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TODAY IN U.S. SUBMARINE HISTORY HOME |
1921 - PCU S-40 (SS-145) launched at Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, San Francisco, CA; sponsored by Mrs. John H. Rosseter.
1924 - PCU S-47 (SS-158) launched at Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, Quincy, MA; sponsored by Mrs. Morris D. Gilmore.
1944 - USS SCORPION (SS-278) was patrolling in her assigned area in the northern East China and Yellow Seas when she reported that one of her crew had sustained a fracture of the upper arm and requested a rendezvous with USS HERRING (SS-233) which was returning from patrol and was near her. The rendezvous was accomplished on the afternoon of 5 January, but heavy seas prevented transfer of the injured man to HERRING. The latter reported this fact on 6 January, and stated “SCORPION reports case under control.” SCORPION was never seen or heard from again after her departure from the rendezvous. On 16 February 1944, USS STEELHEAD (SS-280) and SCORPION were warned that they were close together, and that an enemy submarine was in the vicinity.
When no report was received from her by 24 February 1944, Midway was directed to keep a careful watch for her, and SCORPION was directed to make a transmission. Neither of these measures proved fruitful, and SCORPION was reported on 6 March 1944 as presumed
lost.
No information was received from the Japanese that indicates SCORPION’s loss was the result of enemy antisubmarine tactics. There were, however, several mine lines across the entrance to the Yellow Sea. The presence of these mine lines and the “restricted area” bounding them were discovered from captured Japanese Notices to Mariners at a much later date. In the meantime several submarines had made patrols in this area, crossing and re-crossing the mine lines without incident and coming safely home. It is probable that these mine lines were very thin, offering only about a maximum 10 percent threat to submarines and steadily decreasing in effectiveness with the passage of time. SCORPION was lost soon after these mines were laid, or at a time when they presumably offered the greatest threat. She could have been an operational casualty, but her area consists of water shallow enough so that it might be expected that some men would have survived. Since there were no survivors, the most reasonable assumption is that she hit a mine.
Seventy-seven men were lost with SCORPION that day.
She was the twenty-sixth U.S. submarine loss of World War II.
SCORPION earned three battle stars for her World War II service.
1968 - PCU PARGO (SSN-650) commissioned USS PARGO (SSN-650) at the Electric Boat Division, General Dynamics Corporation, Groton, CT; Comdr. Steven A. White commanding.
1980 - PCU INDIANAPOLIS (SSN-697) commissioned USS INDIANAPOLIS (SSN-697) at the Electric Boat Division, General Dynamics Corporation, Groton, CT.
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Welcome aboard! The hyperlinks on any given hull number will take you to a page of more links for that boat or an interesting link if no page of links is available.
These are events for all United States Navy commissioned and some noncommissioned submarines and submersibles.
Sources of major events are at least double verified or the entry doesn't make the cut.
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