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S-28 file photo [10717]

S-28

CountryUnited States
Ship ClassS-class Submarine
Hull NumberSS-133
BuilderBethlehem Fore River Shipyard
Laid Down16 Apr 1919
Launched20 Sep 1922
Commissioned13 Dec 1923
Displacement868 tons standard; 1,079 tons submerged
Length219 feet
Beam21 feet
Draft16 feet
Speed14 knots
Crew42
Armament1x100mm deck gun, 4x530mm torpedo tubes
Submerged Speed11 knots

Contributor:

ww2dbaseSubmarine S-28 entered service with the United States Navy in 1923 under the command of Lieutenant Kemp C. Christian. Upon completion of her shakedown cruise off the New England area of the United States, she joined Submarine Division 11 in Mar 1924. In Apr, she returned to New London, Connecticut, United States with the rest of her division. Between late 1925 and early 1926, she visited the Panama Canal, participated in Fleet Problem V off Guadalupe Island about 250 kilometers west of the Baja California Peninsula of Mexico, and then departed for the Hawaiian Islands. In Jun 1926, she arrived in San Diego, California, United States and joined the Asiatic Fleet. She participated in several fleet problems in the Panama Canal area between 1926 and 1929 and near Hawaii in 1927 and 1930. In mid-Feb 1931, she departed San Diego for Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, arriving on 23 Feb. Pearl Harbor remained her base until mid-1939 when she was moved back to San Diego.

ww2dbaseOn 7 Dec 1941, S-28, a member of Submarine Division 41, was undergoing overhaul at Mare Island Navy Yard in California. The work completed on 22 Jan 1942, and she returned to San Diego to begin training operations with the Underwater Sound Training School. On 20 May 1942, she departed San Diego for the Aleutian Islands in the North Pacific. En route, on 29 May, she was diverted in response to a potential Japanese attack, starting her first war patrol. On 1 Jun, she suffered a fire in her port main motor, but it was extinguished with minor damage. On 18 Jun, she fired on her first enemy target; the attack was a failure, and she suffered, but survived, the first depth charge attack against her. On 28 Jun, she arrived at Dutch Harbor to end her first war patrol. On 15 Jul, she departed on her second war patrol, which was to be somewhat uneventful. Her third patrol, which started on 16 Sep 1942, would proved to be uneventful as well save her preparation to attack an unidentified vessel (presumed to be Japanese) which prematurely ended due to a mis-firing. She arrived at Dutch harbor in the same afternoon, then headed for San Diego where she would provide training for the West Coast Sound School and for the Amphibious Forces Training Group between 26 Oct and 13 Nov. In Nov, she underwent an ovehaul, during which she received a fathometer, a Kleinschmidt distilling unit, and SJ radar. She returned to Dutch Harbor on 21 Dec.

ww2dbaseOn 27 Dec 1942, S-28 departed on her fourth war patrol, arriving in her assigned patrol area in the northern Kurile Islands by 3 Jan 1943. Encountering no targets, she set a course to return to the Aleutian Islands on 20 Jan. She departed for her fifth war patrol on 6 Feb, which was to be yet another unexciting one, largely due to poor visibility due to weather. Between 15 Mar and 15 Apr, she exercised with Canadian warships and aircraft. In Apr and May, she underwent an overhaul at the Puget Sound Navy Yard in Bremerton, Washington, United States. She returned to Dutch Harbor departed for her sixth war patrol on 13 Jul. In the Kurile Islands, off Paramushiro, bad weather, obsolete design, and mechanical failures again prevented her from successfully hunting Japanese shipping. She began to sail for the Aleutian Islands on 14 Aug, arriving at Massacre Bay, Attu, Alaska, United States on 16 Aug.

ww2dbaseOn 8 Sep 1943, S-28 departed on her seventh war patrol, arriving in her patrol area in the northern Kurile Islands by 13 Sep. In the afternoon of 19 Sep, she fired a torpedo at what she believed was an unescorted Japanese freighter off the island of Araito, but it missed; the freighter had turned out to be a warship, which depth charged her but failed to damage her; the warship departed after one hour of unsuccessful detection. At 1916 hours later on the same day, she detected coverted gunboat Katsura Maru Number Two, and at 1943 she fired a spread of four torpedoes. This time, two of them hit; coverted gunboat Katsura Maru Number Two sank by the bow at 1946 hours. S-28 dove in anticipationg of a depth charge attack which did not take place. On 10 Oct 1943, one of the crewman aboard USS S-28 developed severe appendicitis, causing the submarine to turn toward the Aleutian Islands one day ahead of schedule. She arrived at Attu in the Aleutian Islands on 13 Oct, then headed for Dutch Harbor and Pearl Harbor, where she received an overhaul and conducted training duties.

ww2dbaseOn 3 Jul 1944, S-28 began anti-submarine warfare training off Oahu, Hawaii with the United States Coast Guard cutter Reliance. At 1730 hours on 4 Jul, as the evening's concluding exercises began, contact between the submarine and the cutter began sporadic. At 1820, the final exchange was made between the two vessels, and S-28 was never heard from again. On 6 Jul, a diesel fuel slick was found on the surface where she was last seen, but the depth of the sea floor in that area exceeded the range of detection equipment available.

ww2dbaseSource: Wikipedia.

Last Major Revision: Aug 2010

Submarine S-28 (SS-133) Interactive Map

Photographs

American submarines S-24, S-25, and S-28 at Groton, Connecticut, United States, 4 May 1923USS Savannah (AS-8) with submarines S-24, S-27, S-20, and S-28 alongside, 1920s
See all 12 photographs of Submarine S-28 (SS-133)

S-28 Operational Timeline

13 Dec 1923 S-28 was commissioned into service.
23 Feb 1931 USS S-28 arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii.
22 Jan 1942 The overhaul of USS S-28 at Mare Island Navy Yard was completed.
20 May 1942 USS S-28 departed San Diego, California, United States.
25 May 1942 USS S-28 arrived at Port Angeles, Washington, United States.
29 May 1942 En route to the Aleutian Islands, USS S-28 received new orders due to a potential Japanese attack at Midway, thus starting her first war patrol.
1 Jun 1942 USS S-28 suffered a fire in her port main motor, but it was extinguished with minor damage.
12 Jun 1942 USS S-28 arrived at Dutch Harbor, US Territory of Alaska to receive fuel and provisions.
15 Jun 1942 USS S-28 crossed the International Date Line.
17 Jun 1942 USS S-28 sighted Kiska, US Territory of Alaska
18 Jun 1942 USS S-28 fired on a Japanese destroyer but it failed to hit the target. She was attacked by the destroyer with depth charges but it caused no damage.
28 Jun 1942 USS S-28 arrived at Dutch Habor, US Territory of Alaska, ending her first war patrol.
15 Jul 1942 USS S-28 departed Dutch Harbor, US Territory of Alaska for her second war patrol.
18 Jul 1942 USS S-28 conducted a reconnaissance mission on the island of Semisopochnoi, Aleutian Islands.
20 Jul 1942 USS S-28 received orders to patrol the area surrounding Sirius Point, Aleutian Islands.
30 Jul 1942 USS S-28 received orders to patrol the area surrounding Kiska, Aleutian Islands.
18 Aug 1942 USS S-28 arrived at Dutch Harbor, US Territory of Alaska, ending her second war patrol.
16 Sep 1942 USS S-28 departed Dutch Harbor, US Territory of Alaska for her third war patrol.
10 Oct 1942 USS S-28 detected an unidentified target which was presumed to be Japanese. As she prepared for an attack, a ground in her fire control circuits caused an accidental firing from the No. 1 tube, thus prematurely ending the attack. She arrived in Dutch Harbor, US Territory of Alaska that afternoon and then departed for San Diego, California, United States.
23 Oct 1942 USS S-28 arrived at San Diego, California, United States.
26 Oct 1942 USS S-28 began performing training missions for the West Coast Sound School and for the Amphibious Forces Training Group.
13 Nov 1942 USS S-28 began an overhaul, during which she would receive a fathometer, a Kleinschmidt distilling unit, and SJ radar.
9 Dec 1942 USS S-28 departed San Diego, California, United States.
21 Dec 1942 USS S-28 arrived at Dutch Harbor, US Territory of Alaska.
27 Dec 1942 USS S-28 departed Dutch Harbor, US Territory of Alaska for her fourth war patrol.
3 Jan 1943 USS S-28 crossed the International Date Line.
5 Jan 1943 USS S-28 reached her assigned patrol area in the northern Kurile Islands.
20 Jan 1943 USS S-28 set a course for the Aleutian Islands.
6 Feb 1943 USS S-28 departed Dutch Harbor, US Territory of Alaska for her fifth war patrol.
4 Mar 1943 USS S-28 departed Dutch Harbor, US Territory of Alaska for Esquimalt, British Columbia, Canada.
15 Mar 1943 USS S-28 began conducting sound tests and anti-submarine warfare exercises with the Canadian Navy and Air Force at Esquimalt, British Columbia, Canada.
15 Apr 1943 USS S-28 departed Esquimalt, British Columbia, Canada for the Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington, United States for overhaul.
27 Jun 1943 USS S-28 departed the Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington, United States for the Aleutian Islands.
13 Jul 1943 USS S-28 departed Dutch Harbor, US Territory of Alaska for her sixth war patrol.
14 Aug 1943 USS S-28 set a course for the Aleutian Islands.
16 Aug 1943 USS S-28 arrived at Massacre Bay, Attu, US Territory of Alaska.
8 Sep 1943 USS S-28 departed for her seventh war patrol.
13 Sep 1943 USS S-28 entered her patrol area in the northern Kurile Islands.
15 Sep 1943 USS S-28 suffered severe smoking and sparking from her port main motor, which took 14 hours to repair.
16 Sep 1943 USS S-28 transited Mushiru Kaikyo in the Kurile Islands.
19 Sep 1943 USS S-28 fired a torpedo, and missed, at what was believed to be an unescorted freighter. The freighter turned out to be a Japanese warship, which attacked with depth charges for 10 minutes without causing any damage. The warship departed after one hour of unsuccessful detection. At 1916 hours, she detected the coverted gunboat Katsura Maru Number Two; she attacked the Japanese ship at 1943, registering two hits, and sank the ship at 1946 hours. S-28 dove in anticipationg of a depth charge attack which did not take place.
5 Oct 1943 USS S-28 traveled through the Onekotan Strait in the northern Kurile Islands.
10 Oct 1943 One of the crewman aboard USS S-28 developed severe appendicitis, causing the submarine to turn toward the Aleutian Islands one day ahead of schedule.
13 Oct 1943 USS S-28 arrived at Attu, US Territory of Alaska, ending her seventh war patrol.
3 Jul 1944 USS S-28 began anti-submarine warfare exercises with United States Coast Guard cutter Reliance off Oahu, US Territory of Hawaii.
4 Jul 1944 At 1820 hours, radio communications between USS S-28 and United States Coast Guard cutter Reliance was broken, and S-28 was never heard from again.




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Submarine S-28 (SS-133) Photo Gallery
American submarines S-24, S-25, and S-28 at Groton, Connecticut, United States, 4 May 1923USS Savannah (AS-8) with submarines S-24, S-27, S-20, and S-28 alongside, 1920s
See all 12 photographs of Submarine S-28 (SS-133)


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