Sargo file photo [1777]

Sargo

CountryUnited States
Ship ClassSargo-class Submarine
Hull NumberSS-188
BuilderElectric Boat Company
Laid Down12 May 1937
Launched6 Jun 1938
Commissioned7 Feb 1939
Decommissioned22 Jun 1946
Displacement1,450 tons standard; 2,350 tons submerged
Length310 feet
Beam27 feet
Draft14 feet
MachineryFour Hoover, Owens, Rentschler Co. diesel engines, four General Electric Co. electric motors
Bunkerage90,000 gallons, 252 battery cells
Power Output5,500 shaft horsepower
Speed20 knots
Crew55
Armament8x21in torpedo tubes, 24 torpedos, 1x3

Contributor:

ww2dbaseNamed after a game fish, USS Sargo was commissioned in 1939. She had her shakedown cruise in the Atlantic off South America, and joined the Pacific Fleet in July 1939. She was at Manila when the Japanese struck Pearl Harbor on 7 Dec 1941. The next day she departed Manila to patrol the waters off French Indochina and the Dutch East Indies. During these patrols, she was plagued by a series of faulty torpedoes, making her raids utterly ineffective. On 20 Jan 1942, she assisted in the rescue of the crew of S-36 in the Makassar Strait; five days later she ported at Soerabaja in Java, where she picked up a stockpile of ammunition and left for Mindanao of the Philippines. Her return trip to Soerabaja included 24 airmen who escaped from Clark Field.

ww2dbaseOn 25 Feb Sargo was mistaken for a Japanese ship and attacked by Allied plane, inflicting minor damage. She successfully completed that mission, delivering 31 passengers to Fremantle, Australia.

ww2dbaseFor the remainder of the war, Sargo was on patrols all over the Pacific. By the end of 1944, she was operating off the coast of Japan. She spent the remainder of the war as a training submarine.

ww2dbaseSource: Wikipedia.

Last Major Revision: Feb 2006

Submarine Sargo (SS-188) Interactive Map

Photographs

Sargo underway during her trials off Provincetown, Massachusetts, United States, 1 Nov 1938, photo 1 of 3Sargo underway during her trials off Provincetown, Massachusetts, United States, 1 Nov 1938, photo 2 of 3Sargo underway during her trials off Provincetown, Massachusetts, United States, 1 Nov 1938, photo 3 of 3Submarine tender USS Holland with submarines Salmon, Seal, Stingray, Perch, Pollack, Cachalot, Cuttlefish, Skipjack, Snapper, and Sargo, San Diego Harbor, California, United States, 1940
See all 14 photographs of Submarine Sargo (SS-188)

Sargo Operational Timeline

7 Feb 1939 Sargo was commissioned into service.
14 Dec 1941 Six days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, two separate US submarine attacks were crippled by two different flaws in the Mark XIV torpedo. The USS Seawolf on the north shore of Luzon in the Philippines fired torpedoes that ran too deep and USS Sargo off the coast of Cam Ranh Bay, Indochina (Vietnam) experienced one torpedo that exploded prematurely.
14 Feb 1942 US submarine Sargo delivered 1 million rounds of .30 caliber ammunition to Mindanao, Philippine Islands. Upon departure, the submarine evacuated 24 US Army personnel (ground crews for the 14th Bombardment Squadron).
22 Jun 1946 Sargo was decommissioned from service.




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Submarine Sargo (SS-188) Photo Gallery
Sargo underway during her trials off Provincetown, Massachusetts, United States, 1 Nov 1938, photo 1 of 3
See all 14 photographs of Submarine Sargo (SS-188)


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