Sargo-class submarine

Class overview
Name:	Sargo class
Builders:	Electric Boat Company, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Mare Island Naval Shipyard
Operators:	United States Navy
Preceded by:	Salmon class
Succeeded by:	Tambor class
Built:	1937–1939
In commission:	1939–1946
Completed:	10
Lost:	4
Retired:	6
General characteristics
Type:	Composite direct-drive and diesel-electric (first 6) or full diesel-electric (last 4) submarine
Displacement:	1,450 tons (1473 t) standard, surfaced 2,350 tons (2,388 t) submerged
Length:	310 ft 6 in (94.64 m)
Beam:	26 ft 10 in (8.18 m)
Draft:	16 ft 7½ in – 16 ft 8 in (5.08 m)
Propulsion:	4 × Hooven-Owens-Rentschler (H.O.R.) or General Motors diesel engines (two direct-drive, two driving electrical generators in early boats, all driving electrical generators in late boats), 1,535 hp (1,145 kW) each 2 × 126-cell Sargo batteries 4 × high-speed geared electric motors, 685 hp (511 kW) each 2 × auxiliary diesel generators, 258 kW (346 hp) each two shafts Net 5,200–5,500 shp (3,900–4,100 kW) surfaced 2,740 hp (2,040 kW) submerged
Speed:	21 knots (39 km/h) surfaced 8.75 knots (16 km/h) submerged
Range:	11,000 nautical miles (20,000 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h)
Endurance:	48 hours at 2 knots (3.7 km/h) submerged
Test depth:	250 ft (76 m)
Complement:	5 officers, 54 enlisted
Armament:	8 × 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes (four forward, four aft) 24 torpedoes 1 × 3-inch (76 mm)/50 caliber deck gun four machine guns

The Sargo-class submarines were among the first US submarines to be sent into action after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, starting war patrols the day after the attack, having been deployed to the Philippines in late 1941. Similar to the previous Salmon class, they were built between 1937 and 1939. With a top speed of 21 knots, a range of 11,000 nautical miles (20,000 km) (allowing patrols in Japanese home waters), and a reliable propulsion plant, along with the Salmons they were an important step in the development of a true fleet submarine. In some references, the Salmons and Sargos are called the "New S Class", 1st and 2nd Groups.

The Sargo-class submarine USS Swordfish (SS-193) had the distinction of being the first US Navy vessel to sink a Japanese ship in World War II.

In most features the Sargos were a repeat of the Salmons, except for the return to full diesel-electric drive for the last four boats and the adoption of the improved Sargo battery design. The first six Sargos were driven by a composite direct-drive and diesel-electric plant (two engines in each mode) in the same manner as the Salmons. In this arrangement, two main engines in the forward engine room drove generators. In the after engine room, two side-by-side engines were clutched to reduction gears which sat forward of the engines, with vibration-isolating hydraulic clutches. Two high-speed electric motors, driven by the generating engines or batteries, were also connected to each reduction gear. The Bureau of Steam Engineering (BuEng) and the General Board desired a full diesel-electric plant, but there were some dissenting opinions, notably Admiral Thomas C. Hart, the only experienced submariner on the General Board, who pointed out that a full diesel-electric system could be disabled by flooding. Technical problems went against the use of two large direct-drive diesels in place of the four-engine composite plant. No engine of suitable power to reach the desired 21-knot speed existed in the US, and the current vibration-isolating hydraulic clutches were not capable of transmitting enough power. It was also not practical to gear two engines to each shaft. So a full diesel-electric plant was adopted for the last four Sargos, and remained standard for all subsequent conventionally-powered US submarines.

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Wikipedia