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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive

Patch contributed by Mike Smolinski

Spikefish (SS-404) (AGSS-404)

Radio Call Sign: November - Kilo - Quebec - Charlie

Balao Class Submarine: Laid down, 20 January 1944, at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, ME.; Launched, 26 April 1944; Commissioned USS Spikefish (SS-404), 30 June 1944; Redesignated Auxiliary Research Submarine (AGSS-404) in 1962; Decommissioned, 2 April 1963; Struck from the Naval Register, 1 May 1963; Final Disposition, sunk as a target in August 1964 off Long Island, NY. Spikefish earned three battle stars during WWII.

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.

Size	Image Description	Source
62k	Commemorative launching tag of Spikefish's (SS-404) launching, 26 April 1944 at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, ME.	Photo courtesy of Ron Toth, Jr.via Tom Kermen. Photo added 05/31/09.
16k	Commemorative postal cover on the occasion of Spikefish's (SS-404) launching, 26 April 1944.	Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
12k	Commemorative postal cover on the occasion of Spikefish's (SS-404) launching, 26 April 1944.	Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
72k	Spikefish (SS-404) underway during her first trials off the Atlantic Coast, summer 1944.	US Navy photo # 80-G-376776, from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), courtesy of Daniel Dunham.
138k	Spikefish (SS-404) underway during her first trials off the Atlantic Coast, summer 1944.	US Navy photo # 80-G-376777, from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), courtesy of Daniel Dunham.
31k	Very high altitude view of the Spikefish (SS-404), underway during her first trials off the Atlantic Coast, summer 1944.	US Navy photo # 80-G-376778, from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), courtesy of Daniel Dunham.
47k	Very high altitude view of the Spikefish(SS-404) underway during her first trials off the Atlantic Coast, summer 1944.	US Navy photo # 80-G-376779, from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), courtesy of Daniel Dunham.
91k	Spikefish (SS-404) rescues Ens. Cullen (in raft, lower right), VC-83, off Ishigaki Jima, 7 June 1945.	Courtesy of Jerry Wintermute.
19k	Commemorative postal cover and photo of the Spikefish (SS-404), 1952.	Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
36k	Spikefish (SS-404) taken 5 June 1952 when she operated from New London making training cruises along the east coast from Bermuda to Nova Scotia.	Courtesy of USNI, text courtesy of DANFS.
45k	"On 18 March 1960 Spikefish (SS-404) became the first United States submarine to record 10,000 dives. I was Officer of the Deck that day when the photo was taken. We were south of Key West, having just completed our historical 10,000th dive and on that day became "The divingest Submarine in the World". LCDR. Lee Bert Findly was Commanding Officer. On that day dignitaries from the State of Florida, and local Key West City officials, including dependants of the officers and crew were on board when the dive was made. As OD, I became the Diving Officer for the 10,000th Dive. Note that there was no one in the shears nor on the bridge since the helicopter radioed that all hands were to clear the area while the photo was made. *Spikefish* then was a member of Squadron 12 operating out of Key West."	Photo & text i.d. added 06/14/06, courtesy of Mark M. Lenhart. Photo courtesy of John Hummel.
185k	Spikefish (SS-404) at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, circa early 1960's.	Courtesy of Jay Jones EM3, Roberts (DE-749).

View the Spikefish (SS-404)
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
Full Fathom Five, U.S. Submarine War Against Japan

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