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 on left & center courtesy of George M. Arnold, on right by Sait Kucuk, CPOS (Ret),Turkish Navy.

Sea Fox (SS-402)
U.S. Service

Radio Call Sign: November - Kilo - Papa - Echo

To Additional Pages

Decommissioning Ceremony
Turkish Service

Balao Class Submarine: Laid down, 2 November 1943, at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, ME.; Launched, 28 March 1944; Commissioned USS Sea Fox (SS-402), 13 June 1944; Decommissioned on 15 October 1952 at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, CA for GUPPY IIA conversion. Re-Commissioned on 5 June 1953. After more than 25 years of alternating Western Pacific deployments with the U. S. Seventh Fleet and local operations and training, Sea Fox (SS-402) returned from her final deployment to her homeport of San Diego on 11 October 1970. In November, she embarked the prospective Turkish Navy crew for training and departed for Hunter's Point Naval Shipyard at San Francisco pursuant to the provisions of the Foreign Military Sales Act of 1968.

On 14 December 1970, (Sea Fox Decommissioned from the United States Navy; struck from the Naval Vessel Registry; transferred to the Republic of Turkey and concurrently Commissioned TCG Burakreis(S-335) (Note: Burak Reis was the 2nd submarine of the Turkish Navy to bear the name of the 15th century Commander of the Western Fleet of the Ottoman Empire Navy). On 1 July 1996, TCG Burak Reis, (ex-Sea Fox(SS-402) Decommissioned from Turkish Navy and reportedly acted as a "charging boat" for other GUPPY submarines at Golcuk Navy Yard, Turkey until cannibalized for parts and the hulk discarded for scrap in 2003.
Sea Fox (SS-402) was awarded four battle stars for WWII service and another four stars for service in Vietnam.
Researched by CTRC Donald J. Wagner, USN (Ret) for NavSource.

Specifications: Displacement, Surfaced 1,526 t., Submerged 2,391 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 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.

Size	Image Description	Source
32k	Alopias vulpinus, known as the long-tailed thresher shark, or "fox shark", & "sea fox", among others.	Courtesy of Evgeny V. Romanov & fishbase.org.
29k	Commemorative postal cover marking the launching of the Sea Fox (SS-402), 28 March 1944 at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, ME.	Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
21k	Commemorative medallion on the occasion of the launching of the Sea Fox (SS-402), 28 March 1944.	Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
52k	One month before commissioning, the Sea Fox (SS-402) lies out in Portsmouth (N.H.) Navy Yard, 16 May 1944.	US Navy photo.
99k	AAF Crew join the Sea Fox (SS-402).	Photo courtesy of Y.M.Umar,CPO (Ret.),Turkish Navy. Photo added 08/04/09.
74k	Sea Fox (SS-402), moored, Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, San Francisco, CA., 17 May 1946.	Photo SFNSY 1572-46-S8-C, now in the collections of the US Naval Historical Center
20k	Sea Fox (SS-402), circa 1948, place unknown.	US Navy photo courtesy of George M. Arnold.
92k	Sea Fox (SS-402), as a "Guppy IIA" submarine, underway at San Diego, CA., May 1953.	US Navy photo courtesy of George M. Arnold.
109k	A view of the commissioning ceremonies for Sea Fox (SS-402) at Mare Island on 5 June 1953. She was under conversion at the yard from 1 Oct. 52 to 5 Aug. 1953.	USN photo # 17774-6-53, courtesy of Darryl Baker.
146k	LCDR George S. Bennett, Jr. reads his orders as he assumed command of the Sea Fox (SS-402), at Mare Island on 5 June 1953.	USN photo # 17777-6-53, courtesy of Darryl Baker.
358k	The Sea Fox (SS-402) is seen off Mare Island on 13 August 1953.	USN photo # 18358-8-53, courtesy of Darryl Baker.
60k	Sea Fox (SS-402) moored, Sub Base Pearl Harbor, HI, 1955.	US Navy photo courtesy of George M. Arnold.
249k	Change of command at Subron 12 Key West Fla. in the 1960's aboard the Bushnell (AS-15). Barracuda (SST-3) upper right. Other boats there are Sea Cat (SS-399), Picuda (SS-382), Atule (SS-403), Sea Fox (SS-402), Threadfin (SS-410) & Chopper (SS-342).	Photo courtesy of John Hummel.
234k	Sea Fox (SS-402) underway, place unknown, circa 1960s.	US Navy photo courtesy of George M. Arnold.
109k	Sea Fox (SS-402) underway, circa 1960s, and place unknown.	US Navy photo courtesy of George M. Arnold.
38k	Sea Fox (SS-402) underway, circa 1960s, off San Francisco, CA.	US Navy photo courtesy of George M. Arnold.
30k	Sea Fox (SS-402) moored, at a Naval Shipyard, in San Francisco area, date unknown.	US Navy photo courtesy of George M. Arnold.
70k	Sea Fox (SS-402) underway, circa late 1960's.	US Navy photo courtesy of George M. Arnold.
46k	Cover of Sperry (AS-12) Welcome Aboard pamphlet, circa 1968. Note she still carries MK 12/22 radar on her MK 37 gun director in this picture. Submarines alongside include, from inboard to outboard Atule (SS-403), Bugara (SS-331) and Sea Fox (SS-402).	Photo courtesy of David Buell for his father CWO4 Benton E. Buell USN Ret. DCA USS Sperry 1968-69.