,890-ton freighter, *Anzan Maru, and the 6,112-ton passenger-cargo ship Kokuryu Maru*.	USN photo courtesy of history.navy.mil. Text courtesy of DANFS. Photo added 11/07/09.
183k	Poor weather continued to plague the submarine's hunting until, on the 13th of November 1943, she sighted a freighter and a tanker escorted by three warships. Firing her torpedoes, she scored on the oiler *Shiretoko*, which went dead in the water.	Oiler by Takeshi Yuki scanned from "Color Paintings of Japanese Warships. Photo courtesy of combinedfleet.com. Text courtesy of DANFS. Photo added 11/07/09.
37k	Commemorative photo in honor of the memory of the crew of the Scorpion (SS-278).	Photo courtesy of Tom Kermen. Dante's Prayer courtesy of Loreena McKennitt via quinlanroad.com.
88k	Google Earth satellite photo of the East China & Yellow Seas, where the Scorpion's (SS-278) last approximate position based during post-war debriefings. This position is thought to be the final resting place of the *Scorpion* and her crew.	View courtesy of Google Earth.
43k	Maximilian Gmelich Schmidt, Commander (Commanding Officer) of the Scorpion (SS-278) at the time of her loss.	USN photo courtesy of oneternalpatrol.com. via Bill Gonyo. Photo added 11/07/09.
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.
16k	Scorpion (SS-278) stern view off Portsmouth Navy Yard, N.H. circa July 1942 - Feb 1943. 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 subnet.com.