U.S.S. S-37 (SS-142)
Location: Imperial Beach, San Diego, California
Laying almost completely forgotten off the turbulent rolling waves off the San Diego coast is the final resting place of a forgotten warrior. The wreck site of U.S.S. S-37, first submarine to sink a Japanese destroyer in World War II.
Visited by us in December 2018, join us as we explore this veteran of the Pacific war, study her remains, and preserve her tale!
U.S.S. S-37 (SS-142)
An Overview of a Forgotten Warrior:
U.S.S. S-37 (SS 142) was a type 'S' class submarine which saw action during the second world war. Launched in 1919 she came too late to participate with some of her older sister-boats in the 'Great War' and instead was relegated to messenger duty in the Philippines. The boat was 219 ft 3 in (66.83 m) long, a narrow 20 ft 9 in (6.32 m) wide, and had a cruising draft of 16 ft (4.9 m).
Following her launch & commissioning into the Unted States Navy she led a fairly uneventful life until one ill-fateed October day in 1923, when she suffered a fatal battery explosion and fire in the engine room. The accident occured during what should have been a routine maintenance work and as a result 3 men were killed and 5 more critically injured.
Post war controversy:
Following the fatal accident on October 10th, 1923, the U.S.S. S-37 continued to serve faithfully and quietly in the United States Asiatic fleet. However, with rising tensions in the Pacific theater, it was not long before the aging sub would find herself in the newspapers once again...
In 1939 a peculiar newspaper headline appeared buried in the pages of the Los Angeles Times. It detailed an incident which occured in July of 1939 where the S-37 was bullied by a destroyer and bombed by a single Japanese plane. The sub was alledgedly clearly marked and had her running lights plainly showing.
Immediately following the article several inquiries were made and the U.S. Navy made an official statement to the press denying the incident altogether and taking note that the Officer who claimed the 37 had been attacked was not present for the incident. The incident still remains shrouded in mystery and associated records have either been lost, misfiled, or destroyed due to wartime secrecy later.
S-37 GOES TO WAR
And into the history books
Following the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on December 7th, 1941 the sub was immediately sent out on scouting missions to report back the movement of Japanese troops and ships among the many islands and inlets around her base in the Phillipines, but with special emphasis off the nearby Luzon straits.
During one of the subs many patrol missions she chanced upon a Japanese troop convoy in the Luzon straits. The attack that was to follow was one of the boldest moves ever made by a submarine commander, and a move which would earn the sub a permanent milestone in World War II history.
February 2nd, 1942, S-37 was running on the surface, shadowing a Japanese troop convoy under the light of a full moon. Her commander James C. Dempsey chose to take the risk and line up his slow moving sub into an attack position on the transports. With the range closing, the convoy suddenly accelerated and began to pull away. Not to be deterred Commander Dempsey instead shifted his focus to the 4 destroyers sailing in formation behind the transports. Altering course, he brazenly charged at full speed towards the enemy warships. Targeting one destroyer a piece he closed the range to 600 yards or less before letting loose all four forward torpedoes. It was at this point that he was noticed and several of the escort altered course to intercept him, however, within seconds, a loud explosion followed by a thunderous roar of fire and smoke meant the end of the Imperial Japanese Navy destroyer Natsushio. Commander Dempsey and S-37 had just made history, by sinking the first ever Japanese destroyer of World War II.
Amid the confusion caused by the attack, the aged S-37 dove deep and escaped the enemy depth charges. This course of action would earn her a battle star, as well as a presidential citation and Navy cross for her commander.
The aged sub saw several more patrols as the war progressed, however, a number of mechanical issues and lack of speed rendered her largely ineffective as a combat vessel.
Despite her shortcomings, she managed to conduct several attacks on other vessels and even succeeded in sinking the Japanese cargo transport Tenzan Maru on July 8th, 1942. Following some major mechanical breakdowns and rusted piping which allowed for a tell-tale oil slick, the sub was pulled back to the mainland of the United States and then based out of San Diego to be used as a submarine cadet training vessel. A role she played till near the end of the war.
As the war drew to a close in the pacific the S-37 was laid up. The US Navy decided it was time to retire the old girl and send her down for one final dive. The submarine was stripped of most of her valuable spare parts and other material the navy considered it could recycle later. Struck from the navy list, the now Ex-U.S.S S-37 was taken in tow by a navy tug to the coast off San Diego where she would be sunk for target practice. The time she spent laid up, however, had done a toll on her interiors and the subs bilge was rotten and stunk of an odor most foul.
The smell, added to the fumes from old diesel and sewage was enough to prompt the Navy salvage crew to pop open all the hatches in an attempt to vent the foul smelling air. It proved to be a nearly fatal mistake...
As she was making her way past modern day Imperial Beach, a leak developed up forward and went unnoticed by the tow crew. The story is unclear what caused the leak, but in all likelihood it was a broken pipe or vent which was not properly secured. In either case, the sub began to settle lower and lower in the water until the waves reached her open hatches and she immediately began to fill up and submerge. The Navy crew ran for their lives and, mere seconds after the last man had emerged from the aft escape hatch, the S-37 plunged to the shallow bottom amid a flurry of bubbles and oil. The Navy, in a move to hide potential embarrassment so close to the end of the war, officially declared her "Sunk as a target by gunfire" and following the end of the war she was quickly and quietly forgotten.
THE WRECK OF S-37
From Discovery to Present:
The S-37 remained on the bottom of the sea both forgotten and undisturbed until 1958 when students Frank Ball & Robert Gowdy, a salvage duo, rediscovered the lost sub after following up on leads from local fisherman on sites which could yield potential underwater salvage. The sub was discovered heavily buried in the bottom sediment and nearly laying upside-down. A small scale salvage operation followed over the summer which saw the removal of her massive twin propellers, by means of dynamite, as well as the stripping of as much copper and brass material as they could from the subs murky interior. Remarkably, at this time, the sub was still largely airtight and to such a degree that when fresh air was pumped into the hull it allowed for the two to work inside the sunken sub with the aid of portable lights and lanterns. It was only due to the constant removal of piping which ultimately rendered their work be stopped due to escaping air. By this time the salvage operations had produced a pretty penny in scrap metal and more than made up for the time invested on the site by the two friends. The submarine was reported to the United States Navy Department and a salvage claim was filed. The reply was almost immediate "What submarine?"
As Frank & Robert ((Pictured here)) continued to do work on the S-37 the officials with the Navy Department were scratching their heads trying to figure out the identity of the sub and why it was located where no vessel should be. The mystery was compounded by multiple subs which had been sunk for target practice or, as evidenced from local newspapers, a sister sub named the S-11, which had also been lost under tow for target practice in a location undetermined by the current administration. Eventually, thanks to the aid of some older navy vets still in the service, her identity was confirmed and the authorities immediately stepped in to stop salvage so the navy could reclaim ownership and sell the vessel for scrap to the highest bidder. Frank & Robert attempted to bid for the wreck, however the bill of sale went too high and they elected to sit back and watch. The sub was soon sold, then re-sold to a private salvage firm whose identity has been lost to time
A major salvage operation soon followed. Multiple dives to the sunken sub saw her ballast tanks drilled into, the hatches closed, and fresh air pumped in. With her ballast tanks forcefully emptied the sub creaked and groaned in protest... then began to rise. For one final time, the S-37's barnacle and slime-covered hulk saw the blue sky of daylight once again. The operation had seemingly been a success, and the sub was taken once again under tow and began to inch her way towards San Diego. The tired old sub, however, had other plans, and with a screech of protest several leaks developed in her ballast tanks and began to overwhelm the salvage pumps. In a panic, the lines were cut and the towboat positioned itself to ram the sinking sub and shove it into the beach. As they pushed her closer to shore, her bow dipped down for one final time and she again she slipped lazily beneath the warm waters off Imperial Beach. As she went down several seals and pumps failed and she rolled onto her port-side to settle gently upon the bottom in less than 20 feet of water. The salvage attempt, though a failure, did not end there, and over the course of the next few summers demolition and salvage crews removed what they could from the stubborn sub. At some point all major work ceased and the sub was once again forgotten.
STORIED TREASURES EXPLORES U.S.S. S-37
EXPEDITION LOG: 12/16/2018
On December 16th, 2018, a survey expedition was launched to explore the wreck of S-37 for the purposes of documenting the wreck and making footage available for the general public. A fishing boat charter was conducted by me via the "LetGo" app. Rick & Jeremy Dixon, a father and son fishing duo with an open-top fishing boat. Our 'Crew' consisted of the following persons:
1. Rick Dixon (Boat skipper & co-owner, father of charter duo)
2. Albert Coulombe (Co-lead, lookout, survivalist)
3. Amanda Francis (Videographer, observer)
4. WeiHua Sun (Tech Diver, Artist, Videographer)
5. Myself (Expedition Leader, Financier)
Check out our Expedition BLOG here!
Stay tuned for more updates coming soon!!!