USS S-26 (SS-131)
Displacement: 854 tons (surface), 1062 tons (submerged)
Length: 219.2 ft. Width: 21.7 ft.
Speed: 13 knots (surface), 9 knots (submerged)
Test Depth: 200 ft.
Armament:1 - 4/50" Deck Gun
4 - 21" Torpedo Tubes forward
Complement: 4 officers - 34 enlisted men
Class: S
Keel laid by the Fore River Shipbuilding Company, Quincy, MA 7 NOV 18
Launched: 22 OCT 22.; Sponsored by Mrs. Carlos Bean
Commissioned: 15 OCT 23 with Lt Edmund W. Burrough in command.
Operating out of New London, CT, from 1923 into 1925, USS S-26
(SS-131) visited St. Thomas and Trinidad from January into April 1924,
and Hawaii from 27 April to 30 May 1925. Cruising from California ports,
mainly Mare Island, San Diego, and San Pedro, S-26 visited Hawaii
in the summers of 1927, 1928, 1929 and 1930. She also served in the Panama
Canal area from March into May 1927, and in February 1929. Departing San
Diego on 1 December 1930, she arrived at Pearl Harbor on the 12th. From
then into 1938, S-26 served at Pearl Harbor. Sailing from there
on 15 October 1938, she returned to New London on 25 March 1939. Entering
a period of partial duty on 15 April that year, she resumed full duty on
1 July 1940.
Following duty at New London and hydrogen tests at Washington, D.C.,
S-26 sailed from New London on 10 December 1941, and arrived at
Coco Solo, C.Z., on the 19th. Under the command of LCdr E.C. Hawk, S-26
was lost at 2223 on 24 January 1942 in the Gulf of Panama about fourteen
miles west of San Jose Light in three hundred feet of water. There were
three survivors, two officers including the C.O., and one enlisted man
-- all on the bridge at the time of the collision; the fourth person on
the bridge, an enlisted man, was lost along with all other hands.
S-26 was proceeding from Balboa, Canal Zone, to its patrol station
in company with USS S-21 (SS-126), USS S-29 (SS-134) and
USS S-44 (SS-155) and an escort vessel, USS PC-460, at the
time of the disaster. At 2210 the escort vessel sent a visual message to
the submarines that she was leaving the formation and that they could proceed
on the duty assigned. S-21 was the only boat to receive the message.
Shortly thereafter PC-460 struck S-26 on the starboard side
of the Torpedo Room and the submarine sank within a few seconds.
Salvage operations started immediately under Captain T.J. Doyle, USN,
Commanding SubRon3 and Submarine Base, Coco Solo, Canal Zone; they were
not successful.
Compiled by SUBNET from "Dictionary of American Fighting Ships"
and "U.S. NAVAL SUBMARINE FORCE INFORMATION BOOK '97" -- J. Christley
Photos and text contributed by Royal Weaver MTCM(SS)(Ret.).
