USS S-26 (SS-131) was an S-18-class submarine, also referred to as an S-1-class or "Holland"-type, of the United States Navy. She was lost in a collision with a friendly escort ship, , at night in late January 1942, when both vessels were operating without navigation lights to avoid detection by enemy forces.

Design

The S-18-class had a length of overall, a beam of , and a mean draft of . They displaced on the surface and submerged. All S-class submarines had a crew of 4 officers and 34 enlisted men, when first commissioned. They had a diving depth of .

For surface running, the S-18-class were powered by two NELSECO diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a Ridgway Dynamo & Engine Company electric motor. They could reach on the surface and underwater.

The boats were armed with four American 21-inch torpedo| torpedo tubes in the bow. They carried eight reloads, for a total of twelve torpedoes. The S-18-class submarines were also armed with a single /50 caliber deck gun.

Construction

S-26s keel was laid down on 7 November 1919, by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation's Fore River Shipyard, in Quincy, Massachusetts. She was launched on 22 August 1922, sponsored by Mrs. Mary Bean, and commissioned on 15 October 1923.

Service history

1923–1939

Operating from New London, Connecticut, from 1923 to 1925, S-26 visited St. Thomas, in the United States Virgin Islands, and Trinidad, from January to April 1924, and the Territory of Hawaii, from 27 April to 30 May 1925.

Cruising from California ports, mainly Mare Island, San Diego, and San Pedro, S-26 served in the Panama Canal area, from March to May 1927, visited Hawaii, again during the summers of 1927 to 1928, again served in the Panama Canal area, in February 1929, and made visits to Hawaii, during the summers of 1929 and 1930.

S-26 departed San Diego, on 1 December 1930, and arrived at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on 12 December 1930. She then served at Pearl Harbor, until 15 October 1938, when she departed to return to New London. She arrived at on 25 March 1939, and entered a period "in commission in reserve", with a partial crew, there on 15 April 1939.

1940–1942

She resumed full duty on 1 July 1940. She then performed duty at New London, and hydrogen tests at Washington, D.C.

After the United States entered World War II, with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor of 7 December 1941, S-26 departed New London, on 10 December 1941, and arrived at Coco Solo, in the Panama Canal Zone, on 19 December 1941.

Loss

On the night of 24 January 1942, S-26 departed the harbor at Balboa, Panama, to begin her second war patrol as part of a division that also included the submarines , , and , under escort by the submarine chaser ). All four submarines were on the surface, and all five vessels operated without navigation lights to reduce the chance of detection by enemy forces, with PC-460 steaming ahead of the leading submarine, S-21. After the vessels were at sea in the Gulf of Panama, PC-460 made a visual signal at 22:10, to the submarines, that she intended to make a wide, 180-degree turn to starboard to return to port and that they could proceed with their assigned duties. Only S-21 received the message. PC-460 then executed her turn, and shortly thereafter encountered S-26, which was running behind S-21. The two darkened vessels sighted each other at close range. PC-460 put her engines full astern, but this caused them to fail. Both vessels took evasive action to avoid a collision and PC-460 rammed S-26 amidships on her starboard side at 22:23. The impact tore a large hole in S-26s side and caused her to roll, throwing three of the four men on her bridge overboard. S-26 sank by the bow in less than a minute in of water about west of San Jose Light.

S-26s only survivors were the three men, her commanding officer, executive officer, and a lookout, who went overboard from her bridge. The rest of her crew, three officers and 43 crew members, one of whom also had been on her bridge, were killed. Rescue operations began on the morning of 25 January 1942, with divers making 25 dives to the wreck over the following days in the hope of finding men still alive in S-26s hull, but they found no signs of life. S-26s wreck lies upright on the seabed and is a protected war grave.

Awards

  • 106px American Defense Service Medal
  • 106px American Campaign Medal
  • 106px World War II Victory Medal

See also

  • List of lost United States submarines

References

Bibliography

  • On Eternal Patrol: USS S-26