Got Dolphins?

06/06/2026

In May 1942, the submarine USS Nautilus (SS 168), under the command of Lt. Cmdr. William Brockman Jr., departed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, for her first war patrol. Her mission was to search for the Japanese fleet sailing for Midway, and she succeeded.

USS Nautilus assisted in leading U.S. aircraft directly to the Japanese carrier Hiryu and harassing the enemy while our aircraft ravaged the Japanese Fleet. USS Nautilus survived 42 depth charges, several of her torpedoes failed to detonate, and Japanese aircraft and ships spotted her multiple times, forcing Nautilus to dive and evade multiple times. Yet, despite these challenges, the crew’s efforts were critical to the success of the battle and resulted in Brockman receiving the Navy Cross for the Battle of Midway.

She departed San Francisco, California, on 21 April 1942, reaching Pearl Harbor on 28 April. On 24 May, Nautilus (commanded by Lieutenant Commander William H. Brockman Jr.) got underway for her first war patrol, to Midway Island to help repel the expected attack by the Japanese fleet.

At 07:55, 4 June, while approaching the northern boundary of her patrol area near Midway Island, she sighted masts on the horizon. Japanese planes sighted the submarine at the same time and began strafing. After diving to 100 feet (30 m), she continued observation. At 08:00, a formation of four enemy ships was sighted: the battleship Kirishima, the cruiser Nagara, and two destroyers (misidentified, as they often were early in the war, as cruisers) in company. Within minutes the submarine was again sighted from the air and was bombed. Two of the "cruisers" closed for a kill and nine depth charges were dropped at a distance of about 1,000 yards (910 m).

When the attack ceased, Nautilus rose to periscope depth. Ships surrounded her. Sighting on Kirishima, she fired two bow tubes; one misfired, one missed. At 08:30, a destroyer immediately headed for the boat, which dived to 150 feet (46 m) to wait out the depth charge attack. At 08:46, periscope depth was again ordered. The cruiser and two of the destroyers were now out of range; echo ranging by the third appeared too accurate for comfort. At 09:00, the periscope was raised again and an aircraft carrier was sighted. Nautilus changed course to close for an attack. The enemy destroyer followed suit and at 09:18 attacked with six depth charges.

By 09:55 echo ranging ceased and Nautilus raised her periscope. The carrier, her escorts, and the attacking destroyer had disappeared. (Unbeknownst to her skipper at the time, the counter-attacking Japanese destroyer Arashi, in her rush to rejoin the carrier, was tracked by Enterprise's VB-6, led by Wade McClusky, back to the Japanese task force.) At 12:53, a damaged aircraft carrier with two escorts was sighted. The carrier was identified as Sōryū, but later research suggests it was probably Kaga. An hour later, Nautilus had moved into attack position.

Between 13:59 and 14:05, after the battle was largely over, Nautilus launched four torpedoes at the carrier from less than 3,000 yards (2,700 m). One failed to run, two ran erratically, and the fourth was a dud (a familiar problem for the Mark XIV), impacting amidships and breaking in half.[18] Nautilus reported flames appeared along the length of the ship as the first hit, and the skeleton crew which had been aboard (survivors of which reported no torpedo hit) began going over the side, with the air flask of the dud torpedo acting as a life preserver for Japanese sailors.

Nautilus went to 300 feet (91 m) as a prolonged depth charge attack commenced. At 16:10, the submarine rose to periscope depth. The carrier, burning along her entire length, had been abandoned. At 19:41, Nautilus resumed her patrol, having expended five torpedoes and survived 42 depth charges, but accomplished little of substance. (Not until much later was the importance of her attack on the battleship, and its connection to McClusky, recognized.) Her commanding officer was awarded a Navy Cross for his actions.

Between 7 June and 9 June, Nautilus replenished at Midway Island and then resumed her patrol to the west. By 20 June, she was operating off Honshū at the northern end of the Tokyo-Marshall Islands supply route. On 22 June, she damaged a destroyer guarding the entrance to the Sagami Sea off Ōshima. Three days later, she sank the destroyer Yamakaze and damaged an oil tanker. On 27 June, she sent a sampan to the bottom and on 28 June, after damaging a merchantman, underwent her severest depth charging, which forced her back to Pearl Harbor for repairs, 11 July to 7 August.

U.S. submarines would go on to take the fight to the Japanese across the Pacific, wreaking havoc on the critical maritime supply routes that supported their industry, and ravaging their warships. Although submarines only made up only 2% of our entire Navy during WWII, they sank 30% of Japanese warships and 55% of Japanese merchant ships.

But this wartime effort was not without significant sacrifice. The U.S. submarine force experienced some of the highest casualty rates of any force in WWII. A foundational part of our training as submariners is the study of this legacy of sacrifice and commitment in the face of the enemy. In this training, we make it a point to ensure that today’s submariners recognize that even though we eventually achieved victory, we were not ready for unrestricted submarine warfare when we entered the fight after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Our weapons were erratic, our tactics unrefined, and our training inadequate to the task. Yes, we eventually overcame each of these obstacles to halt the Japanese advance and set the conditions for victory in the Pacific, but there is no guarantee that the pace of future combat operations will forgive such a lack of foresight and preparation. We have to be ready to deploy and sustain high-end combat operations with little or no warning – and today we exercise that every single day in our Submarine Force.

Image caption: Drawing depicting the sinking of the IJN aircraft carrier Soryu at Midway, June 1942. In fact, the Nautilus (SS-168) fired torpedoes at the IJN aircraft carrier Kaga. One torpedo actually hit the ship. However, due to faulty design problems which plagued the Navy throughout the first 2 plus years of the war, the torpedo failed to explode, actually broke in half with the warhead plunging to the bottom and the back half serving as a life raft of sorts for Japanese survivors floating in the waters off Midway.

Image: Drawing depicting the sinking of the IJN aircraft carrier Soryu at Midway, June 1942. In fact, the Nautilus (SS-168) fired torpedoes at the IJN aircraft carrier Kaga. One torpedo actually hit the ship. However, due to faulty design problems which plagued the Navy throughout the first 2 plus years of the war, the torpedo failed to explode, actually broke in half with the warhead plunging to the bottom and the back half serving as a life raft of sorts for Japanese survivors floating in the waters off Midway.

https://www.navy.mil/Resources/Blogs/Detail/Article/2268207/then-and-now-midway-and-submarine-force/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Nautilus_(SS-168)

https://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08168.htm

06/06/2026

Battle of Midway - Calamity on the High Seas!

On June 5, 1942, in the aftermath, Battle of Midway, at 2.15 AM 100 miles West of Midway, 4 Japanese cruisers and 2 destroyers spot approaching US submarine USS Tambor (SS-198) and start zigzagging.

Cruisers Mogami and Mikuma collide, causing serious damage to Mogami's bow (92 killed).

At 4.50 AM, the flagship of the carrier fleet, Akagi, is ceremonially scuttled by 1 torpedo each from destroyers Arashi, Hagikaze, Maikaze and Nowaki.

At 5.10 AM, Japanese carrier Hiryū is scuttled by torpedoes from destroyer Makigumo, Hiryū’s Captain Kaku and Rear Admiral Tamon Yamaguchi, commander of the 2nd Carrier Division, go down with the ship.

By 4 pm, on June 4, 1942, Admiral Yamaguchi decided to launch a third strike against the American carriers at dusk, approximately 6 pm, though at this point in the battle Hiryū had only four air-worthy dive-bombers and five torpedo-planes left. She also retained nineteen of her own Zero fighters on board as well as a further thirteen Zeros on combat air patrol, a composite force left over from the carriers Akagi, Kaga and Sōryū.

While preparing to launch a third strike, Hiryū was attacked at 5:03 pm by 13 SBD Dauntless dive bombers from Enterprise and hit with four 1000 lb (453.6 kg) bombs, three on the forward flight deck and one on or near the forward elevator. The explosions started fires among the aircraft on the hangar deck. The forward half of the flight deck collapsed into the hangar bay while part of the elevator was hurled against the ship's bridge.

Although Hiryū's propulsion was not affected, the fires could not be brought under control. At 9:23 pm her engines stopped, and at 1:58 am a major explosion rocked the ship. The order to abandon ship was given shortly afterwards and the survivors were taken off by the destroyers Kazagumo and Makigumo.

Rear Admiral Tamon Yamaguchi and Captain Kaku remained on board as Hiryū was scuttled at 5:10 am by torpedoes from Makigumo. She sank at 9:12 am, taking 35 men down with her, another 350 or so had been killed by the bombs, fires and explosions. Thirty-five were rescued by the US Navy and taken prisoner. Admiral Yamaguchi's insistence on going down with his carrier robbed the Japanese of one of their most experienced and aggressive carrier admirals.

Photo Credit: The burning Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryu, photographed by a plane from the carrier Hosho shortly after sunrise on 5 June 1942. Hiryu sank a few hours later. Note collapsed flight deck over the forward hangar.
Date 5 June 1942
Source:U.S. Navy National Museum of Naval Aviation photo No. 1996.488.037.014; also US Navy photo NH 73065 from.
Author: U.S. Navy (Donation of Kazutoshi Hando, 1970)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hiryu_burning.jpg?fbclid=IwAR1jq25kEYZW1rQsVmQLVFketLPbMpfc-ORpAEKBQ8I8kkhnGjyAlTHdPkM

USS Tambor (SS-198) Photo
http://navsource.org/archives/08/193/0819803.jpg

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06/05/2026

Commissioned: 5 June 1925 - USS S-46 (SS-157)

USS S-46 (SS-157) was a third-group (S-42) S-class submarine of the United States Navy. Her keel was laid down on 23 February 1921 by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation in Quincy, Massachusetts. She was launched on 11 September 1923 sponsored by Miss Grace Roosevelt, and commissioned on 5 June 1925, Lieutenant Commander Hubert V. LaBombard in command.

S-46 was awarded one battle star for her World War II service.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_S-46_(SS-157)

http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08157.htm

S-46′s keel was laid down on 23 February 1921 by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation's Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts.[1] She was launched on 11 September 1923, sponsored by Miss Grace Roosevelt, and commissioned on 5 June 1925.[1]

06/05/2026

Glenard P. Lipscomb Class Attack Submarine: Laid down, 5 June 1971, at the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corp., Groton, CT.; Launched, 4 June 1973; Commissioned, USS Glenard P. Lipscomb (SSN-685), 21 December 1974; Decommissioned and struck from the Naval Register, 11 July 1990; Final Disposition, disposed of through the NPSSRP (Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program) at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA. 1 December 1997.

Specifications: Displacement, Submerged: 6,480 t.; Length 365'; Beam 32'; Speed, Submerged 20+ kts; ; Complement 12 officers, 108 enlisted; Armament, four 21" torpedo tubes MK 48 Torpedoes, GM-84A/C Harpoon and Tomahawk missiles; Propulsion System, one S5W nuclear reactor.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Glenard_P._Lipscomb

http://navsource.org/archives/08/pdf/0868509.pdf

http://navsource.org/archives/08/687/0868507.jpg

http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08685.htm

06/05/2026

5 June 1961 - USS Scamp (SSN-588) - Commissioned

Scamp, a Skipjack-class nuclear-powered submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the scamp, a member of the serranidae family of fish.
Her keel was laid down on 23 January 1959 at Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo, California. She was launched on 8 October 1960, sponsored by Mrs. John C. Hollingsworth, widow of Commander John C. Hollingsworth, the commanding officer of Scamp (SS-277) at the time of her loss in November 1944. She was commissioned at Mare Island on 5 June 1961 with Commander W. N. Dietzen in command.

Scamp’s first four months in the fleet were taken up by advanced trials and training exercises in the Bremerton, Washington, San Diego, California, and Pearl Harbor, areas. Following these operations, she returned to Vallejo, California, for post-shakedown availability at Mare Island Naval Shipyard. Leaving the shipyard Scamp completed her final acceptance trials and began local operations in the San Diego area. During training the sub lost her screw off the coast of California on 4 December 1961 and was towed back to Mare Island by the Coast Guard Cutter USCGC Comananche WMEC-202 ( built for the USN as ATA-202 in 1944)

In April 1962 she deployed to the western Pacific, returning to San Diego in July. She operated locally until September, when she departed on another extended training cruise. Scamp returned to San Diego and local operations until February 1963 when she entered Mare Island Naval Shipyard for interim drydocking. She refloated in March and, in April, deployed again to the western Pacific. While in the Far East, she conducted another extended period of advanced training, including operations in the Okinawa area. Scamp reentered San Diego Bay in October 1963. She resumed her West Coast operations out of San Diego until June 1964, then, she headed west again for advanced readiness training. She arrived back in San Diego in September 1964.

Decommissioned and struck from the Naval Register, 28 April 1988; Final Disposition, disposed through NPSSRP (Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program) at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA., completed 9 September 1994. Scamp earned three battle stars for service in the Vietnam War.

Photo caption: The boats' company salutes the national Ensign for the first time as a commissioned vessel, 5 June 1961.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Scamp_(SSN-588)
https://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08588.htm

Website: https://uss-scamp.net/

06/05/2026

June 4, 1971 - USS SILVERSIDES (SSN 679) was launched by General Dynamics’ Electric Boat Div., Groton, CT.

USS Silversides (SSN-679), a Sturgeon-class attack submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the silverside, a small fish marked with a silvery stripe along each side of its body.

The contract to build Silversides was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut, on 25 June 1968 and her keel was laid down on 13 October 1969. She was launched on 4 June 1971, sponsored by Mrs. John H. Chafee, wife of then-Secretary of the Navy John H. Chafee (1922–1999), and commissioned on 5 May 1972 with Commander John E. Allen in command.

Following shakedown in the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean, Silversides began operations in the Atlantic with her home port at Naval Station Charleston at Charleston, South Carolina.

Silversides went into drydock at Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Virginia, in January 1977, at which time her home port was changed from Charleston to Naval Station Norfolk at Norfolk, Virginia.

On 11 October 1981, "Silversides" surfaced at the North Pole for the first time.

In the autumn of 1984, Silversides left Norfolk for a scheduled refueling overhaul at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Washington, entering drydock there in late November 1984. The refueling overhaul was completed in August 1986, and later in 1986 she returned to Norfolk.

In the autumn of 1989, Silversides departed Norfolk and voyaged north into the Arctic, surfaced at the North Pole for the second time, proceeded out of the Arctic Ocean into the Pacific Ocean, participated in United States Pacific Fleet exercises, made port calls in Hawaii and California, and returned to Norfolk via the Panama Canal, becoming only the second submarine to circumnavigate North America.

In Jan 1994, Silversides' home port was changed from Norfolk to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in anticipation of her decommissioning there.

Silversides was decommissioned at Pearl Harbor on 21 July 1994 and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register the same day. Her scrapping via the Nuclear-Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard began on 1 October 2000 and was completed on 1 October 2001.

Photo caption: A starboard view of the nuclear-powered attack submarine Silversides (SSN-679) departing Narragansett Bay, R.I., with Nautilus (SSN-571) in the background, 1978 or 1979.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Silversides_(SSN-679)

https://www.history.navy.mil/our-collections/photography/numerical-list-of-images/nhhc-series/naval-subjects-collection/l45--us-navy-ships/261-280/l45-263-02-01-uss-silversides--ssn-679-.html

Photos: http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08679.htm

06/04/2026

Jun 4, 1944 - USS SABALO (SS 302) was launched by Cramp Shipbuilding Co., Philadelphia, Penn.

USS Sabalo (SS-302), a Balao-class submarine, was the first submarine and second ship of the United States Navy to be named sabalo, another name for the tarpon, a large, silvery game fish of the herring group, found in the warmer parts of the Western Atlantic.

Sabalo (SS-302) was laid down on 5 June 1943 by Cramp Shipbuilding Co., Philadelphia; launched on 4 June 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Martha C. Oman, wife of Rear Admiral Charles M. Oman (Ret.), commander of the U S Naval Convalescent Hospital, Monroe, N.Y.; and commissioned on 19 June 1945 at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Lt. Comdr. James Gold Andrews in command.

Decommissioned, 7 August 1946, at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Portsmouth, NH; Laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Portsmouth, NH;

Recommissioned, 1 June 1951, at Sub Base New London, CT.;

Decommissioned and struck from the Naval Register, 1 July 1971; Final Disposition, sunk as a target in SubSinkEx Project "Thurber" off San Diego, CA. on 21 February 1973.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Sabalo_(SS-302)
https://usssabalo.org/
http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08302.htm

USS Sabalo (SS-302), a Balao-class submarine, was the first submarine and second ship of the United States Navy to be named sabalo, another name for the Atlantic tarpon, a large, silvery game fish of the herring group, found in the warmer parts of the Western Atlantic.

06/04/2026

On Eternal Patrol - The Loss of USS Lagarto (SS-371) 4 May 1945

LAGARTO, under CDR F. D. Latta, departed Subic Bay, P. I., on 12 April 1945, for her second patrol in the South China Sea. On 27 April, she was directed to the outer part of Siam Gulf.

LAGARTO contacted BAYA, already patrolling in Siam Gulf on 2 May 1945, and exchanged calls with her by SJ radar. Later that day BAYA sent LAGARTO a contact report on a convoy she had contacted consisting of one tanker, one auxiliary and two destroyers. LAGARTO soon reported being in contact with the convoy, and began coming in for an attack with BAYA. However the enemy escorts were equipped with 10 cm radar, and detected BAYA and drove her off with gunfire, whereupon the two submarines decided to wait and plan a subsequent attack.

Early on the morning of 3 May 1945, LAGARTO and BAYA made a rendezvous at about 7° 55'N, 102° 18'E and discussed plans. LAGARTO was to dive on the convoy's track to make a contact at 1400, while BAYA was to be ten to fifteen miles further along the track. During the day, numerous contact reports were exchanged. At 0010 on 4 May after a prolonged but unsuccessful attack, BAYA was finally driven off by the alert escorts, and no further contact of any kind was ever made with LAGARTO.

Japanese information now available records an attack on a U. S. submarine made by the minelayer HATSUTAKA, believed to be one of the two radar-equipped escorts of the convoy attacked. The attack was made at 7° 55'N, 102° 00'E in about 30 fathoms of water, and in view of the information presented above, the attack here described must be presumed to be the one which sank LAGARTO.

In May 2005, a group of private deep-sea divers, led by British wreck diver Jamie MacLeod, discovered the wreck in 70 metres (230 ft) of water in the Gulf of Thailand. The wreck is mostly intact and sitting upright on the ocean floor. During the dive, a large rupture was discovered on the port bow area, suggesting a depth charge as the catalyst to her sinking. Also observed during the dive was an open torpedo tube door, with an empty torpedo tube behind it, suggesting the possibility that Lagarto fired off a torpedo shortly before her sinking.
In June 2006, Navy divers from USS Salvor surveyed and photographed the wreck for six days. More evidence was seen that this is Lagarto. Twin 5-inch gun mounts were seen on the forward and rear parts of the ship. "Manitowoc" was seen on the propellers providing a connection to the Manitowoc, Wisconsin shipyard. The pictures were sent back to naval archeologists for further review. After viewing the evidence provided by the Salvor divers, it was confirmed that this was indeed Lagarto.

Lagarto received one battle star for World War II service.

http://www.oneternalpatrol.com/uss-lagarto-371-loss.htm

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Lagarto

06/04/2026

4 June 1970 - USS Cavalla (SSN-684) - Keel Laid

Cavalla, a Sturgeon-class submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the cavalla, a salt water fish. Although it was a Sturgeon class design, Cavalla was a modified "long hull" boat, approximately 10 feet (3.0 m) longer than the earlier ships in its class.
The contract to build Cavalla was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut, on 24 July 1968 and her keel was laid down there on 4 June 1970. She was launched on 19 February 1972 sponsored by Mrs. Melvin Price, and commissioned on 9 February 1973, with Commander (later Admiral) Bruce DeMars in command.

Decommissioned and struck from the Naval Register, 30 March 1998; Final Disposition, disposed of through the NPSSRP (Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program) at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA., 17 November 2000.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Cavalla_(SSN-684)

http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08684.htm

USS Cavalla (SSN-684), a Sturgeon-class submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the cavalla, a salt water fish. Although it was a Sturgeon class design, Cavalla was a modified "long hull" boat, approximately 10 feet (3.0 m) longer than the earlier ships in its class...

06/04/2026

USS Lampry - Decommissioned, 3 June 1946, at Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA.; Laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet; was transferred on loan to Argentina 21 August 1960 and became the Santiago Del Estero (S-12). Returned to US Navy custody, 1 September 1971, to be struck from the Naval Register, and sold outright to Argentina; Final Disposition, broken up in 1971 for use as spare parts.

Laid down: 22 February 1944 - USS Lamprey (SS-372), a Balao-class submarine, was a ship of the United States Navy named for the lamprey, any of certain eel-like aquatic vertebrates.

Lamprey (SS-372) was laid down by the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company, Manitowoc, Wisconsin; launched 18 June 1944, sponsored by Mrs. W. T. Nelson; and commissioned 17 November 1944, Commander William T. Nelson in command.

Lamprey received four battle stars for World War II service.
On 21 July 1960 she was transferred on loan to the Government of Argentina and was commissioned in the Argentine Navy as ARA Santiago del Estero (S-12). Along with ARA Santa Fe (former USS Macabi), she was used mainly for training. The conning towers of both submarines were later locally upgraded to improve hydrodynamics.[8] Some years ago, Argentinian officials disclosed that a group of tactical divers had carried out an incursion on the Falkland Islands on board the Santiago del Estero in October 1966.

The submarine was returned to US Navy custody, 1 September 1971, to be struck from the Naval Vessel Register and sold outright to the Argentine Navy, which therefore employed them only for training purposes. Both submarines were broken up in 1974 for use as spare parts.

See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Lamprey_(SS-372)
http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08372.htm

USS Lamprey (SS-372), a Balao-class submarine, was a ship of the United States Navy named for the lamprey, any of certain eel-like aquatic vertebrates.