USS Squalus (SS-192)

USS Sailfish (SS-192), off the Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, California, 13 April 1943
History
Squalus
Name:	USS Squalus
Namesake:	squalus
Builder:	Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Kittery, Maine
Laid down:	18 October 1937
Launched:	14 September 1938
Sponsored by:	Mrs. Thomas C. Hart
Commissioned:	1 March 1939
Decommissioned:	15 November 1939
Fate:	Sunk and salvaged
Raised:	13 September 1939
History
Sailfish
Renamed:	USS Sailfish, 9 February 1940
Namesake:	sailfish
Commissioned:	15 May 1940
Decommissioned:	27 October 1945
Struck:	30 April 1948
Honors and awards:	nine battle stars for World War II Presidential Unit Citation, tenth patrol
Fate:	Sold for scrap
General characteristics
Class and type:	Sargo-class composite diesel-hydraulic and diesel-electric submarine
Displacement:	1,450 long tons (1,470 t) standard, surfaced 2,350 long tons (2,390 t) submerged
Length:	310 ft 6 in (94.64 m)
Beam:	26 ft 10 in (8.18 m)
Draft:	16 ft 7.5 in (5.067 m)
Installed power:	5,500 hp (4,100 kW) surfaced 2,740 hp (2,040 kW) submerged
Propulsion:	4 × General Motors Model 16-248 V16 diesel engines (two hydraulic-drive, two driving electrical generators) 2 × 126-cell Sargo batteries 4 × high-speed General Electric electric motors with reduction gears 2 × shafts
Speed:	21 kn (24 mph; 39 km/h) surfaced 8.75 kn (10.07 mph; 16.21 km/h) submerged
Range:	11,000 nmi (13,000 mi; 20,000 km) at 10 kn (12 mph; 19 km/h)
Endurance:	48 hours at 2 kn (2.3 mph; 3.7 km/h) submerged
Test depth:	250 ft (76 m)
Complement:	5 officers, 54 enlisted
Armament:	8 × 21 in (530 mm) torpedo tubes (four forward, four aft; 24 torpedoes) 1 × 3 in (76 mm)/50 cal deck gun 4 × machine guns

USS Sailfish (SS-192), was a US Sargo-class submarine, originally named Squalus, which conducted numerous patrols in the Pacific War during World War II. The submarine was also the topic of the TV docu-drama "Submerged."

Her keel was laid on 18 October 1937 by the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, as Squalus, the only ship of the United States Navy named for the squalus. She was launched on 14 September 1938 sponsored by Mrs. Thomas C. Hart (wife of the Admiral), and commissioned on 1 March 1939, with Lieutenant Oliver F. Naquin in command. Due to mechanical failure,Squalus sank during a test dive on 23 May 1939. She was raised, renamed, and recommissioned on 15 May 1940 as Sailfish.

On 12 May 1939, following a yard overhaul, Squalus began a series of test dives off Portsmouth, New Hampshire. After successfully completing 18 dives, she went down again off the Isles of Shoals on the morning of 23 May at 42°53′N 70°37′W / 42.883°N 70.617°W / 42.883; -70.617. Failure of the main induction valve caused the flooding of the aft torpedo room, both engine rooms, and the crew's quarters, drowning 26 men immediately. Quick action by the crew prevented the other compartments from flooding. Squalus bottomed in 243 ft (74 m) of water.