Submarine USS S-35 (SS-140)

The keel of USS S-35 (SS-140) was laid down on 14 June 1918 by the Union Iron Works Division of the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation...a subcontractor of the Electric Boat Company of New York City, New York...at San Francisco, California. The submarine was christened by Miss Louise C. Bailey and launched on 27 February 1919. The S-boat was commissioned on 17 August 1922 with Lieutenant T. E. Short in command.

When commissioned, the S-1 Class coastal and harbor defense submarine was 219'3" in length overall; had an extreme beam of 20'8"; had a normal surface displacement of 854 tons, and, when in that condition, had a mean draft of 15'11". Submerged displacement was 1,062 tons. The submarine was of riveted construction. The designed compliment was four officers and thirty-four enlisted men. The boat could operate safely to depths of 200 feet. The submarine was armed with four 21-inch torpedo tubes ... installed in the bow. Twelve torpedoes were carried. One 4-inch-50-caliber deck gun was installed.

The full load of diesel oil carried was 41,921 gallons, which fueled two 600 designed brake horsepower Model 8-EB-15NR diesel engines manufactured by the New London Ship and Engine Company at Groton, Connecticut...which could drive the boat...via a diesel direct drive propulsion system...at 14.5 knots on the surface. Power for submerged propulsion was provided by a main storage battery, divided into two sixty-cell batteries, manufactured by the Electric Storage Battery Company (EXIDE) at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...which powered two 750 designed brake horsepower main propulsion motors manufactured by the Electro Dynamic Company at Bayonne, New Jersey...which turned propeller shafts...which turned propellers...which could drive the submarine at 11 knots for a short period of time when operating beneath the surface of the sea. Slower submerged speeds resulted in greater endurances before the batteries needed to be recharged by the engines and generators.

Engaged in trials as improved engines were developed for her class, USS S-35 (SS-140) was ordered to the United States Naval Submarine Base New London, Groton, Connecticut, in September of 1922, for alterations by the prime contractor ... the Electric Boat Company.

Decommissioned and delivered to that company on 25 October 1922, the submarine had her engines reworked by the Electric Boat Company. The S-boat was then accepted by the United States Navy and recommissioned on 7 May 1923. Exercises along the East coast of the United States and in the Caribbean Sea followed; and, in early August of 1923, she arrived at San Diego, California...her home port until 1925. Then transferred to the United States Asiatic Fleet, she departed from San Francisco, California, in mid-April of 1925, and arrived at the Submarine Base at Cavite in the Philippine Islands on 12 July 1925.

USS S-35 operated in Philippine waters, conducting patrols and participating in type, division, and fleet exercises until the spring of 1926. Then she transited, with her division, for the China coast.

Through the summer and into the fall, the submarine conducted similar operations out of Tsingtao; and, in November, she returned to the Philippine Islands, where, after overhaul, she resumed local operations.

USS S-35 maintained a similar schedule of winter operations in the Philippines and summer deployments in Chinese waters through 1931.

On 2 May 1932, the submarine moved east, instead of north; and, at the end of the month, arrived at Pearl Harbor in the Territory of Hawaii...where she joined the United States Pacific Fleet and commenced a schedule of exercises, overhauls, and fleet problems...which took her into the 1940s.

In April of 1941, the S-boat was transferred to San Diego, California; and, for the remaining months of peace prior to the entry of the United States into the Second World War as an active participant following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, the submarine provided services for the West Coast Sound School.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, USS S-35 added defensive patrol work to her duties; and, in January of 1942, she moved north to the Mare Island Navy Yard at Vallejo, California, for limited modernization and overhaul. In late March of 1942, the S-boat continued northward, and, in early April of 1942, arrived at the newly established submarine base at Dutch Harbor, Unalaska, in the Aleutians.

On 12 April 1942, USS S-35 cleared Dutch Harbor and moved toward the Kurils for her first war patrol. On the 21st and 22nd of April, snow and fog covered her approach to Paramushiro and Onekotan Strait.

On the 23rd, she sighted, and was sighted by, a large Japanese submarine on the surface. Both submarines submerged. Explosions were felt in USS S-35. The blasts forced her down further than expected. But, at 220 feet, she regained depth control; returned to her intended depth; and maneuvered out of the immediate area.

The weather cleared on the 24th, and Paramushiro was sighted for the first time. Two days later, however, the S-boat was en route to her secondary station north of Attu. On arrival on the 27th, a ship's cook was discovered to have mumps...so a course was set for Dutch Harbor. Isolation was impossible, and half the crew had not had the disease.

Three days later, USS S-35 returned to her Unalaska base. The crew received medical attention; the boat was scrubbed down and refitted; and requests for modern equipment, including sonar and radar, were made. Toward the end of May, the submarine was ready for sea; and, on the 28th of May 1942, she moved west in response to intelligence reports of a Japanese invasion force bound for the western Aleutians.

On station by the 30th of May, USS S-35 patrolled on the surface, with no contacts, through 2 June. On the morning of 3 June, word of the bombing of Dutch Harbor was received. Aerial contacts, both friendly and enemy, became frequent; but the submarine was not attacked.

On the 11th of June, USS S-35 was ordered back to Dutch Harbor to replenish; thence, she was routed to the western part of the archipelago for offensive operations near Kiska... which had been taken by the Japanese. On the 14th, the S-boat approached the island and patrolled between there and Segula until the 23rd. She then participated in the search for USS S-27 (SS-132), which had run aground on Amchitka Island; returned to her patrol area late on the 25th; and, on the 29th, returned to Dutch Harbor. The thick fog which had shielded the Japanese force as it crossed the Bering Sea had remained over the Aleutians during her patrol, impairing visibility and hindering her offensive efforts.

On 14 July 1942, USS S-35 got underway again and, through the end of the month, patrolled the Japanese supply lanes to Kiska. She then headed back toward Dutch Harbor, but was diverted north and west of the island to provide weather reporting services to the force scheduled to bombard Kiska on 7 August. After the raid, the submarine returned to Dutch Harbor, thence proceeded to San Diego, where, for six weeks, she underwent overhaul and provided services to the West Coast Sound School. On 20 October 1942, she returned to Unalaska; and, on the 26th, she cleared Dutch Harbor for her 4th war patrol. From then, until her return on 22 November, she battled heavy seas, storms, and problems arising from her inadequate and outmoded equipment as she hunted the Paramushiro-Attu-Kiska convoy routes. On the 25th, the submarine returned to Dutch Harbor, Unalaska.

Cold weather added icing to the climatic hazards of the North Pacific Ocean; but, on 11 December, USS S-35 headed out of Dutch Harbor again. On the 15th, she commenced operations to intercept enemy traffic to Attu and Kiska; but, on the 17th, a case of acute appendicitis forced her to Adak...where she was to transfer the sick man to USS Gillis for treatment. On the 18th, the S-boat approached the rendezvous point but was sighted by enemy planes. On the morning of the 19th, she completed the transfer of the sick man; then, resumed patrol east of Kiska. On the afternoon of the 21st, she ran into a storm while surfaced off Amchitka; and, by early evening, waves were smashing over the bridge and cascading into the control room. The conning tower hatch was ordered shut. Almost simultaneously, another huge wave crashed over the bridge, flinging the captain, Lieutenant H. S. Monroe, into the hatch. Injured, the captain retired to his stateroom, only to be roused a short time later, about 1830, by cries of fire in the control room.

Electric arcs and blue flames spewed out of the main power cables coming from the forward battery. Smoke filled the room; and water, which had caused the fire by soaking cables and causing a short circuit, rose in the control room bilges.

The fire was extinguished in the control room but immediately broke out in the forward battery. Fire extinguishers had no effect. The forward two compartments were abandoned and the battery was secured. Fires again broke out in the control room; and, as in the forward battery, extinguishers were of little help. Smoke filled the control room. The engines were stopped. The room was abandoned and sealed.

Short circuits spread. Electrical equipment was disabled. A hole was burned in the top of the Number Two Main Ballast Tank and lines from two air banks were severed.

At about 1855, unsuccessful attempts to reenter the control room, using escape lungs, were made. Shortly thereafter, two volunteers, using oxygen charged escape lungs, entered the room; flooded the magazines; partially blew Number Three Main Ballast Tank to gain more freeboard; and shut the auxiliary induction to seal the forward battery.

The fight to save the submarine continued. The engines were started again; a fire extinguisher watch was set over the section of cable still arcing; and a bucket brigade was organized to assist in keeping down the water level. By 2000, all extinguishers had been emptied. But, USS S-35, under manual control, was moving east.

The morning of the 21st brought new fires. Twice, at 0700 and at 1100, eruptions forced the crew to the bridge. But the same flares apparently contributed to the fire burning itself out. After the second, the forward battery was sufficiently discharged and the cables sufficiently ruptured to prevent further fire in the control room. Smoke from the forward battery compartment, however, continued to be a problem until the S-boat entered Kuluk Bay and the battery was disconnected. Arriving at noon on the 24th, the S-boat was ventilated; medical help was obtained; four men were hospitalized; and mattresses, bedding, and clothing were dried.

On the 29th, USS S-35 made her way, under escort, into Dutch Harbor. Usable equipment was removed for installation in other S-boats; and, on 14 January 1943, the submarine began the long trip to the Puget Sound Navy Yard at Bremerton, Washington State, for repairs.

Arriving at the Navy yard on the 29th, repairs took the submarine into the spring. From 20 to 31 May, the S-boat conducted post repair trials; and, on 3 June, she moved north, again, to the Aleutians.

Arriving at Dutch Harbor on the 11th of June 1943, USS S-35, once more, made her way west on the 17th. Despite numerous material casualties, which slowed her to an average speed of a little more than five knots, she continued toward the Kurils and arrived in her patrol area on 25 June 1943. On the 26th, the S-boat transited Onekotan Strait; and, on the 27th, she sighted her first target of the patrol, a large Japanese freighter. The target, however, soon outdistanced the World War I-design submarine...and disappeared into the ever-present fog.

Material defects continued to cause problems. Her starboard engine soon went out of commission; and, as repair work was started, a freighter and a destroyer were sighted approaching on a course, which would bring them over her position. A half-hour later, the two enemy ships passed overhead, one to port, the other to starboard. Repair work was then resumed.

By dawn of the 29th, the engine was again operable; and, on the 30th, USS S-35 shifted north to Araido, thence proceeded to the Kamchatka Peninsula, whence she moved back down the coast and covered Shimushu, Paramushiro, and Araido Straits.

On 1 July 1943, USS S-35 found a clear area in the fog and sighted a fishing tender awaiting the return of its trawlers. At 1802, the submarine fired two torpedoes at ten-second intervals; watched the first hit; and saw the second porpoising haphazardly through the water toward the target. At 1806, she fired a third torpedo and watched the target explode and list heavily to starboard. By 1821, the 5,430-ton

BANSHU MARU NUMBER 7 had disappeared, but others remained in the area where she had been. USS S-35 reloaded her torpedo tubes and turned to firing position; but by 1825, the new targets had moved into the fog.

Five minutes later, fast screws were heard; and the submarine began evasive tactics and cleared the area.

On 2 July 1943, USS S-35 received orders to shift to the convoy routes leading to southern Paramushiro. Arriving on the 4th, she remained through the 16th. Clear weather arrived with dawn of the last day; and, that afternoon, the submarine sighted a destroyer patrolling in concert, apparently, with a flying boat. As the flying boat disappeared toward its base, USS S-35 prepared to attack. At 1541, she began her approach on the destroyer. At about 1542, the destroyer sighted the submarine. The S-boat went deep. For the remainder of the day and well into the night, the two adversaries maneuvered for position; USS S-35 evading depth charges and attempting to gain a favorable firing position; the destroyer keeping the submarine on evasive tactics and attempting to pinpoint her location a deliver a decisive depth charge. Success went to neither side.

On the morning of the 17th, USS S-35 cleared the area and headed back toward the Aleutians. On the 21st, the submarine arrived at Attu; and, on the 25th, she moored in Dutch Harbor. During the patrol, she had had only five clear days; four had been partially clear; the remainder had been foggy with poor to very poor visibility.

On 6 August 1943, USS S-35 began her 7th war patrol. Standing out of Dutch Harbor, she made for Attu; topped off in Massacre Bay; then proceeded to her patrol area. On the 11th, she sighted a ship, but was unable to close. On the 19th, cracks developed in the port engine crankshaft and couplings; and she turned back for Dutch Harbor.

Overhaul followed her return; and, on 26 November 1943, she was again ready to hunt in the Kurils. Underway that day, she arrived on station on 8 December 1943, and, for the next ten days, encountered heavy seas, snow, and "mild icing" as she searched waters off Onekotan and in the Soya-Araido and Omintao-Mushashi-Kashiwabara shipping lanes. On the 19th, she shifted north; reconnoitered the Kamchatka coast; then, headed home. En route, engineering defects again became critical, and, almost twenty hours were spent in repairs. On the 25th, she arrived at Attu; and, on the 30th, the S-boat entered Dutch Harbor to complete her last war patrol.

Fleet-type submarines now replaced the World War I designed types. The Aleutian S-boats, as with those operating in other areas, were reassigned to training duty or designated for inactivation. USS S-35 was assigned to Pearl Harbor...where she arrived in mid-February of 1944 and immediately commenced training operations. In the spring of 1944, the submarine was ordered to the Marshalls. Through the summer, she provided training services out of Majuro and Eniwetok, then returned to Pearl Harbor. In January of 1945, she proceeded to San Diego for inspection and repairs; and, in February, she returned to Oahu for use as a damage control school ship.

Decommissioned on 19 March 1945, the S-boat served as a school ship and then as a target ship.

The Second World War officially ended on 2 September 1945 when the Japanese signed the instruments of surrender on board battleship USS Missouri...which was anchored in Tokyo Bay, Japan, for the occasion.

The hulk of USS S-35 was sunk by torpedo fire on 4 April 1946.

USS S-35 (SS-140) was awarded one battle star for her service during the Second World War.

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