Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster.
Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive

Patches contributed by Mike Smolinski

Carp (SS-338) (AGSS-338) (IXSS-338)

Radio Call Sign: November - Kilo - Charlie - Romeo

Balao Class Submarine: Laid down, 23 December 1943, at the Electric Boat Co., Groton, CT.; Launched, 12 November 1944; Commissioned, USS Carp (SS-338), 28 February 1945; Converted to a Fleet Snorkel submarine in February 1952; Redesignated Auxiliary Submarine (AGSS-338) on 1 May 1968; Redesignated Miscellaneous Submarine (IXSS-338) on 30 June 1971; Struck from the Naval Register, 20 December 1971; Final Disposition, sold for scrapping on July 26 1973 to Tug Leasing Co., New London, CT for $ 86,898.91. The conning tower pressure hull of the Carp still exists, and has been donated to Seawolf Park, Galveston TX. Carp earned one battle star for her World War II service.
Partial data submitted by Ron Reeves (of blessed memory), Hal Taft, Bill Kyle ET1(SS) Retired, & Yves Hubert.

As built to the 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; Cruising Range, 11,000 miles surfaced at 10kts; Submerged Endurance, 48 hours at 2kts; Operating Depth, 400 ft; Complement 66; Armament, ten 21" torpedo tubes, six forward, four aft, one 4"/50 or 5"/25 deck gun, one 40mm gun; Patrol Endurance 75 days; Propulsion, diesel-electric reduction gear with four main generator engines., GM diesel, HP 5400, fuel capacity, 118,000 gal., four main GE motors with 2,740 shp, two 126-cell main storage batteries, two propellers.

Click On Image For Full Size	Size	Image Description	Source
	130k	The Carp (SS-338) slides down the building ways, 12 November 1944.	Electric Boat photo courtesy of Bill Gonyo.
0833802	58k	The Carp (SS-338) was sponsored by Mrs. Stella Ostendorf Hess, wife of the Congressmen from Ohio's 2nd Congressional district. Aside from her gravesite, I haven't found any photos of her, but her husband wasn't camera shy.	Photo courtesy of wikimedia.org
	17k	Commemorative postal cover marking the Carp's (SS-338) commissioning at the Electric Boat Co., Groton, CT., 28 February 1945.	Courtesy of Jack Treutle (of blessed memory).
	232k	Photo of CDR James L. Hunnicutt, USNR awarded the Navy Cross as Commanding Officer of Carp (SS-338) for her first war patrol for the period of 8 June 1945 to 2 August 1945. He was awarded the Silver Star of his action as Assistant Approach Officer aboard Tinosa (SS-283) between 29 March to 15 May 1944.	Photo from the files of the Vallejo Naval & Historical Museum via Darryl L. Baker.
	90k	Stern view of Carp (SS-338) off Mare Island on 6 January 1947.	USN photo # 152-47, courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.
	100k	Broadside view of Carp (SS-338) off Mare Island on 6 January 1947. She was under repair at the yard from 15 October 1946 until 17 January 1947.	USN photo # 154-47, courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.
	107k	Bow on view of Carp (SS-338) departing Mare Island on 6 January 1947.	USN photo # 156-47, courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.
0833826	595k	Carp (SS-338) about to go under a bridge (Note shadows of suspension cables) likely the Golden Gate circa 1947-1950. In this post-war photo she is carrying the SV air-search radar, a very late war change from the SD. The Type 3 was unique to the EB/Manitowoc boats, with the Government and Cramp boats having Type 1 or 4 configurations. A handful of the EB and Manitowoc boats carried the Type 2, which had the SJ forward, but the aft SD mast was very thin, similar to the SJ mast. Note that she has two of the 5"/25 caliber guns, and a 40 mm on each fairwater gun deck, a very typical late war gun outfit.	Text i.d. courtesy of Dave Johnston. Photo courtesy of Vallejo Naval & Historical Museum via Darryl L. Baker.
	117k	Carp (SS-338) about to enter *ARD-11* at Mare Island on 23 April 1948. She was in dock until 7 June 1948. Nepanet (YTB-189) on her starboard side and *YTL-590* on her port side.	USN photo courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.
	1.35k	Carp (SS-338) alongside Daniel A Joy (DE-585), 21 August 1948 in San Francisco. *Daniel A Joy* was assigned to the 12th Naval District for duty as a Naval Reserve training vessel.	Text courtesy of DANFS. Photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
	52k	Carp (SS-338) commanded by CDR J.M. Palmer, operated in the Chukchi Sea above the Arctic Circle, 1948.	USN photo courtesy of the US Navy Arctic Submarine Laboratory via Dr. W.K. Lyon.
	2.48k	Note that the last 2 submarines positions are incorrectly labeled in the photo, but are listed correctly here. SubRonFive picture 30 December 1949 featuring from upper left corner to right: Florikan (ASR-9), Pomodon (SS-486), Volador (SS-490), Catfish (SS-339), Cusk (SS-348), Diodon (SS-349), Carp (SS-338), Carbonero (SS-337), & Nereus (AS-17).	Text I.D. courtesy of John Spivey. USN photo courtesy of usscusk.com.
	174k	The Carp (SS-338) is seen undocking from dry dock #1 at Mare Island on 30 March 1950. The photo was taken from building #164.	USN photo # 5823-3-50, courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.
	81k	The former and new Commanding Officers of Carp (SS-338) read their orders during the change of command ceremonies at Mare Island on 1 June 1950.	USN photo # 6322-6-50, courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.
	2.16k	Naval Reservists during training cruise on Carp (SS-338), December 1950. Seaman Don Swinney is being checked out on operation of a periscope by Lieutenant Commander A. G. Plemons, Commanding Officer of the boat.	USN photo # 80-G-425204 courtesy of the National Museum of the U.S. Navy, via flickr.com.
	158k	Carp (SS-338) getting some work done on her conning tower.	Photo courtesy of Tommy Trampp.
0833820a	2.00k	Carp (SS-338) after WWII modernization but before fleet snorkel conversion.	Photo courtesy of the Ted Stone Collection, The Mariners Museum, Newport News,. VA. via Robert E. Porterfield.
	151k	Carp (SS-338), at Navy Pier in San Diego on 4-7-53 after returning from 6 months WesPac deployment.	Courtesy of Forrest J. Watson, ex ET- 2(SS).
	585k	Carp (SS-338) entering the Pearl Harbor Sub Base pens in December 1955.	Copyrighted photo courtesy of Captain J. Wood, USN (Retired),formerly of AM3 with VF-114 on the USS Kearsarge (CVA-33) & submitted by Jim Converse.
	668k	Carp (SS-338) entering the Pearl Harbor Sub Base pens in December 1955.	Copyrighted photo courtesy of Captain J. Wood, USN (Retired), formerly of AM3 with VF-114 on the USS Kearsarge (CVA-33) & submitted by Jim Converse.
	88k	The Carp (SS-338) is pictured here in 1956 being painted (reason for hull number not being visible). The Sabalo (SS-302) to left in photo & Diodon (SS-349) is to the right.	Courtesy of John Hummel, USN (Retired).
	194k	Good view of the descending limber holes of the Carp (SS-338).	Photo courtesy of Ron Phillipi.
	241k	Under the hood. All these photos show induction and exhaust piping for the main engines. I will assume that these shots are of the Carp (SS-338). In several of these shots you can see the open after engine room hatch.	Photo courtesy of Ron Phillipi. Text i.d. courtesy of David Johnston
	285k	Overhaul in March 1959.	Photo courtesy of Ron Phillipi.
	201k	Clean hands on emerging from below.	Photo courtesy of Ron Phillipi.
	177k	This lady definitely looks better fully dressed.	Photo courtesy of Ron Phillipi.
	130k	This photo shows her sail and from aft to forward the masts are the snorkel exhaust, snorkel induction, and the electronic surveillance measures (ESM) mast that is topped with the AS-944/BLR array. The short mast with the wire loop is the radio directional finder (DF) loop that by this time was doubling as a VLF communications antennae. It could receive VLF signals while the boat was submerged.	Photo courtesy of Ron Phillipi.
	118k	Three different bow views of fleet boats. Greenfish (SS-351) is the outboard boat in the photo. The boat with the sonar dome on the bow is the Fleet Snorkel boat Sterlet (SS-392). In 1955, she was fitted with a BQR-4A sonar similar to the SSK conversions, but she retained all six forward torpedo tubes (unlike the SSK conversions, which lost the upper two), was not silenced to the extent that the SSK's were, and retained all four engines. Sea Owl (SS-405) and Piper (SS-408) received similar installations. These three boats were never redesignated as SSK. They can be easily distinguished from the SSK conversions because the sonar dome was raised above the deck level. The SSK's dome was flush with the main deck. This is why they lost the upper two torpedo tubes. Carp (SS-338) is the next boat inboard.	Photo courtesy of Ron Phillipi. Photo & text i.d. courtesy of David Johnston
	200k	Stern view of four boats tied up in Pearl Harbor about 1959. Inboard to outboard are the Sabalo (SS-302), Carp (SS-338), Sterlet (SS-392) & Greenfish (SS-351).	Photo courtesy of Ron Phillipi.
	227k	Inverse of the above photo shows a partial bow view of Sabalo (SS-302),Carp (SS-338), Sterlet (SS-392) & Greenfish (SS-351).	Photo courtesy of Ron Phillipi.
	146k	Pair of Carp's (SS-338).	Photo courtesy of Ron Phillipi.
0833807	4.75k	Carp (SS-338) after snorkel conversion but before 1960 yard period.	Coutesy of the Ted Stone Collection, The Mariners Museum, Newport News, VA. via Robert E. Porterfield.
	143k	Mixed bag of boats from different bases moored together possibly at the Key West Naval Base or at Roosevelt Roads, P.R. From left to right & front to back: From New London with the eight ball plaque of subron 8; Blenny (SS-324); from Key West with the subron 12 plaque: Grenadier (SS-525); from Norfolk with the subron 6 plaque; Carp (SS-338) & again from Key West; the Balao (SS-285) tied up to the pier. Behind them and from Charleston with subron 4 is the Trigger (SS-564) and an unidentified boat. *Grenadier* received her high sail in an overhaul in 1961-62. I found a picture of *Blenny* that showed her with a high sail that was dated 18 April 1966. All of the boats in the photo were known to have been based in, or operating out of, Key West in the period of 1962-1966. Therefore, I can reliably conclude that this photo was taken between 1962 and 1966. *Grenadier* and Balao (SS-285) participated in the Cuban Missile Crisis blockade in October, 1962. In November, *Grenadier* was one of several ships that participated in a maritime rights show of force exercise off Cuba. It is conceivable that these other boats were dispatched to the area as backup in case this exercise went south. So it's possible that this photo was taken during late 1962 during the aftermath of the Cuban Missile Crisis.	Photo by Tim "T-Spoon" Spoon & submitted by John Hummel, USN (Retired). Text I.d. courtesy of John Hummel, Mike Keating & David Johnston (USN, retired)
	195k	Starboard side view of the Carp (SS-338), underway, circa 1960's, place unknown.	USN photo courtesy of ussubvetsofwwii.org.
	50k	Sirago (SS-485) and Carp (SS-338), in June 1965, at D&S piers, Norfolk VA.	Courtesy of John Hummel, USN (Retired).
0833823	2.28k	Carp (SS-338) heads out into Hampton Roads, 28 September 1966.	US Navy Photo KN-14051 via Robert E. Porterfield.
	287k	Seven page PDF history of the Carp (SS-338), circa 1966.	Photos courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
	42k	Torsk (SS-423), Billfish (SS-286) & Carp (SS-338) moored together in Spring/Early Summer of 1968 @ Boston Navy Yard after *Torsk's* Decommisioning and before she was towed to Washington D.C. for use as a Reserve Trainer. *Billfish* or *Carp* was the training boat in Boston at the time.	Photo i.d. courtesy of Larry Derouin. USN photo.
	113k	Photo of the last of the "ship keeper's" on Carp (SS-338). *Carp* is tied up at South Boston Navy Yard, 1970. Photo courtesy of Frank Hill EMC/SS who is looking over the right shoulder of the chief in blues. (Frank was the last person to ship over on the *Carp*).	Photo courtesy of Robert Hurst.

View the Carp (SS / AGSS / IXSS-338)
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
Guppy Submarines
Ep-21 (1) - Victory At Sea ~ Full Fathom Five - HQ
Back To The Main Photo Index Back To the Submarine Index
Problems and site related matters, E-mail Webmaster
This page is created by Gary Priolo, and maintained by Michael Mohl
All Pages � 1996 - 2024 NavSource History All rights reserved.