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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive
Patch contributed by Mike Smolinski

S-36 (SS-141)

Radio Call Sign: November - India - Papa - Foxtrot

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Yangtze Service Medal - China Service Medal - American Defense Service Medal (with Sea Clasp)
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1) - World War II Victory Medal - Philippine Defense Medal
S-18 Class Submarine (Holland-type): Laid down, 10 December 1918, at Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp., San Francisco, CA.; Launched, 3 June 1919; Commissioned, USS S-36 (SS-141), 4 April 1923; Lost due to grounding on Taka Bakang Reef in the Makassar Strait, Dutch East Indies; Final Disposition, scuttled 21 January 1942. S-36 was awarded one battle star for her services in World War II.

Specifications: Displacement, Surfaced: 854 t., Submerged: 1,062 t.; Length 219' 3" ; Beam 20' 8"; Draft 15' 11"(mean); Depth Limit 200'; Speed, Surfaced 14.5 kts, Submerged 11 kts; Complement, 4 Officers, 34 Enlisted; Armament, four 21" torpedo tubes, 12 torpedoes, one 4"/50 deck gun; Propulsion, diesel-electric, New London Ship & Engine diesel engines, HP 1200, Fuel Capacity, 41,192 gals.; General Electric Co., electric motors, Battery Cells, 120, twin propellers.
Click On Image
For Full Size		Size Image Description Source
sboats
0814300		 7.80k Union Iron Works, San Francisco, California.
Photographed during World War I, with four-piper destroyers under construction at the Risdon Iron Works in the lower right. Four submarines and one destroyer hull in dry-dock are at the piers in the center, along with some large merchant ships. Risdon, part of Union, is to the lower right of the ink line. 1-Cafeteria, 2-Store room, 3-Iron Foundry, 4-Brass Foundry, 5-Machine shop, 6-Pattern shop, 7-Erecting machine shop, 8-Administration building, 9-Power house, 10-office bldg., Govt. offices, 11-Blacksmith shop, 12-Bioler shop, 13-Joiner shop, 14-Joiner shop, Annex with oil storage tanks underneath, 15-Warehouse and office bldg., 16-Pipe and copper shop, 17-Steel storage, 18-Plate shop, 19-Gate house, 20-Building slips 4&5, 21-Building slips 1.2 & 3, 22-Wharf #2, 23-Wharf #3, 24-Floating dock, capacity 2000 tons, 25-Floating dock, capacity 6500 tons, 26-Wharf #4, 27-Wharf #5, S-Storage space 2--Risdon Plant shown south and east of red lines: 1-Copper storage, 2- Oil tank, 3-Office building, 4-Office building, 5-Yarrow boiler shop, 6-Warehouse, 7-Power house, 8-Blacksmith shop, 9-Storehouse, 10-Sheet metal shop, 11-Sheet metal shop, 12-Marine machine shop, 13-Wharves, 14-Wharves, 15-Wharves.
Appearing here in no order are vessels that were constructed but not necessarily here: 6 of 27 R-class submarines
first keel laid: R-16 (SS-93), 26 April 1917, last: R-19 (SS-96), 23 June 1917
first launch: R-15 (SS-92), 10 December 1917, last: R-19, 28 January 1918
R-15 (SS-92) ... R-20 (SS-97)
12 of 51 S-class submarines S-30 (SS-135) ... S-41 (SS-146)
26 of 111 Wickes-class destroyers for the United States Navy between 1917 and 1919
first keel laid: Ringold (DD-89), 20 October 1917, last: Stansbury (DD-180), 9 December 1918 first launch: McKee (DD-87), 23 March 1918, last: Stansbury, 16 May 1919, 8 are launched on 4 July 1918
McKee (DD-87) ... Gridley (DD-92), Schley (DD-103), ... Ludlow (DD-112), Burns (DD-171) & ... Stansbury (DD-180)
40 of 156 Clemson-class destroyers for the United States Navy between 1918 and 1921 Chauncey (DD-296) ... Melvin (DD-335) 		Photo courtesy of history.navy.mil
141
0814109		 2.0k Sponsor S-36 (SS-141): Miss Helen M. Russell, daughter of Lieutenant George L. Russell, U. S. Navy, on duty at the works at the time. Photo courtesy of The San Francisco Chronicle, 4 June 1919, page 4 via Darryl L. Baker.
SS 141 1.09k S-36 (SS-141) at Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation's Union Plant, Potrero Works, San Francisco, CA., 29 March 1923. She was commissioned about a week later, on 4 April. Note recessed stowage of her anchor and diving plane, in the hull side just aft of the bow. USN photo # NH 51827, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
Canopus & Friends 85k Canopus (AS-9) in Apra Harbor, Guam, with Submarine Division 17 alongside, 29 October 1924. Submarine Division 17's members were:
S-36 (SS-141),
S-37 (SS-142);
S-38(SS-143);
S-39 (SS-144);
S-40 (SS-145) and
S-41 (SS-146). 		USN photo # NH 55048, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
Canopus 1.40k Canopus (AS-9), in Apra Harbor, Guam, 29 October 1924, with all six members of Submarine Division 17 alongside.
The division consisted of:
S-36 (SS-141);
S-37 (SS-142),
S-38 (SS-143),
S-39 (SS-144),
S-40 (SS-145) and
S-41 (SS-146). 		USNHC photograph # NH 104940.
Canopus 64k Canopus (AS-9), with the Asiatic Fleet's Submarine Squadron Five alongside, during the 1930s. The submarines present include (from left to right): S-37 (SS-142); S-40 (SS-145); S-36 (SS-141);S-38 (SS-143); S-41 (SS-146); S-39 (SS-144). US National Archives photo # 80-G-1014615, a USN photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.
SS 135 - 46 113k The S-boat was the culmination of E.B. single-hull design for the U.S. Navy. This is a typical unit of the S-30-41 (SS-135-46) group, as completed. Ballast trunks are indicated. Lines below the hull show the location of the fuel tanks forward & aft (the foremost two tanks of the after group are the lubricating oil tank & sump tank). Arrows indicate the two Fessenden oscillators under the boat's keel, fore & aft. Arrows in the bridge structure indicate the three periscopes (one in the conning tower, soon removed) the telescoping radio mast & the radio tube leading down into the radio room.
In the control room the wheels controlling the planes were on the port side: the three levers for the Kingston valves were on the opposite side, abaft the chart table. The radio room, (below the radio tube, into which the antenna leads ran) was set into the after port side of the control room.
Abaft the main motors were auxiliaries: the low pressure main ballast pump on the center-line, the high pressure main ballast pump on the starboard shaft, the motor for the Fessenden oscillator on the port shaft. 		Drawing & Text courtesy of U.S. Submarines Through 1945, An Illustrated Design History by Norman Friedman. Naval Institute Press.
S-35 89k The Minesweeper Ortolan (AM-45), possibly at Mare Island, circa 1925. The sub is believed to be the S-35 (SS-140), or S-36 (SS-141). Courtesy of Ric Hedman.
sboats
0814312		 606k Canopus (AS-9) at Naval Station Olongapo, Philippine Islands, circa 1926 with from outboard to inboard:
S-36 (SS-141)
S-38 (SS-143)
S-37 (SS-142)
S-41 (SS-146)
S-39 (SS-144) alongside.		 From Hyman Fischer photo album via Sandie Larsen courtesy of Don Kehn, Jr. & Gary Priolo.
SS 143 106k S-36 (SS-141), nested outboard of sister submarines S-40 (SS-145), and S-38 (SS-143), alongside Canopus (AS-9) off Tsingtao, China, in 1930. Note the submarines' 4"/50 deck guns.
USN photo # NH 51833, for the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
SS 141 95k The boats of Submarine Division Seventeen (SubDiv 17), US Asiatic Fleet, moored alongside Canopus (AS-9) at Tsingtao, China, circa 1930. Identifiable submarines present include S-36 (SS-141), S-39 (SS-144), S-37 (SS-142) and S-41 (SS-146). Note sailors relaxing on deck, Chinese men on board the submarines, and 4"/50 deck guns. USN photo # NH 59968, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
SS 141 88k The boats of SubDiv 17, Asiatic Fleet, moored alongside Canopus (AS-9) at Tsingtao, China, circa 1930. Identifiable submarines present include S-39 (SS-144), S-37 (SS-142) and S-41 (SS-146). The boat closest to the camera is probably S-36 (SS-141). Note SubDiv 17 insignia painted on conning towers. USN photo # NH 51832 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
SS 141 196k S-36 (SS-141) at anchor, moored alongside Canopus (AS-9), probably at Tsingtao, China, circa 1930 with the rest of the boats of Submarine Division Seventeen (SubDiv 17). The other S-boats are probably S-37 (SS-142), S-38 (SS-143), S-39 (SS-144). Note all the washing hung out to dry on the signal lines. Courtesy of ussubvetsofworldwarii.org.
S-41 388k S-boats under canvas: S-36 (SS-141) in Dewey Drydock (YFD-1) at Olongapo, Philippines with the S-41 (SS-146) behind her & unidentified submarine alongside. Photo courtesy of David Wright.
S-23 73k An 1942 oil painting on board, by the artist William F. Draper entitled "Sub and Yippy Tie Up."
In a quiet inlet of the Bering Sea in 1942, a YP boat gets a coat of paint and an S-boat ties up for fuel and provisions. The short Alaskan day is ending and lights may be seen in the barracks until total darkness requires a blackout.
The S-boats that served in the Aleutians theater were:
S-18 (SS-123),
S-23 (SS-128),
S-27 (SS-132),
S-28 (SS-133),
S-30 (SS-135),
S-31 (SS-136),
S-32 (SS-137),
S-33 (SS-138),
S-34 (SS-139),
S-35 (SS-140),
S-36 (SS-141),
S-40 (SS-145),
S-41 (SS-146),
S-42 (SS-153),
S-44 (SS-155),
S-45 (SS-156),
S-46 (SS-157), &
S-47 (SS-158). 		Sub and Yippy Tie Up by William F. Draper.
Painting #13 / 88-189-N. Courtesy of the USNHC.
141
0814100		 1.82k 9 page PDF of the S-36 (SS-141). USN photos courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
141
0814108		 180k John Rowland McKnight Jr., CO at the time of the loss of S-36 (SS-141). Photo courtesy of findagrave.com
SS 141 38k Commemorative photo remembering the S-36 (SS-141). Photo courtesy of Tom Kermen.
SS 141 90k Google Earth satellite photo of the Taka Bakang which literally means "Bakang Reef" in Indonesian language, it is located just 55 nautical miles off the province of Makassar right in the Straits of Sulawesi, Indonesia. It is here that the S-36 (SS-141) was lost. View courtesy of Google Earth.
Tolling The Boats 669k Active duty and veteran submariners stand together at the 29th annual "Tolling The Boats" Memorial Service held at the World War II National Submarine Memorial-West, Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach, Calif. 29 May 2006. The ceremony honored members of the Silent Service who gave their lives during World War II and the Cold War for their country and the cause of freedom. USN photo # N-1159B-052 by Journalist 1st Class Brian Brannon, courtesy of navy.news.mil.
View the S-36 (SS-141)
DANFS history entry located on the Haze Gray & Underway Web Site.
Crew Contact And Reunion Information
U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation
Fleet Reserve Association
Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
ComSubPac Report of loss of USS S-36 (SS 141) January 20, 1942 - No Men Lost
PigBoats.COM TM A Historic Look at Submarines
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