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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive


Contributed by Mike Smolinski

Sirago (SS-485)

Radio Call Sign: November - Yankee - Echo - Kilo

Tench Class Submarine: Laid down, 4 January 1945, at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Portsmouth, NH; Launched, 13 May 1945; Commissioned USS Sirago (SS-485), 13 August 1945; Guppy II conversion in 1949 at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Philadelphia, PA.; Decommissioned and simultaneously struck from the Naval Register, 1 June 1972, at Norfolk, VA.; Final Disposition, sold for scrapping by the Naval Ships Systems Command, 2 May 1973, to Jacobson Metal Co., Chesapeake, VA. for $ 84,880.00.
Partial data submitted by Ron Reeves (of blessed memory)

As built to the specifications: Displacement, Surfaced: 1,570 t., Submerged: 2,414 t.; Length 311' 8"; Beam 27' 4"; Draft 15' 3"; Speed, Surfaced 20.25 kts, Submerged 8.75 kts; Cruising Range, 11,000 miles surfaced at 10kts; Submerged Endurance, 48 hours at 2kts; Operating Depth, 400 ft; Complement 7 Officers 69 Enlisted; Armament, ten 21" torpedo tubes, six forward, four aft, 24 torpedoes, one 5"/25 deck gun, two 20mm guns, two .30 cal. machine guns; Patrol Endurance 75 days; Propulsion, diesel-electric reduction gear with four Fairbanks Morse main generator engines, 5,400HP, Fuel Capacity, 113,510 gal., two Elliot Motor Co. main motors with 2,740HP, two 126-cell main storage batteries, two propellers.
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SS 485
0848558
64k The Sirago (SS-485) was sponsored by Mrs. L. Mendel Rivers. Photo courtesy of Dale Hargrave.
L. Mendel Rivers359kThe Sirago (SS-485) was sponsored by Mrs. L. Mendel Rivers.
I have no photo of her doing the honors, but her daughters are seen here at the christening of the L. Mendel Rivers (SSN-686) by Mrs. Margaret Eastman and Mrs. Lois Ravenel, daughters of the ship's namesake. A true nuclear family!
UPI photo courtesy of Dale Hargrave.
Sirago 509k Sirago (SS-485) slides seaward surrounded by saluting sailors, 13 May 1945. USN photo # 80-G-448565 from National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), College Park, Maryland, courtesy of Sean Hert.
Sirago 606k RADM Thomas Withers USN, addresses officers and crew during commissioning of the Sirago (SS-485) Navy Yard, Portsmouth, N.H. 13 August 1945. USN photo # 80-G-448564 from NARA, College Park, Maryland, courtesy of Sean Hert.
Sirago 24k Commemorative launch tag on the occasion of Sirago's (SS-485) launching at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, ME., 13 May 1945. Photo courtesy of Bill Gonyo.
Sirago 196k Sirago (SS-485) on 3 October 1945 off Navy Yard, Portsmouth N.H. USN photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Sirago 188k Speed trials for the Sirago (SS-485) on 3 October 1945. USN photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Sirago 350k Broadside view of the Sirago (SS-485) on 3 October 1945. USN photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Sirago 128k All business on the bridge of the Sirago (SS-485) on 3 October 1945. USN photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Sirago 17k Group photo of the Sirago (SS-485), taken on 15 March 1946. Lt. Everett Olinder, contributor's father, who served on the Sirago in 1945-1948, is on the far right. Courtesy of Laurie Olinder.
Sirago 45k Sirago (SS-485) mascot with a life jacket, 15 March 1946. Courtesy of Laurie Olinder.
U-boats287kTorpedo "hit" fired by Sirago (SS-485) in May 1946. U-1228 was sunk as part of WWII reparations agreements. Photo restricted and not for publication at that time.Photo courtesy of sirago.com
U-boats377kGerman U-Boat U-1228 torpedoed by Sirago (SS-485) off Princeton, Mass.Photo courtesy of sirago.com
Sirago 30k Lt. Everett Olinder of the Sirago (SS-485), wife and friends at London Terrrace, 86 Golden Street, New London, CT., mid/late 1940's. Courtesy of Laurie Olinder.
Sirago 57k Control room of the Sirago (SS-485), mid/late 1940's. Courtesy of Laurie Olinder.
Sirago 149k Sirago (SS-485) underway, circa 1950's. Courtesy of John Hummel, USN (Retired).
Sirago 128k Sirago (SS-485) in the midst of a line transfer, circa 1950's. Photo courtesy of William Beckenbach via Fred Willshaw.
Sirago 25k LCDR. Robert Kenneth Kaufman commanded the Sirago (SS-485) from 1950 until reassignment as Navy Secretary of the Joint Strategic Survey Committee of the JCS in 1952. Photo courtesy of the United States Naval Academy submitted by Bill Gonyo.
Sirago 515k Loading equipment in forward hatch of the Sealion (APSS-315) during the Fall, 1956. The Sirago (SS-485) is inboard. Photo courtesy of Roxanne M. Merritt, Director, JFK Special Warfare Museum.
Sirago 321k Sirago (SS-485) in late 50's early 60's before she got her North atlantic sail. Photo courtesy of John Hummel, USN (Retired).
Sirago 233k A nice color photo of Sirago's (SS-485) sail in the late 50's early 60's. Photo courtesy of John Hummel, USN (Retired).
Sirago 82k Sirago (SS-485) 1962 or before. Photo courtesy of John Hummel, USN (Retired).
Sirago 134k Sirago (SS-485) underway circa 1962. Passing overhead is a Grumman S2F-3 Tracker of anti-submarine squadron VS-36 Grey Wolves. Photo taken from U.S. Navy Naval Aviation News November 1962, courtesy of Robert Hurst.
Argonaut385k Argonaut (SS-475), Cubera (SS-347), Sirago (SS-485) pierside, 1964.Photo courtesy of John Hummel, (USN) retired.
Sirago 71k Sirago (SS-485) underway on the surface during the later part of her career. Photo & copy Richard Leonhardt.
U-boats380kPrincess Grace of Monaco is Welcomed Aboard in this 5 page Welcome Aboard PDF of the Sirago (SS-485). PDF courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
485 & 409
0848514
1.73k Front to back, left to right: Piper (SS-409) & Sirago (SS-485), Destroyers William M. Wood (DDR-715) & Leary (DD-879), 1964. Photo by Manuel Galilea. Courtesy of Museu Marítim de Barcelona via Fabio Pena.
Sirago & Carp 50k Sirago (SS-485) and Carp (SS-338), June 1965 at the D&S piers, Norfolk VA. Courtesy of John Hummel, USN (Retired).
SS 485
0848502
2.15k Late 60's photo of the Sirago (SS-485). Photo courtesy of John Hummel, USN (Retired).
Sirago 27k Commemorative postal cover marking Sirago's (SS-485) decommissioning on 1 June 1972, at Norfolk, VA. Courtesy of Jack Treutle (of blessed memory).

View the Sirago (SS-485)
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
USS Sirago (SS485)
Tench Class Submarines
Ep-21 (1) - Victory At Sea ~ Full Fathom Five - HQ

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