Sargo class submarine

The Sargo class submarines were the first US submarines to be sent into action after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, starting war patrols the day after the attack. They were built between 1937 and 1939.

The "Sargo" class submarine USS|Swordfish|SS-193 had the distinction of sinking the first Japanese ship sent to the bottom by US forces in World War Two.

The "Sargo" class had a very active war, sinking 73 ships, including a Japanese submarine.

USS|Sailfish|SS-192 of this class sank the aircraft carrier "Chuyo", which was carrying 21 survivors from the submarine USS|Sculpin|SS-191; only one of these prisoners survived the sinking. Ironically, the "Sculpin" had been one of the ships assisting in the rescue of 33 men when the USS|Squalus|SS-192 sank during a test dive in 1939; the "Squalus" was refloated and recommissioned as the USS "Sailfish".

After the Second World War, the class was moved into the training role before being scrapped. USS|Searaven|SS-196 was used in the Bikini Atoll atomic weapon tests in 1946. There was negligible damage so she was later expended as a target. "Sailfish" was also due to become a target in the same atomic weapon tests but she was scrapped instead in 1948.

Ships in class

References

*"Submarines, War Beneath The Waves, From 1776 To The Present Day, By Robert Hutchinson"