USS S-39
1919 S-class submarine
USS S-39 (SS-144) was a United States Navy S-class submarine that saw combat in the Pacific Theater during World War II. She was accidentally run aground on her fifth war patrol and was subsequently abandoned.
Construction and commissioning
S-39′s keel was laid down on 14 January 1919 by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation at San Francisco, California. She was launched on 2 July 1919 sponsored by Miss Clara M. Huber, and commissioned on 14 September 1923.
Service history
After commissioning and fitting out, S-39 joined Submarine Force, Battle Fleet; and from October–December 1923, conducted maneuvers off southern California. With the next year, 1924, she moved south to the Panama Canal, thence proceeded into the Caribbean Sea for final trials, further exercises, and training dives. By April, she was back at Mare Island for her first overhaul.
Asiatic fleet
On 17 September, S-39 departed San Francisco for the Philippines. Steaming via Pearl Harbor and Guam, she reached Manila on 5 November; joined the Asiatic Fleet as a member of Submarine Division 17 (SubDiv 17); and commenced local operations and drills in the Luzon area. In mid-May 1925, she sailed for the Asiatic mainland with her division; and, after brief stops at Amoy and Hong Kong, arrived at Tsingtao, whence she operated until early September. She then returned to Manila and for the next 16 years maintained, with few interruptions, a similar schedule: summers at Tsingtao, with patrols along the China coast; winters in the Philippines, for overhauls, engineering trials, joint Army-Navy maneuvers, type training exercises, and short patrols.
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