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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive
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Pilotfish (SS-386)

Radio Call Sign: November - Juliet - Whiskey - Golf
Balao Class Submarine: Laid down, 15 May 1943, at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, ME.; Launched, 30 August 1943; Commissioned USS Pilotfish (SS-386), 16 December 1943; Decommissioned, 29 August 1946; Struck from the Naval Register, 25 February 1947; Final Disposition, disposed of as a target at Bikini in 1946; Raised and sunk as a target, 16 October 1948 off Eniwetok. Pilotfish received five battle stars for World War II service.

Specifications: Displacement, Surfaced 1,526 t., Submerged 2,391 t.; Length 311' 8"; Beam 27' 3"; Draft 15' 3"; Speed, Surfaced 20.25 kts, Submerged 8.75 kts; Cruising Range, 11,000 miles surfaced at 10 kts; Submerged Endurance, 48 hours at 2 kts; Operating Depth, 400 ft; Complement 6 Officers 60 Enlisted; Armament, ten 21" torpedo tubes, six forward, four aft, 24 torpedoes, one 5"/25 deck gun, one single 40mm gun mount, one single 20mm gun mount, two .50 cal. machine guns; Patrol Endurance 75 days; Propulsion, diesel-electric reduction gear, Fairbanks Morse diesel engines, 5,400 HP, Fuel Capacity, 116,000 gal., four Elliot Motor Co. electric main motors with 2,740 shp, two 126-cell main storage batteries, two propellers.
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Bang 523k Off with a Bang (SS-385) & a Pilotfish (SS-386) at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, ME., 30 August 1943. USN photo courtesy of John Hummel.
Photo added 05/23/13.
Pilotfish 57k Commemorative launching tag of the Pilotfish (SS-386) at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, ME., 30 August 1943. Photo courtesy of Ron Toth, Jr.via Tom Kermen.
Pilotfish 18k Commemorative post mark from Pilotfish's (SS-386) first day in commission, 16 December 1943. Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
Pilotfish 790k Bedecked with bunting and signal flags on her bow, Pilotfish (SS-386) is pictured here prior to launching at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, ME., 30 August 1943. US Navy photo courtesy of ussubvetsofwwii.org.
Pilotfish 274k Starboard view of the Pilotfish (SS-386) undergoing training and shakedown in the Portsmouth area, circa late 1943, early 1944. NARA (National ARchives and Records Administration) photo # 80-G-269706, courtesy of ussubvetsofwwii.org.
Bang 83k Proteus (AS-19) at Midway Naval Base between 14 and 28 May 1944. The submarines alongside are (from left to right): Bang (SS-385); Pintado (SS-387); and Pilotfish (SS-386). U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph, NH # 93498
Archerfish 95k Proteus (AS-19) with submarines of Submarine Squadron 20 alongside in Tokyo Bay, on VJ-Day, 2 September 1945. Names of the submarines present, their commanding officers and the commanding officers of SubRon20 and Proteus (AS-19) are printed at the bottom of the image: Archerfish (SS-311), Cavalla (SS-244), Gato (SS-212), Haddo (SS-255), Muskallunge (SS-262), Pilotfish (SS-386), Razorback (SS-394), Runner (SS-476), Segundo (SS-398), Sea Cat (SS-399), and Tigrone (SS-419). Courtesy of Captain Joseph F. Enright, USN(Retired), 1979. US Navy photo # NH 95019, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
Pilotfish 52k Pilotfish (SS-386) underway with crewmen at quarters, September 1945. Probably taken upon her arrival at San Francisco, California, on 21 September. USN photo.
Pilotfish 700k Pilotfish (SS-386) & Loggerhead (SS-374) with crewmen at quarters, September 1945. Probably taken upon her arrival at San Francisco, California, on 21 September. Photograph courtesy of Angelo L. Lombardi via his daughter Mariann.
Pilotfish 119k Pilotfish (SS-386) at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, 6 March 1946. Photograph # 19-N-114578 from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives.
Pilotfish 43k Commemorative post mark from issued on the Pilotfish (SS-386) at Operation Crossroads Nuclear Nuclear Test Abel. Photo courtesy of marshall.csu.edu.au. Spennemann, Dirk H.R. (2002). Special Philatelic and General Use Covers to commemorate the Operation Crossroads Nuclear Nuclear Test Abel.
Pilotfish 19k The Pilotfish (SS-386) lying on the bottom of the lagoon at Bikini Atoll. She is on her side and half-buried in the sand. USN photo courtesy of bikiniatoll.com.
View the Pilotfish (SS-386)
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
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