NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive
Unknown Photos
| Click On Image For Full Size Image | Size | Image Description | Source | |
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60k | Severn with one C-class boat alongside, circa 1913-1916, probably at Panama. | Photo courtesy of Ric Hedman. Photo added 10/17/09. | |
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511k | Torpedo tubes onboard a E, H, or O-class boat. What looks like a smaller tube in between the others is what I believe to be the rotating mechanism for a rotating bow cap, an older design for the outer doors which did not exist on the S-class. | US Navy photo courtesy of Angie Mattke. Photo i.d. courtesy of David Johnston (USNR). | |
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41k | S-20 class in Dry Dock circa 1925, possibly Mare Island Shipyard. | Photo & text courtesy of Ric Hedman / rddesigns.com. Photo i.d. courtesy of David Johnston (USNR). | |
 | 78k | "A submerged American submarine firing a torpedo as seen from a U.S. Navy seaplane at an elevation of 1,000 feet. The compressed air from the torpedo tube has just risen to the surface where it has the appearance of a cloud of steam. The wake of the U-boat's periscope also appears plainly." The identity of this sub was not listed. INSERT:- A photographer perched on the nose of a naval seaplane, as seen from another machine flying obliquely above. The camera man's position, far in advance of the pilot, gives him an extraordnary range of vision in three directions." | Photo courtesy of memory.loc.gov. Text from New York Times, 9 March 1919. | |
 | 18k | Photo of the Gar (SS-206) underway, circa 1941-45, place unknown. The identification of this photo is suspect due to the following: Salmon (SS-182), Seal (SS-183), and Skipjack (SS-184) all had their periscope shears extensively rebuilt during overhauls at Mare Island in the summer of 1944. They came out of these overhauls with shears that looked very much like those of the early Balao's. Snapper (SS-185), Stingray (SS-186), and Sturgeon (SS-187) all received less extensive mods that put their looks somewhere between a late Gato or early Balao. An example can be seen on the Salmon page. Flying Fish (SS-229) seems to be the lone Gato class "covered wagon" boat to have her shears completely rebuilt. Why this was done is a mystery. Ric Hedman contributed a photo of the Flying Fish that clearly shows this. It doesn't quite match the Salmon mods, and isn't quite like the later Balao configuration. It seems to be a unique, one off modification that as far as I can tell wasn't applied to any other Gato. In doing this research I discovered something that had not struck me before. The Sargo was the first of the "covered wagon" boats. Starting with Sargo, the interior structure of the conning tower fairwater was beefed up with the distinctive heavy vertical frames that, once the fairwater was cut down and some of the outer plating removed during the war, gave these and subsequent boats (through the Gato's) that ribbed, covered wagon look. The Sargo's were the first boats to have 40 foot long periscopes, previous boats having 34 footers. The longer scopes tended to vibrate at higher speeds so the beefed up shears design was most likely an attempt to mitigate this problem. The top of the "covered wagon" ribs provided excellent lookout stations so there was little if any impetus to radically alter the shears and the upper fairwater. One modification that does not seem to have been ever made on any boat that had the original fairwater design was the shortening of the fairwater under the cigarette deck, as is shown in the suspect "Gar" photo that I mentioned below. All the fleet boats prior to the late built Gato's had a watertight door built into the aft end of the conning tower cylinder. This allowed the deck gun crew access to the gun by going through this door into a void space inside the fairwater. They would then exit onto the main deck through a cutout in the fairwater that can be seen in many photos. This void space was between the aft end of the conning tower and the very large Main Air Induction Valve. This man sized valve sat vertically inside the very aft end of the fairwater. In order to cut away and shorten the fairwater, the Induction Valve would have to be moved forward. The small reduction in fairwater visibility this would have given was offset by the complexity and difficulty of moving this major valve. I have yet to see a single instance of this type of modification being performed. The Balao's and Tench's had a redesigned conning tower that eliminated this door entirely and replaced it with a completely separate gun access trunk at the forward end of the fairwater that led into the control room directly. This allowed the designers to move the Main Air Induction Valve forward and shorten the length of the fairwater from the start, giving the Balao and Tench fairwaters a look distinct from that of the Gato's and earlier boats. | US Navy photo, courtesy of Hyper War US Navy in World War II. Text & i.d. courtesy of David Johnston (USNR). |
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 | 35k | Thought to be the Runner (SS-275), underway, with cut down bridge with the open cigarette decks probably after her arrivial at Pearl Harbor. The boat in the photo is an unknown Balao/ Tench class. | U.S. Navy photo, partial text courtesy of John Hummel. Photo & i.d. courtesy of David Johnston (USNR). | |
 | 650k | Life beneath the seas on a U.S. submarine. A submariner reading his favorite comic-strip. The submarine mascot pants in the shade of the conning tower, circa Jan. 1944 (maybe before). | NARA # 080-G-335388, from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil. | |
 | 89k | High altitude photo of a Gato/Balao class submarine. It may have been taken off Pensacola in the summer of 1944, or somewhere in the Pacific during 1945 or early 1946. | USN photo courtesy of Ivan van Meter, submitted by Jack LaPeer courtesy of Fabio Peņa. Photo i.d. courtesy of David Johnston (USNR) & John Hummel. | |
 | 64k | A close up of a early construction government built Gato class submarine with only part of it's hull number painted on the sail, and a symbol possibly reminiscent of the Guardfish (SS-217). The number painted on the conning tower probably indicates its squadron, # 5 (?), which if it was during WW II would make it in the Atlantic. It may have been taken off Pensacola in the summer of 1944, or somewhere in the Pacific during 1945 or early 1946. | USN photo courtesy of Ivan van Meter, submitted by Jack LaPeer courtesy of Fabio Peņa. Photo i.d. courtesy of David Johnston (USNR) & John Hummel. | |
 | 150k | Major overhaul of what was thought to be the Guavina (SS-362) at the Bethlehem Steel Shipyard in San Francisco during the summer of 1945. It is distinguishable by the new 5 inch deck gun mounted aft of the conning tower shears. I know that this photo came from a former crew member, but the boat in the photo is clearly a Balao/ Tench. If you look at the Mare Island photo (taken 3 Jan 46), you can see the Guavina(confirmed because you can see her hull number) with what I call a Mod 3 "covered wagon" conning tower fairwater. The boat in question has a Balao/ Tench style fairwater. The navy would not have rebuilt her fairwater to this config only to change it back again. | Courtesy of Robert E. Straub, RM2SS USS Guavina SS-362 (Aug. 1944 to Aug. 1946). Photo i.d. courtesy of David Johnston (USNR). | |
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112k | Port side view of what was thought to be the Haddock (SS-231) circa 1944. is also a Balao/ Tench. In addition, the boat in question is an EB/Manitowoc design, evidenced by the limber hole pattern in the superstructure. The government design (like Haddock) had a different pattern of limber holes. |
US Navy photo, courtesy of ussubvetsofworldwarii.org. Photo i.d. courtesy of David Johnston (USNR). | |
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41k | By the end of the war, submarine commanders could elect to carry two 5 in/25 guns. Pargo (SS-264) is shown here on 21 May 1945 off Mare Island, CA.
Note the sponson built out around her after gun. The above text and photo say Pargo, but Pargo had a starboard side anchor, and this boat has a port side. She is also spoting Portsmouth limber holes, but she is a EB built boat. |
Photo & text courtesy of U.S. Submarines Through 1945, An Illustrated Design History by Norman Friedman. Naval Institute Press. Photo I.D. and text courtesy of John Hummel. |
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 | 154k | S-boat and friend. The fleet boat is probably a Balao class, but this is a guess. Too little detail is visible. The S-boat is an EB product, either a 30 series boat, or S-40 or 41. The 20 series boats had a different shaped housing for the bow plane pivot and the S-42 through 47 had a prominent gun access trunk on the forward edge of the conning tower fairwater. The government built S-boats had an entirely different superstructure configuration. A curious thing is the lack of a deck gun on the S-boat. There is also no Union Jack on the jackstaff. This leads me to believe that this photo was taken stateside in the immediate post-war period, probably late 1945 and the S-boat was decommissioned and awaiting scrapping. | Text courtesy of David Johnston (USNR). Photo courtesy of Theodore Roscoe, from his book "U.S. Submarine Operations of WW II", published by USNI. | |
 | 114k | Subs alongside of the Proteus (AS-12); was taken late wartime, probably 1945 and shows two Balao / Tench class and possibly a Gato class (inboard boat). | U.S. Navy photo courtesy of ussubvetsofworldwarii.org. Text courtesy of David Johnston, (USNR). | |
 | 271k | A closer view of a few boats alongside at lower base, with landmark esacpe training tank. | Submarine Force Library, courtesy of Ken Hart. | |
 | 112k | Note: The narration in this photo appear from parts of three letters from two different people over a period of time. I hope it is plain enough to follow. Outboard of the Coucal (AS-8). The inboard boat is a Fleet Snorkel built by Portsmouth or Cramp and is most probably the Sabalo (SS-302). She had the dome starboard of center (forward of the other). She was never home ported in Yokosuka, although she was in and out during numerous WesPac deployments. The yard aparatus appears to be from Yokosuka which was Coucal's home port for a great part of its life. The outboard boat is a government yard built Balao class or Tench. This picture was probably taken in the 1952 to 1955 timeframe. To identify these boats, I was keying on the topside sonar arrangement on the forward deck of the Fleet Snorkel. The streamlined dome on the starboard side is either a WFA or BQS-3. That in itself was not unusual. What caught my eye was the can-on-a-post directly to port of this dome. The unconverted boat outboard also has it in the same location. These two boats are the only two I have ever seen with this arrangement. It is not the JT sonar, both boats have the T-shaped JT head just aft of this feature. It has me completely stumped. None of my references mention or identify it, and I have never seen it in any other picture. It might not even be sonar gear. It's possible that it is some other type of topside equipment. Could this be some kind of antenna, esp. one for direction finding of radio communication or radar signals? I'm thinking this may be a good possibility. From details of the Sabalo official history for 1957; 'arriving at Subic Bay 3 Feb. After 7 days upkeep, she departed on her Fifth Special Patrol on 11 Feb 1957. This consisted of approximately one month of snorkel operations for the purposes of gaining intelligence on ship movements in and out of North Viet Nam, and in locating coastal radar sites. After the patrol she went to Manila, P.I. arriving on 9 Mar 1957. ' This photo which was reported to be made immediately post snorkel and major alteration in Pearl Harbor in 1952. That dome is not installed, only the JT t-bar. I might speculate that the dome which does appear on Sabalo later was installed during the extended yard period Mar-Aug 1954 which also involved the installation of the BQR-2 with its large dome just aft of the smaller and to port of the centerline. And re: "This picture was probably taken in the 1952 to 1955 timeframe." -- As a conclusion, I have trouble believing that the sub in the pic in Yokosuka is the Sabalo based on what is known from the history timeline and the installed equipment configuration 1952-55 and later. | USN photo courtesy of ussubvetsofwwii.org. Text courtesy of David Johnston, (USNR) & Jeff Owens, webmaster and historian for Sabalo(SS-302). | |
 | 153k | Subs alongside of the Sperry (AS-12). There are three Guppies, one AGSS, and Skipjack class 585's. The Caiman (SS-323) looks like the boat overhanging the end of the pier. Caiman was a Guppy 1A and had the sail, bow and aft messenger bouy on the port side as shown. | U.S. Navy photo courtesy of ussubvetsofworldwarii.org. Photo i.d. courtesy of Ray? Text courtesy of David Johnston, (USNR). | |
 | 256k | Photo from the Evans (DE-1023) in the Sea of Japan in April-May 1967. We were doing ASW drills with two subs (showing the flag in the area). The boat is a Guppy II or IIA, possibly the Menhaden (SS-377) or Razorback (SS-394). | U.S. Navy photo courtesy of Darryl Baker. Photo i.d. courtesy of David Decrevel, John Hart, Ric Hedman, John Hummel, & David Johnston, (USNR). | |
 | 360k | US Naval Submarine Base, Point Loma. It is circa 1968. Identifiable bow on is the submarine tender Nereus (AS-17). Inboard of her is the submarine tender Sperry (AS-12), with the 2nd boat outboard of her is the Bream (SS-243) with a 594
Permit class nuke. In the left foreground is the Menhaden (SS-377). All of the submarines in the photo have had some type of "Guppy" conversion. | USN photo courtesy of Robert M. Cieri. Text i.d. courtesy of David Johnston, (USNR). | |
 | 94k | Subs alongside of the L.Y. Spear (AS-30); was probably taken late 70's or early 80's in what looks like Norfolk. There are eight Sturgeon (SSN-637's) and one Los Angeles (SSN-688) in port. | U.S. Navy photo courtesy of ussubvetsofworldwarii.org. Text courtesy of David Johnston, (USNR). | |
 | 123k | A submarine rests inside the large auxiliary floating dry dock Los Alamos (AFDB-7) shortly before being lowered into the water at Navy Fleet Ballistic Submarine Refit Site 1 on 1 Dec 1985. | USN photo # DN-ST-87-02364, by JOC Fred J. Klinkenberger, from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil. & submitted by Bill Gonyo. | |
 | 606k | Lots of water and little space surround a 637 class underway. | U.S. Navy photo # N-0000X-115 courtesy of extensis.cnrc.navy.mil. & Bob Shouse. | |
 | 495k | Tail end Charlie on the back of a 637 class underway. | U.S. Navy photo # N-0000X-109 courtesy of extensis.cnrc.navy.mil. & Bob Shouse. | |
 | 159k | Subs alongside of the Simon Lake (AS-30); three Benjamin Franklin class (SSBN-640) and a Lafayette class (SSBN-616) alongside in Kings Bay, GA. The photo's timeframe is probably around 1979-80 right after Kings Bay opened because the pier parking lot (light color patch on aft port side) is unpaved. | U.S. Navy photo courtesy of ussubvetsofworldwarii.org. Text courtesy of David Johnston (USNR) & Jim Harper. | |
 | 409k | US Naval Submarine Base, Pearl Harbor. It is circa 1987. | USN photo courtesy of Robert M. Cieri. | |
 | 186k | The large harbor tug Mister Don from Corpus Christi maneuvers a fast attack submarine out of the harbor at Point Loma, 1 Feb 1988. | USN photo # DN-SN-88-06097, by PHC Dave Fraker, from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil. & submitted by Bill Gonyo. | |
 | 227k | Crewmen stand on the deck of a U.S. Navy Lafayette Class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine as it passes through the Miraflores Locks of the Panama Canal circa 1 Sep 1989. Following behind the submarine are two U.S. Navy PBR Mark 2 river patrol boats. | USN photo # DA-ST-90-07099, from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil. & submitted by Bill Gonyo. | |
 | 503k | A port bow view of the nuclear-powered attack submarine Ray (SSN-653) underway near Naval Station, Norfolk, Virginia on 1 Feb 1991. Though claimed to be of Ray off Norfolk in '91, this picture could not have been taken after her 1983 overhaul - her Towed Array fairing was installed during her 83-85 overhaul, and is clearly not visible in the picture under detailed photo analysis by myself and other photo analysis experts. The topside safety track clearly is just below the sail, water running through it. The TA fairing should be visible just 1 - 2 feet below it, but water is clearly just running down a Also, several other artifacts in the picture suggest that the picture has been altered in Photoshop, especially the final number and other topside configurations of the boat not germaine to Ray. I was also the boat's Deck LPO for a year - I knew every inch of topside of Ray, being responsible for keeping it maintained. Also, as historian and PAO, I had all known photos of Ray in the ship's official records in my keeping taken prior to my arrival in '81, and subsequent photos I was responsible for scheduling and arranging until I left. This picture was never in the ship's official records. Crew members aboard at the time after I left until her decommissioning also confirm this isn't Ray. A check with a former crewmate who is currently involved in the Towed Array program in Bremerton confirmed to me that the TA fairings are not removed until they arrive for the recycling program. There are other inconsistencies in the picture that are contrary too. | Official U.S. Navy Photograph # DN-ST-91-05698 by PH1 C.A. Komperda, from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil & submitted by Bill Gonyo. Photo i.d. courtesy of John R.V. Jones, STS1/SS, USS RAY (SSN-653) '81 - '86 COMSUBRON 4 Staff '86-'88. |
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 | 174k | An aerial view, looking west, of a section of the naval base showing two of the destroyer and submarine (D&S) piers located on the south end of the installation. A submarine tender and several nuclear-powered attack submarines are tied up, 22 Jan 1995. The submarine in the right hand corner is most likely the Narwhal (SSN-671). She has a general 637 hull and sail structure but the hull is longer. Her fat line array stowage tube is on the starboard side versus the port as on a 637. While the 685 was also a stretched 637 hull, her fat line tube was still on the port side; only Narwhal and the 688's have it on the stbd side. It also appears this was during the period when she had the thin line array "hump" on her stern. | USN photo # DN-ST-95-01441, by Robert J. Sitar, from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil. Photo i.d. courtesy of Phil Tuckey. | |
 | 183 | An aerial view of a section of the Naval Station showing destroyer and submarine (D&S) pier #22 with the submarine tender L.Y. Spear (AS-36) tied up on the north side of the pier. On the south side of the pier is three Sturgeon class and one Los Angeles class nucelar-powered attack submarines, 25 Jun 1995. | USN photo # DN-SC-95-02164, by Robert J. Sitar, from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil. | |
 | 198k | An aerial view of a section of the Naval Station showing destroyer and submarine (D&S) pier #21. On the south side of the pier is the submarine tender Emory S. Land (AS-39) with four Los Angeles class nuclear-powered attack submarines moored on the north side including the Atlanta (SSN-712), Jacksonville (SSN-699), and unidentified sub, and Hampton (SSN-767), 25 Jun 1995. | USN photo # DN-SC-95-02165, by Robert J. Sitar, from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil. | |
 | 346k | Five Los Angeles class nuclear-powered attack submarines are tied up at destroyer and submarine (D&S) pier 22 at the naval base. NAS, Norfolk, VA, 28 Jan 1996. | USN photo # DN-SC-97-00620, by Robert J. Sitar, from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil. | |
 | 316k | A bow-on view of the submarine tender L.Y. Spear (AS-36) tied up at destroyer and submarine (D&S) pier 21 with four Los Angeles class and three Sturgeon class nuclear-powered attack submarines are tied up at destroyer and submarine (D&S)pier 22 at the naval base. NAS, Norfolk, VA, 28 Jan 1996. The first sub across the pier from the L.Y. Spear's stern is the Finback (SSN-670). | USN photo # DN-SC-97-00621, by Robert J. Sitar, from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil. | |
 | 736k | A stern view of the submarine tender L.Y. Spear (AS-36) tied up at destroyer and submarine (D&S) pier 21 at the naval base. Moored with the L.Y. Spear is four Los Angeles class and three Sturgeon class nuclear-powered attack submarines are tied up at destroyer and submarine (D&S)pier 22 at NAS, Norfolk, VA, 28 Jan 1996. The first sub across the pier from the L.Y. Spear's stern is the Finback (SSN-670). | USN photo # DN-SC-97-00623, by Robert J. Sitar, from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil. | |
 | 133k | A Ohio class submarine heads out to sea from the submarine base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, 23 Sept. 1997. | USN photo # N-0000U-019, & submitted by Bill Gonyo. Photo i.d. courtesy of Darryl Baker, John Hummel, Bob Shouse & Dave Johnston. | |
 | 185k | An american submarine (Trident) leaving Pearl Harbor for commencement in Exercise RIMPAC 2004. The naval assets for RIMPAC 2004 included four U.S. Pacific Fleet nuclear-powered attack submarines, Key West (SSN-722), Louisville (SSN-724), Charlotte (SSN-766), and Olympia (SSN-717). There are forward 5-inch countermeasures and no rear 6-inch countermeasures. If my knowledge is correct, the west coast boats had been converted to 6-inch prior to 2004 (or at least for the most part) which means that this picture is most likely of a prior east coast boat.......being either the Pennsylvania (SSBN-735) or the Kentucky (SSN-737). Also, the location of the aft draft reading typical of the east coast boats, the west coast ones usually have theirs a little more forward. | Photo # 000-169-804_0155, courtesy of defence.gov.au/rimpac04. Text i.d. courtesy of Johns. | |
 | 135k | A unknown Ohio class with Dry Deck Shelter. | USN photo # N-0000U-019, courtesy of bp1.blogger.com & submitted by Bill Gonyo. | |
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