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Shark file photo [4020]

Shark (Porpoise-class)

CountryUnited States
Ship ClassPorpoise-class Submarine
Hull NumberSS-174
BuilderElectric Boat Company
Laid Down24 Oct 1933
Launched21 May 1935
Commissioned25 Jan 1936
Sunk11 Feb 1942
Displacement1,330 tons standard; 1,934 tons submerged
Length298 feet
Beam25 feet
Draft13 feet
Machinery4,300hp diesel-electric drive, 16-cyl Winton Engine Company Type 201 diesel engines; 2,085hp Elliott Motor electric motors with 240-cell Exide battery; two shafts
Bunkerage347 tons oil
Power Output4,300 shaft horsepower
Speed20 knots
Crew50
Armament6x21in torpedo tubes, 18 torpedoes, 1x4in deck gun, 2x12.7mm machine guns, 2x7.62mm machine guns
Submerged Speed8.25 knots

Contributor:

ww2dbaseAfter her shakedown and training cruise in the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, Shark sailed for San Diego, California, United States via the Panama Canal, arriving on 4 Mar 1937. Until Nov 1938, she performed various training and exercise missions as a part of Submarine Squadron 6. On 16 Dec 1938, she got underway for Pearl Harbor to join Submarine Squadron 4. Patrolling in the Hawaii area for about two years, on 3 Dec 1940, she sailed to Manila, Luzon, Philippine Islands to join the Asiatic Fleet.

ww2dbaseWhen the Pacific War began, Shark departed Manila on 9 Dec 1941, escaping the Japanese bombing of the American port facilities at Manila the next day. After patrolling Tayabas Bay for the following week, she returned to Manila on 19 Dec to embark Admiral Thomas C. Hart for his evacuation to Soerbaja, Java. On 6 Jan 1942, she narrowly escaped a torpedo attack from a Japanese submarine. For the remainder of Jan 1942, she patrolled off Ambon Island, Maluku Islands, in the Molucca Passage, and east of Bangka Strait. On 2 Feb, after a failed torpedo attack on a Japanese ship, Shark came under depth charge attack 10 miles off Tifore Island in the Maluku Islands area. Five days later, she radioed in a report that she was chasing an empty cargo ship heading northwest. All communications were lost with Shark after that report.

ww2dbaseAfter WW2, captured Japanese documents revealed there were many attacks on unidentified submarines in Shark's area in Feb 1942. One of them, at 0137 on 11 Feb, described that destroyer Yamakaze sank a surfaced submarine by 5-inch gunfire. That incident was generally regarded as the fate of Shark.

ww2dbaseSource: United States Navy Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

Last Major Revision: Jun 2007

Submarine Shark (Porpoise-class) (SS-174) Interactive Map

Photographs

Shark nearly ready for launching at the Electric Boat Company shipyard, Groton, Connecticut, United States, 20 May 1935Shark immediately after launching at the Electric Boat Company shipyard, Groton, Connecticut, United States, 21 May 1935
See all 10 photographs of Submarine Shark (Porpoise-class) (SS-174)

Shark (Porpoise-class) Operational Timeline

25 Jan 1936 Shark (Porpoise-class) was commissioned into service.
11 Feb 1942 The US submarine Shark was reported lost, probably sunk by the Japanese destroyer Yamakaze, on patrol east of Manado, Celebes, Sunda Islands, Dutch East Indies.




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Visitor Submitted Comments

1. Gregg says:
31 Dec 2010 11:36:10 AM

Good info, just this page deals with Shark SS174 and not the Shark SS314. The SS314 was a Balao class submarine commissioned on Feb. 14, 1944 and lost in action Oct. 24, 1944.

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Submarine Shark (Porpoise-class) (SS-174) Photo Gallery
Shark nearly ready for launching at the Electric Boat Company shipyard, Groton, Connecticut, United States, 20 May 1935Shark immediately after launching at the Electric Boat Company shipyard, Groton, Connecticut, United States, 21 May 1935
See all 10 photographs of Submarine Shark (Porpoise-class) (SS-174)


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