S-39 served the Navy and the nation well from 1923 to 1942. In the first nine months of WWII, she completed four war patrols earning two battle stars. On the night of August 13, 1942 she was on her fifth patrol of the southern tip of New Guinea in the Louisiade Archipelago. In very dark conditions and operating in a poorly charted area, she ran aground on a reef off Rossell Island. The sea conditions quickly made her situation untenable, and despite tremendous efforts by her crew, she could not be extracted from the reef. The captain radioed for assistance and the entire crew was rescued by an Australian corvette and taken to Brisbane. The sea action eventually destroyed the sub, along with repeated bombings by both Japanese and Allied forces. It is doubtful that anything of the wreck remains to this day.
S-39 off Tsingtao, China, approximately 1927-1928. It looks like she has two torpedoes resting on the deck forward of the gun. They were likely fired in an exercise and retrieved for refurbishment and reuse. The photo was taken from the submarine tender USS Canopus (AS-9).
Photo provided by the late MMCM(SS) Rick Larson, USN (Ret.)
S-39 surfacing off Tsingtao, China in the summer of 1931. The photo looks to have been taken around midday based on the shadow angles. She appears to be running at nearly full speed, judging by the wake.
Photo in the private collection of Ric Hedman.
Closeup of the photo above showing details of the conning tower fairwater. The number 1 periscope is raised. A few of the interesting details seen are the small doors in the side of the fairwater aft. In some other photos one of these has proved to hide a shower head. Probably a salt-water shower since fresh water is a short supply aboard these vessels.
