World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseCommissioned into service in May 1924, submarine USS S-29 served in US Territory of Hawaii, the west coast of the United States, and the Panama Canal Zone in the 1920s and the 1930s. She arrived at New London, Connecticut, United States in Aug 1939, and was based at Key West, Florida, United States between Dec 1940 and May 1941. After the United States became a belligerent in WW2 in Dec 1941, she was transferred to the Panama Canal Zone. Returning to New London, she was transferred to the United Kingdom in Jun 1942, upon which she served with the British Royal Navy under the name HMS P556. In Aug 1942, she arrived at Gibraltar for retrofitting. In Feb 1943, she was relocated to Plymouth in southwestern Britain for an anti-submarine training role. In Nov 1943, she was relocated to Portsmouth in southern Britain, again for an anti-submarine training role. In Jan 1944, she suffered a battery explosion. Already marred with a record of many mechanical breakdowns, it was decided that she would be decommissioned into the reserve in Apr 1944. In Jan 1945, HMS P556 was returned to the US Navy, though the submarine remained in Portsmouth. In Jan 1947, the United States sold the submarine to the British firm H. G. Pound for scrapping. By 1982, only the conning tower had been removed from the submarine. Scrapping efforts did not begin in earnest until 1986, in Spain, and the work was finally complete in 1987.

Submarine S-29/P556 (SS-134) Interactive Map

Photographs

S-29/P556 Operational Timeline