USS S-38

USS S-38 at San Diego, California, in April 1943 following .
History
Name:	USS S-38
Builder:	Union Iron Works
Laid down:	15 January 1919
Launched:	17 June 1919
Commissioned:	11 May 1923
Decommissioned:	14 December 1944
Struck:	20 January 1945
Fate:	Sunk as a target by bombing, 20 February 1945
General characteristics
Class and type:	S-class submarine
Displacement:	854 long tons (868 t) surfaced 1,062 long tons (1,079 t) submerged
Length:	211 ft (64 m) w/l 219 ft 3 in (66.83 m) o/a
Beam:	20 ft 9 in (6.32 m)
Draft:	16 ft (4.9 m)
Propulsion:	NLSE diesels, 1,200 hp (895 kW) General Electric motors, 1,500 hp (1,119 kW) 120-cell Exide battery 2 shafts 168 tons oil fuel
Speed:	14.5 knots (16.7 mph; 26.9 km/h) surfaced 11 knots (13 mph; 20 km/h) submerged
Complement:	42 officers and men
Armament:	1 × 4 in (100 mm)/50 deck gun 4 × 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes 12 torpedoes
Service record
Operations:	World War II
Victories:	Hayo Maru (5445 tons), 22 December 1941 Meiyo Maru (5628 tons), 8 August 1942
Awards:	3 battle stars

USS S-38 (SS-143) was a S-class submarine of the United States Navy.

Her keel was laid down on 15 January 1919 by the Union Iron Works in San Francisco, California. She was launched on 17 June 1919 sponsored by Mrs. Grace M. Collins, and commissioned on 11 May 1923 with Lieutenant Clifford H. "Stony" Roper (Class of 1916) in command.

Fitted out at Mare Island, S-38 joined Submarine Division 17 (SubDiv 17) at San Pedro, California, on 24 May and immediately began preparations for a cruise to the Aleutian Islands. On 9 June, she moved north with submarine tenders Beaver, Ortolan, and three other S-boats. On 21 June, they reached Dutch Harbor, whence the boats conducted evaluation tests and exercises for the next three and a half weeks. On 16 July, the force put into Anchorage, Alaska.

On 17 July, while performing routine maintenance on S-38's motors, a crewman removed a valve cover, creating an opening to sea below the boat's waterline, flooding the motor room. The submarine was alongside her tender, USS Ortolan, no personnel were injured, she was easily raised but the motors were crippled. Temporary repairs took until 23 July, when the boat was taken in tow by Ortolan.

S-38 reached Mare Island on 1 August, remained there for repairs and alterations until April 1924, then returned to San Pedro, whence she conducted local exercises into the summer. In August, she prepared for duty with the Asiatic Fleet, and, in mid-September she headed west across the Pacific. She stood into Manila Bay on 4 November 1924 and, for the next 17 years, operated out of Cavite, with annual summer deployments to the China coast. Division operations occupied Asiatic Fleet submarines during most of the period; but, as hostilities intensified on the mainland, submarine schedules became more varied. Annual deployments and regular exercises of the boats as a division were shortened in length, while exercises and patrols of individual boats were increased in number, duration, and range. During these operations, the submarines cruised off the Philippines, along the Indo-China coast, and into the Netherlands East Indies.