Skipjack file photo [4199]

Skipjack

CountryUnited States
Ship ClassSalmon-class Submarine
Hull NumberSS-184
BuilderElectric Boat Company
Laid Down22 Jul 1936
Launched23 Oct 1937
Commissioned30 Jun 1938
Decommissioned28 Aug 1946
Sunk11 Aug 1948
Displacement1,458 tons standard; 2,233 tons submerged
Length308 feet
Beam26 feet
Draft15 feet
MachineryFour Hooven-Owens-Rentschler 9-cyl diesel engines (5,500shp), four Elliot Motor electric motors (2,660shp), two 120-cell batteries, two screws
Bunkerage96,025 gallons of oil
Speed21 knots
Range11,800nm at 10 knots surfaced, 48 hours at 2 knots submerged
Crew55
Armament4x533mm forward torpedo tubes, 4x533mm aft torpedo tubes, 24 torpedoes, 1x76in 50cal gun, 2x .50cal machine guns, 2x .30cal machine guns
Submerged Speed9 knots

Contributor:

ww2dbaseUpon commissioning in 1938, USS Skipjack held her shakedown cruise in the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, followed by receiving post-shakedown repairs at New London, Connecticut, United States. Before the start of the Pacific War, she participated in fleet maneuvers in the Caribbean Sea and in the South Atlantic in early 1939, went through several scheduled overhauls, and participated in training exercises off California, United States and the Territory of Hawaii. When the Pacific War opened in Dec 1941, she was amidst a tour that took across the Pacific Ocean, having visited Midway, Wake, Gilbert Islands, Marshall Islands, and Philippine Islands; she was at Cavite Naval Shipyard in the Philippine Islands when the Pearl Harbor attack took place. She embarked on her first war patrol out of the Philippine Islands on 9 Dec with repairs not yet complete (which would be completed while en route), launching two attacks during the patrol that resulted in no confirmed sinkings. While her second war patrol was uneventful, her subsequent patrols saw her sinking and damaging several Japanese ships. Among her most rewarding attacks was the 26 Jan 1944 attack on a Japanese convoy, during which she initially sighted a transport, but shifted target when the escorting destroyer Suzukaze came into view. After successfully sinking Suzukaze, Skipjack suffered flooding from a valve door that failed to close, but she would quickly remedy the situation and return to attack the same convoy, sinking converted seaplane tender Okitsu Maru. In Apr 1944, she participated in the testing of torpedoes in cold waters in the area surrounding the Pribilof Islands in the Bering Sea, then sailed for Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo, California, United States for overhaul. Her final war patrol, the tenth, was conducted in the Kurile Islands area, during which she damaged a Japanese auxiliary and attacked a Japanese destroyer without success. After the war, she became a training submarine at New London, Connecticut. She was sunk on 25 Jul 1946 at Bikini Atoll during the second atomic detonation of Operation Crossroads. She was raised in 1948 and towed to Mare Island Naval Shipyard to once again serve as a target ship, this time by aircraft rockets.

ww2dbaseSources:
United States Navy Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
Wikipedia

Last Major Revision: Jul 2007

Submarine Skipjack (SS-184) Interactive Map

Photographs

Skipjack during trials, off Provincetown, Massachusetts, United States, 14 May 1938, photo 1 of 9Skipjack during trials, off Provincetown, Massachusetts, United States, 14 May 1938, photo 2 of 9Skipjack during trials, off Provincetown, Massachusetts, United States, 14 May 1938, photo 3 of 9Skipjack during trials, off Provincetown, Massachusetts, United States, 14 May 1938, photo 4 of 9
See all 13 photographs of Submarine Skipjack (SS-184)

Skipjack Operational Timeline

22 Jul 1936 The keel of submarine Skipjack was laid down by the Electric Boat Company at Groton, Connecticut, United States.
23 Oct 1937 Submarine Skipjack was launched at Groton, Connecticut, United States, sponsored by Miss Frances Cuthbert Van Keuren.
30 Jun 1938 USS Skipjack was commissioned into service, Lieutenant Herman Sall in command.
10 Apr 1939 USS Skipjack arrived at New London, Connecticut, United States.
25 May 1939 USS Skipjack transited the Panama Canal.
2 Jun 1939 USS Skipjack arrived at San Diego, California, United States.
16 Aug 1939 USS Skipjack arrived at San Diego, California, United States.
1 Apr 1940 USS Skipjack departed San Diego, California, United States for the Hawaiian Islands area for training exercises.
9 Dec 1941 USS Skipjack departed Manila, Philippine Islands for her first war patrol.
25 Dec 1941 USS Skipjack attacked a Japanese carrier and a destroyer in the Dutch East Indies without success, expending three torpedoes.
3 Jan 1942 USS Skipjack attacked a Japanese submarine in the Dutch East Indies with four torpedoes and observed two explosions; in actuality no damage was done.
4 Jan 1942 USS Skipjack arrived at Balikpapan, Dutch Borneo and took on fuel.
14 Jan 1942 USS Skipjack arrived at Darwin, Australia, ending her first war patrol.
14 Feb 1942 USS Skipjack attacked a Japanese oiler east of Borneo; both torpedoes missed.
19 Feb 1942 USS Skipjack attacked a Japanese ship east of Borneo; both torpedoes missed.
10 Mar 1942 USS Skipjack arrived at Fremantle, Australia, ending her second war patrol.
14 Apr 1942 USS Skipjack departed Fremantle, Australia for her third war patrol.
6 May 1942 USS Skipjack sank Japanese freighter Kanan Maru in the South China Sea 50 miles northeast of Cam Rahn Bay, French Indochina, hitting her with one of three torpedoes fired; she attacked another target with another spread of three torpedoes, all of which missed the target.
7 May 1942 USS SKipjack attacked a Japanese transport in the South China Sea; all three torpedoes missed.
8 May 1942 USS Skipjack attacked a small Japanese convoy, sinking Japanese transport Bujun Maru and damaging transport Taiyu Maru in the South China Sea 140 miles northeast of Cam Rahn Bay, French Indochina; six torpedoes were expended in this attack, three of which found their targets.
13 May 1942 USS Skipjack sank a Japanese ship in the South China Sea, hitting her with one of four torpedoes fired.
17 May 1942 USS Skipjack sank Japanese ship Tazan Maru off French Indochina.
20 Jun 1942 Acting on orders from US Commander of Submarines Southwest Pacific Area Rear Admiral Charles Lockwood, and against standing orders from the Bureau of Ordnance, submarine USS Skipjack fired one Mark XIV torpedo with an exercise head from a distance of 850 yards at a net hanging in the water. The torpedo’s depth setting was 10 feet but the torpedo went through the net at a depth of 25 feet.
18 Jul 1942 USS Skipjack departed Fremantle, Australia for her fourth war patrol.
26 Jul 1942 USS Skipjack attacked a Japanese ship off the Philippine Islands; the torpedo missed.
17 Aug 1942 USS Skipjack attacked a Japanese transport in the Dutch East Indies; both torpedo missed.
23 Aug 1942 USS Skipjack damaged a Japanese oiler in the Dutch East Indies, hitting her with one of four torpedoes fired.
4 Sep 1942 USS Skipjack arrived at Fremantle, Australia, ending her fourth war patrol.
14 Oct 1942 USS Skipjack sank Japanese ship Shunko Maru south of the Palau Islands, hitting her with both torpedoes fired. She fired an additional torpedo at another Japanese ship; the torpedo missed the target.
15 Oct 1942 USS Skipjack attacked a Japanese ship south of the Palau Islands; both torpedoes missed.
29 Oct 1942 USS Skipjack attacked a Japanese oiler off the Palau Islands; all three torpedoes missed.
11 Nov 1942 USS Skipjack attacked a Japanese transport off the Palau Islands; all four torpedoes missed.
26 Nov 1942 USS Skipjack arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her fifth war patrol.
8 Dec 1942 USS Skipjack arrived at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California for a scheduled overhaul.
2 May 1943 USS Skipjack attacked a Japanese transport in the Pacific Ocean; all four torpedoes missed.
22 Jul 1943 USS Skipjack damaged a Japanese transport south of Japan, hitting her with one of four torpedoes fired.
11 Oct 1943 USS Skipjack attacked a Japanese transport in the North Pacific; all four torpedoes missed.
26 Jan 1944 USS Skipjack prepared to attack a Japanese transport when she discovered a escorting destroyer, Suzukaze, nearby; Skipjack successfully shifted target and sank the destroyer. She suffered flooding from a valve door that failed to close, but she quickly remedied the situation and returned to attack the same convoy, sinking converted seaplane tender Okitsu Maru. 12 torpedoes were expended on this date.
7 Mar 1944 USS Skipjack arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her ninth war patrol.
17 Apr 1944 USS Skipjack departed the Pribilof Islands, US Territory of Alaska.
25 Apr 1944 USS Skipjack arrived at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California
6 Nov 1944 USS Skipjack damaged a Japanese transport east of Hokkaido, Japan, hitting her with one of four torpedoes fired.
14 Nov 1944 USS Skipjack sank a small Japanese vessel in the Kurile Islands with her deck gun.
1 Dec 1944 USS Skipjack attacked a Japanese destroyer in the Kurile Islands; all four torpedoes missed.
11 Dec 1944 USS Skipjack arrived at Midway Atoll.
1 Jun 1945 USS Skipjack departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii.
25 Jul 1946 USS Skipjack was sunk during the atomic bomb blast at Bikini Atoll in Operation Crossroads.
28 Aug 1946 USS Skipjack was decommissioned from service.
2 Sep 1946 Submarine Skipjack was raised at Bikini Atoll.
11 Aug 1948 Submarine Skipjack was sunk as a target off southern California, United States.
13 Sep 1948 Submarine Skipjack was struck from the US Naval Register.




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Visitor Submitted Comments

1. Lee Garsh says:
25 Sep 2017 03:57:46 PM

My Father serves on the Darter during WWII until she was scuttled due a grounding in the South Pacific. He was then assigned to The SkipJack. I can't find a crew compliment for that boat and would like to see who he served with. I do know that conversations with him his Torpedo Officer was a Gentleman by the name of Wilkinson.
I am a Vietnam Combat Vet, served on the DMZ....
2. Lee Garsh says:
18 Apr 2019 02:45:39 PM

I can't locate the compliment of the boat.
3. Anonymous says:
25 Oct 2020 01:02:26 PM

Hi Lee Garsh, My father served on the uss skipjack throughout the entire war. I have some pictures of the crew would like to share with you. Emmit Lay was my fathers name, he was a gunners mate on the sub. dlay6067@gmail.com is my contact.

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Submarine Skipjack (SS-184) Photo Gallery
Skipjack during trials, off Provincetown, Massachusetts, United States, 14 May 1938, photo 1 of 9
See all 13 photographs of Submarine Skipjack (SS-184)


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