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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive
Patches contributed by Mike Smolinski

Sea Dog (SS-401) (AGSS-401)

Radio Call Sign: November - Kilo - Papa - Bravo
Balao Class Submarine: Laid down, 1 November 1943, at Portsmouth Navy Yard, New Hampshire; Launched, 28 March 1944; Commissioned USS Sea Dog (SS-401), 3 June 1944; Decommissioned, 27 June 1946, at New London, CT.; Laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, New London Group; Placed in service in February 1960 as a Naval Reserve Training Vessel in the 1st Naval District; Re-designated Auxiliary Research Submarine (AGSS-401) in 1962; Placed out of service and Struck from the Naval Register, 2 December 1968; Final Disposition, sold for scrapping 2-1-71 to Southern Scrap Mat'l. Co., New Orleans, LA $83.889.00. Sale cancelled, and sunk target 18 May 1973. Sea Dog earned two battle stars during WWII.
Partial data submitted by Yves Hubert.
As built to the 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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Sea Dogs 624k Prayers for ships by Lt. Cdr. Chester L. Holts, USNR Chaplain, at double launching of Sea Dog (SS-401) and Sea Fox (SS-402) launched in Submarine Basin, at Navy Yard, Portsmouth, N.H. 28 March 1944. National Archives Identifier: 12562995
Photo courtesy of catalog.archives.gov
Sea Dog23kCommemorative post mark from Sea Dog's (SS-401) launching at Portsmouth Navy Yard,New Hampshire, 28 March 1944.
Courtesy of Jack Treutle (of blessed memory).
Sea Dog25kCommemorative launch day badge from Sea Dog's (SS-401) launching at Portsmouth Navy Yard,New Hampshire, 28 March 1944.
Courtesy of James A Munroe in remembrance of his father Raymond L Munroe Sr. who worked at the yard during WW II and the Korean wars as a chauffeur.
Sea Dogs482kDouble Dog Launching: Sea Dog (SS-401) & Sea Fox (SS-402).
From left to right: Mrs. O.C. Robbins, Matron of Honor, Mrs. Robert N. Robertson, Sponsor for Sea Fox (SS-402), Rear Admiral Thomas Witner, Mrs. Vernon L. Lowrance; Sponsor, & Mrs. James P. Lynch; Matron of honor for Sea Dog (SS-401) at double launching in submarine basin at Portsmouth Navy Yard, New Hampshire on 28 March 1944. 		Photo courtesy of Lt. Francis Doerfler via Joe Pace.
Sea Dog229kMrs. Vernon L. Lowrance makes a hit on the Sea Dog (SS-401) on her launching at Portsmouth Navy Yard, New Hampshire on 28 March 1944. Photo courtesy of Lt. Francis Doerfler via Joe Pace.
Sea Dog576kCaptain Clifford H. Roper USN reading citation to Lt. Francis Doerfler, USNR, at commissioning of Sea Dog (SS-401) at Portsmouth Navy Yard, New Hampshire on 3 June 1944. Photo courtesy of Lt. Francis Doerfler via Joe Pace.
Sea Dog320kCommissioning party photo of Sea Dog's (SS-401) crew, 3 June 1944. Photo courtesy of Lt. Francis Doerfler via Joe Pace.
Sea Dog545kCommissioning of Sea Dog (SS-401) at Portsmouth Navy Yard, New Hampshire, 3 June 1944. Chaplin Lt. Cdr. Chester L. Holts, USNR, offering up prayers for the boat's officers & crew.Photo courtesy of Lt. Francis Doerfler via Joe Pace.
Sea Dog 76k The collier HIJMS Muroto at anchor, in 1928. In 1941 Muroto was converted to a supply ship. Torpedoed and sunk on 22 October 1944, SSW of Kagoshima (29 degrees 19' N, 129 degrees 44' E) by Sea Dog (SS-401). Photo courtesy of Japanese Naval Vessels of World War Two as seen by U.S. Naval Intelligence". Text taken from two sources: "Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869-1945" by Jentschura, Jung and Mickel, translated by Antony Preston and J.D. Brown, and "The World's Merchant Fleets 1939" by Roger W. Jordan, courtesy of Robert Hurst.
Sea Dog1.20kRefit took Sea Dog (SS-401) into May, when preparations were made for her last foray into Japanese home waters. Additional duties during the patrol included those of flagship for the nine-submarine Japan Sea Patrol Pack (TC; 17.21). On the 27th, she departed Guam with the other two submarines of her immediate pack, Spadefish (SS-411) and Crevalle (SS-291).
Crewmen transferring a torpedo from a submarine tender to a submarine about to leave on a war patrol, May 1945.		Text courtesy of DANFS.
US National Archives photo # 80-G-468128 by Lt. Cmdr. Horace Bristol, from NARA, College Park, Maryland, courtesy of Sean Hert.
Sea Dog594kLoading a torpedo into after torpedo room of a submarine about to leave its base on a war patrol, May 1945.US National Archives photo # 80-G-468133 by Lt. Cmdr. Horace Bristol, from NARA, College Park, Maryland, courtesy of Sean Hert.
Sea Dog1.40kEnlisted men loading 5" ammunition gun aboard a submarine ready to leave its base on a war patrol, May 1945.US National Archives photo # 80-G-468130 by Lt. Cmdr. Horace Bristol, from NARA, College Park, Maryland, courtesy of Sean Hert.
Sea Dog801kSailors installing a 5" gun aboard a submarine after it has been checked carefully in the shops of an advanced base, May 1945.US National Archives photo # 80-G-468138 by Lt. Cmdr. Horace Bristol, from NARA, College Park, Maryland, courtesy of Sean Hert.
Sea Dog524kSea Dog (SS-401) in floating drydock for repairs, May 1945.US National Archives photo # 80-G-468137 by Lt. Cmdr. Horace Bristol, from NARA, College Park, Maryland, courtesy of Sean Hert.
Sea Dog729kSea Dog (SS-401) on war patrol, May 1945.US National Archives photo # 80-G-468125 by Lt. Cmdr. Horace Bristol, from NARA, College Park, Maryland, courtesy of Sean Hert.
Sea Dog1.40kSea Dog (SS-401) on a war patrol, May 1945.US National Archives photo # 80-G-468129 by Lt. Cmdr. Horace Bristol, from NARA, College Park, Maryland, courtesy of Sean Hert.
Sea Dog1.70kSea Dog (SS-401) on a war patrol, May 1945.US National Archives photo # 80-G-468131 by Lt. Cmdr. Horace Bristol, from NARA, College Park, Maryland, courtesy of Sean Hert.
Sea Dog866kSailor at the valve controls on board the Sea Dog (SS-401), May 1945.US National Archives photo # 80-G-468127 by Lt. Cmdr. Horace Bristol, from NARA, College Park, Maryland, courtesy of Sean Hert.
Sea Dog324kSea Dog (SS-401) prowls the Pacific in search of enemy shipping. May 1945.NARA Photo # 80-G-468123 by Lt. Comdr. Horace Bristol, from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil.
Operation Barney
0828330		2.54k
Submarine Force Pacific Fleet...
extends to.....
membership in the distinguished order of...
Mighty Mine Dodgers
A small band of brave men of high courage who have completed with skill, ingenuity and tenacity a task that required a transit of the most dangerous of war waters through enemy minefields and penetrating what the Emperor of Japan considered his inviolate waters....The Sea of Japan. No weapon of Dai Nippon could halt these determined men. They did wilfully and with due knowledge of the dangers involved, carry out their assigned task to emerge from incontrovertible proof of the success of their daring, thus becoming members of the Mighty Mine Dodgers and thus entitled to all the rights and privileges thereof.
Let all men who read this scroll be forever grateful and respectful of those heroic American submariners who went in and especially to those who gave their lives in this operation. The job was superlatively well done.
Chas Lockwood
Vice Admiral
This was Operation Barney		Operation Barney link courtesy of Steven Trent Smith, World War II Magazine via navytimes.com
Photo courtesy of the family of Charles H Wagner Jr., TM2c (SS) USNR. Service from 1942-1946, aged 18-22, aboard S-37 (SS-142) & Tinosa (patrols 6-12).
Sea Dog132kSea Dog's (SS-401) flag. Photo courtesy of Lt. Francis Doerfler via Joe Pace.
Sea Dog278k Amidships looking forward plan view of Sea Dog (SS-401) at Mare Island on 11 June 1946. She was in overhaul at the yard from 28 February to 12 June 1946.USN photo # 2049-46, courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.
Sea Dog305k Amidships looking aft plan view of Sea Dog (SS-401) at Mare Island on 11 June 1946. USN photo # 2050-46, courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.
Sea Dog192kSea Dog (SS-401) stern view, underway off Mare Island, California, 11 June 1946. USN photo from NARA, courtesy of Daniel Dunham.
Sea Dog188kSea Dog (SS-401) starboard view, underway off Mare Island, California, 11 June 1946. USN photo from NARA, courtesy of Daniel Dunham.
Sea Dog176kSea Dog (SS-401) bow view, underway off Mare Island, California, 11 June 1946. USN photo from NARA, courtesy of Daniel Dunham.
Sea Dog262kA very heavily armed boat lacking only a bone in her teeth as she works up sped in the Pacific in 1947. USN photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Sea Dog302kThrough 1947, Sea Dog (SS-401) remained in the eastern Pacific, conducting training operations in the Hawaiian Islands and off the coasts of Washington, British Columbia, and California. Text courtesy of DANFS. USN photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Sea Dog 2.57k Sea Dog (SS-401) at Vancouver, B.C., 24 August 1947. Photo # CVA 447-8032.1 courtesy of Walter E. Frost via searcharchives.vancouver.ca courtesy of John Hummel, USN (Retired).
Sea Dog 1.93k Docked Sea Dog (SS-401) at Vancouver, B.C., 24 August 1947. Photo # CVA 447-8032 courtesy of Walter E. Frost via searcharchives.vancouver.ca courtesy of John Hummel, USN (Retired).
Sea Dog540kStern view in 1947. USN photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Sea Dog263kLots of foam emanates around the hull from her 1,800 plus tons in this bow on photo from 1947. USN photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Sea Dog317kSea Dog (SS-401) enters Pearl Harbor in September 1947 following a midshipman cruise.US National Archives photo # 80-G-42180, from NARA, College Park, Maryland, courtesy of Sean Hert.
Sea Dog84kIn mid-January 1948, Sea Dog (SS-401) again deployed to the western Pacific, where, after a visit to Australia, she again joined TG 71.2, the 7th Fleet's antisubmarine warfare training group at Tsingtao.
She appears here between 26-31 January 1948. 		Text courtesy of DANFS.
Photos by Allan C. Green, from the State Library of Victoria, Australia, courtesy of Stephen Gower.
Sea Dog931kSea Dog (SS-401) in 1948 at Melbourne, Australia.Photo # SLV H91.108/3019 courtesy of Stephen Gower.
Sea Dog261kSea Dog (SS-401) underway in the 1950's, still displaying the unmistakable profile of the Balao-class "Fleet Boats." Deck guns have been removed to improve her submerged performance, and a post-war air-search radar is mounted on its tall mast. A surface/search radar and two antennas are on the periscope shears, while two sonar antennas can be seen on the deck forward. A whip antennae extends horizontally from the radar mast. USN photo from NARA, # 80-G-634366, courtesy of Daniel Dunham.
SS 401
0840117		 NR The Navy Gets The Chow
PITCHER AT THE HOT PLATE, left, is Enrique B. Cruz from Guam, who pitches for the Sea Dog (SS-401) Softball team in games and prepares excellent food for the crew while on duty. On the receiving end, but not catchers, are two team members, First Baseman, J. W. Consalvi, Suffolk, Mass., and Second Baseman, Henry Urhart, Chicago Illinois., enjoying chow time on the submarine. Cruz Bautista and Celebrado are responsible for the "inner man" whether he’s an infielder or outfielder, when it comes to food. And what meals! (See accompanying story with menu for gourmet’s delight).		 Image and text provided by University of Florida.
Photo from The Key West Citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 12 September 1952, Image 4, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
SS 401
0840117a		 NR Adios On The Sea Dog's (SS-401) Deck
Commander James Elliot, of the Sea Dog, shakes hands with Society Editor Dorothy Raymer, who was guest at a luncheon Wednesday aboard the submarine. Standing by is Lt. (j.g) Rhode Boykin. Occasion was to celebrate the honorary admittance of Raymer as a member of Sea Dog's Softball Team. The visitor is quavering in her sandals after the ladder climbing adventure below deck and for which she has set out new rules concerning proper costumes and preparatory exercises for females who board submarines.		 Image and text provided by University of Florida.
Photo from The Key West Citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 12 September 1952, Image 4, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
SS 401
0840120		 NR SUBMARINE TO THE RESCUE
Brunswick, Ga.-The U. S. submarine Sea Dog (SS-401) (arrow) moves alongside a crippled Navy blimp which fell into the Atlantic 55 miles off this port city. The aircraft dropped when a window popped out and cut a hole in the gas bag.		 Image and text provided by Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
Photo from Evening Star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 08 November 1952, Image 2, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
SS 401
0840121		 NR JAVA TASTES SETTER THAN SALT WATER as these two members of the Sea Dog (SS-401) can safely say (gulp). Image and text provided by University of Florida.
Photo from The Key West Citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 11 November 1952, Image 1, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
Sea Dog54k12 years before Sea Dog (SS-401) met her end, she appears here in a photo from a slide taken by WWII enthusiast and camera buff Bob Zalanskas in March, 1965, on Derby Wharf, Salem, Massachusetts. Photo by Bob Zalanskas, courtesy submarinesailor.com.
Shad
0840113a		 817k Sea Dog (SS-401) at Salem, Massachusetts, 1960's. Photo courtesy of Ed Wolbert.
SS 401
0840118		 320k Micro Fiche of the Salem Evening News of Sea Dog (SS-401) departing Salem in 1968. Photo courtesy of Mike Marland.
View the Sea Dog (SS-401)
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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