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It is a sunny Monday, March 25, 1940 at Portsmouth Navy Yard as the Triton slides down the ways and into the water for the first time. Pierce Island is in the background.

U.S. Navy photo.

Portsmouth Navy Yard, March 25, 1940. The Triton sits high in the waters of the Piscataqua River. A tug is coming along side to tow her to her fitting out berth. Triton has both port and starboard side anchors. It is a feature that will soon be done away with as unnecessary equipment is purged during the war. One anchor will be removed and the anchor housing will be plated over.

There is a small cord or line snaking down from the deck and into the port anchor housing and then comes out the sixth limber hole from the front and hangs down. If you look closely you can see a similar line from the sub deck between the hull and the large mooring line going to the tug. These were used to hold the bottom of the bow bunting in place as the sub slides down the ways.

LCDR Willis A. Lent, the prospective commanding officer, may be the person standing to the left of the short mast with all the flags attached to it. He would be standing where the bridge would be during the launch. With war raging in Europe, a sense of urgency had hit the shipbuilding industry. Triton was launched two months ahead of schedule.

A.P. wire photo in the private collection of Ric Hedman.

A few months later Triton is seen on May 15, 1940 as she continues her new construction phase at Portsmouth Navy Yard. Triton is sitting very high in the water as all of her tanks are probably dry and she likely does not have her battery installed. There appears to be a temporary structure built around her periscope shears. Mast work is in progress.

The submarine seen in the foreground is the Sailfish (SS-192), formerly known as the Squalus, as she is being re-fitted after her sinking and salvage.

U.S. Navy photo.

An A.P. wire photo of Triton as she hosts Secretary of the Navy William Franklin Knox in 1940 or 1941. The Secretary's flag is flying from the periscope. The location is unknown and the submarine is at anchor. The crew and a contingent of Marines are on deck. After taking office in July of 1940 Knox made it a point to visit as many commands as possible to carry out President Roosevelt's plan to expand the Navy into a force capable of fighting in both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Since the Triton is wearing her hull number this photo is in that pre-WW II period.

This photo was issued by the AP July 22, 1943 to announce the loss of the Triton which happened on March 15, 1943.

A.P. Wirephoto photograph.

A closeup of the photo above showing a group of men clustered near the after battery hatch on Triton's aft deck. The Secretary is likely one of those men. He has either just arrived or is preparing to leave. There is a sailor standing on the top of the periscope shears, ready to raise or lower the Secretary's flag. A Chief Petty Officer is standing on the aft lookout platform overseeing the activities. The row of "dots" on the side of the bridge fairwater aft of the numbers are actually eyes for lacing an awning to cover the after deck area.

A.P. Wirephoto photograph.

Another closeup of the Secretary of the Navy's visit to Triton in 1940 or 1941. This shows a large group of sailors and Marines on the aft deck. The Marines were part of a ceremonial group that came with the Secretary.

A.P. Wirephoto photograph.

July 16, 1942 sees the Triton mooring to the docks in Dutch Harbor, Alaska during her fourth war patrol. The stop was brief and she headed back out. On July 4, 1942 she celebrated a foggy Independence Day by sinking the Hatsuharu-class destroyer HIJMS NENOHI.

U.S. Navy photo.

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