dp. 1900 (surf.), 2350 (subm.); l. 311'; b. 27';
s. 20 k. (surf.), 8.75 k. (subm.); td. 250 ft.; a. 1-4"/50, 4-21" tt. fwd.,
4-21" tt. aft.;
cpl. 5 officers - 50 enlisted men; cl. SARGO
Keel laid by the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, NH 27 October 1937;
Launched 1 April 1939; Sponsored by Miss Louise Shaw Hepburn;
Commissioned 22 July 1939; Lt. Chester C. Smith in command.
USS SWORDFISH I (SS-193), under the command of Cdr. K.E. Montross,
left Pearl Harbor on 22 December 1944, to carry on her thirteenth patrol
in the vicinity of Nansei Shoto. She topped off with fuel at Midway on
26 December and left that day for her area. In addition to her regular
patrol, SWORDFISH was to conduct photographice reconnaissance of
Okinawa, for preparation of the Okinawa Campaign.
On 2 January, SWORDFISH was ordered to delay carrying out
her assigned tasks in order to keep her clear of the Nansei Shoto area
until completion of carried based air strikes which were scheduled. She
was directed to patrol the general vicinity of 30!N;132!E until further
orders were received. In the last communications received from SWORDFISH,
she
acknowledged receipt of these orders on 3 January.
On 9 January 1945, SWORDFISH was directed to proceed to
the vicinity of Okinawa to carry out her special mission. It was estimated
that the task would not take more than seven days after arrival on station,
which she should have reached on 11 January. Upon completion of her mission,
SWORDFISH
was to proceed to Saipan, or to Midway if she was unable to transmit
by radio. Since neither place had seen her by 15 February, and repeated
attempts to raise her by radio had failed, she was reported as presumed
lost, the victim of unknown causes.
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.).
