These screenshots from the film Submarine D-1 are in no particular order. They show some good views of the Dolphin in operation with the fleet. The copy of the movie that these shots were taken from was of low resolution, so please forgive the somewhat ill-defined nature of these shots. All shots courtesy of Cosmopolitan Productions and Warner Bros.
Four photos of actor Wayne Morris descending the starboard accommodation ladder to a waiting liberty launch. See here for a good view of the ladder.
Two views of Dolphin diving as seen from the after deck. The vertical spray column is from a ballast tank vent. The vent is located in the raised section amidships near the liberty launch enclosure. When opened it allows the air pressure inside the ballast tank to vent off, thereby allowing seawater to flood in from the bottom of the tank through the Kingston valves.
A view of Dolphin's aft deck, showing the raised platforms covering her main engine mufflers. Also visible are the aft torpedo loading derrick and the aft escape trunk.
A view of the main deck, looking aft along the starboard side. The sailor on the right in the foreground is about to enter a cutout in the superstructure. There is a ladder there that will take him down to a hatch that allows access to the after battery/crew's mess.
A close up of the bridge from the forward deck. It is not known if the men shown here are actors or actual Dolphin crewmembers. The white mushroom-shaped object is a ventilation valve. Just below it are the round windows of the covered pilothouse. Above the officer on the left is a searchlight mounted in a fork-shaped bracket. The enlisted sailor is standing on a lookout platform above the periscope shears, and the head of #1 periscope can be seen between his legs. USN submarines of the 1930's had a profusion of wires and framing topside, and this created a lot of drag while underwater.
When surfaced, the Dolphin's bell was mounted on the forward edge of the conning tower fairwater, below the windows to the pilothouse. It would be taken below before diving. It is framed here by horns for the ship's pneumatic whistle, with two awards for engineering efficiency above, as denoted by the large letter "E".
Two views of Dolphin underway on the surface in a moderate sea. The pressure hull ends very near the muzzle doors for the torpedo tubes, so the rest of the bow forward of that is free flooding. As the boat pitches up in the waves, you can see water draining out of this area through limber holes.
Two close ups of the conning tower fairwater from two different angles. In the photo on the right, two enlisted sailors can be seen standing in the left side of the photo on the "cigarette deck", so named because it was a favorite place to catch a smoke while surfaced. It looks as if they are getting ready to hoist signal flags.
A four photo sequence of the Dolphin making a dive. USN submarines take a slight down angle when diving, allowing the force of the propellers to assist in pushing the boat under.
A view of the top of Dolphin's forward rescue buoy as shown in the film. It is interesting to note that the wording shown here is different from what was shown on the buoy in a 1933 photo shown here. The plate may have been changed because of a Navy directive, or it may have been done just for the movie for dramatic effect.
Dolphin, in the background, is shown moving up to moor into a nest of submarines in San Diego. The only identifiable submarine in this shot is the USS Nautilus (SS-168), indicated by the class identifier of "N2" on her fairwater. There are at least two other submarines in this nest, likely Porpoise class boats.
Dolphin is shown moored outboard in a nest of submarines in San Diego. The other boats are (L to R) P4 Tarpon (SS-175), P2 Pike (SS-173), and P3 Shark (SS-174). The crews are lined up on deck for the traditional pre-liberty quarters for muster, instruction, and inspection.
Dolphin shown maneuvering up to moor outboard of P2 Pike (SS-173) at Coco Solo in Panama. The other boat is not identified, but it is likely another Porpoise class boat. This shot is from the bridge looking forward and shows some details of Dolphin's forward deck.
