192a
Photo 19-N-43274 courtesy of NHHC.
A stern view of Sailfish at Mare Island in April 1943. There is one curious thing about this photo: she seems to have been fitted with removeable propeller guards, which the two men in the boat seem to be working on. The guards were frequently removed as unneeded while on war patrol, but they became valuable when the boat returned to port. Making them routinely removeable may have been a compromise.
Photo 19-N-43273 courtesy of NHHC.
Sailfish underway in San Francisco Bay, April 1943. Note that her gun has been moved to the forward position. Sailfish was a fighting boat, and would soon score some notable successes against the Imperial Japanese Navy.
Photo 19-N-43269 courtesy of NHHC.
A stern view of Sailfish on San Francisco Bay, April 1943. Given the location of the engine smoke, she appears to be running off the forward engines.
Photo 19-N-43270 courtesy of NHHC.
Sailfish and crew pose at war's end at the aft end of conning tower fairwater. Note that the after battery hatch is a center-line hatch not offset to the starboard side like on the newer submarines. The man kneeling on the left is Ray Bunt holding shell of a sea turtle he caught and the crew ate. Other crew shown are Joe McGrievy, in the Navy Chief's hat, and (left to right) Gail Lusk, Bob Kempf, and Troy Ray. The man standing on the cigarette deck to the left of the flag staff is William J. Dillon (known as "Skippy) on the Sailfish since he was the radioman, radarman, & sonarman on board. He provided the above identifications. Behind the U.S. flag is the Presidential Unit Citation flag that Sailfish received for outstanding performance on her tenth war patrol.
U.S. Navy photo. Thanks to William J. "Skippy" Dillon for supplying the names of his shipmates in this photo.
Sailfish making one last dive dockside before being decommissioned, October 27, 1945 at the Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, Maine. A crowd of very proud yard workers came to watch the event. Squalus/Sailfish had captured the hearts of the yard workers like no other boat.
Milne Special Collections, University of New Hampshire Library, Durham, N.H.
Another view of the Sailfish's last dive. She has a slight downward angle.
Milne Special Collections, University of New Hampshire Library, Durham, N.H.
A third photo showing Sailfish making her last dive pierside at the Portsmouth Navy Yard, October 27, 1945.
Milne Special Collections, University of New Hampshire Library, Durham, N.H.
A wire service photo of the decommissioning ceremony of Sailfish, October 27, 1945 at the Portsmouth Navy Yard. The photo has been "enhanced" by the Associated Press for printing in a newspaper. The crop marks from the newspaper are visible showing what the paper wanted to be shown on its pages. The paint and ink used is very difficult to remove without damaging the photo emulsion.
Three news photographers stand in the middle of the deck taking pictures of the flag lowering. Crew line the deck, though only the officers and few chiefs seem to be saluting.
AP Wire Photo in the private collection of Ric Hedman.
Sailfish's conning tower fairwater was removed from the boat and has been preserved on the grounds of the current Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. It is interesting to note that during a 1944 overhaul at Mare Island Sailfish's fairwater was rebuilt to closely resemble a Mod 4 Gato-class boat. The three steel I-beams (with three matching ones on the starboard side) that are visible here support the periscope shears and provide the base of lookout platforms. These three beams were added to Sailfish as she did not originally have them. This is the only time that this was known to happen.
Photo by Charles A. Thompson, via Navsource.org
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