Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster.
Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive

S-47 (SS-158)

Radio Call Sign: November - India - Papa - Tango
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Defense Service Medal (with Sea Clasp)
Bottom Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (3) - World War II Victory Medal
S-42 Class Submarine: Laid down, 26 February 1921, at Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp., Quincy, MA.; Launched, 5 January 1924; Commissioned, USS S-47 (SS-158), 16 September 1925; Decommissioned, 25 October 1945, at San Francisco, CA.; Struck from the Naval Register, 13 November 1945; Final Disposition, sold for scrapping in 22 Novenmber 1946. S-47 earned three battle stars during World War II.
Partial data submitted by Yves Hubert.

Specifications: Displacement, Surfaced: 906 t., Submerged: 1,126 t.; Length 225' 3"; Beam 20' 8"; Draft 16' (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 engines, New London Ship and Engine Co., diesel engines, HP 1200; Fuel Capacity 46,363 gal.; Electro Dynamics electric motors, HP 1200, Battery cells 120, twin propellers.
Click On Image
For Full Size		Size Image Description Source
T-2 1.20k AA-2 (SS-60) at Fore River Ship Yard, 1 October 1921.
Note the submarine being built in the boat house above the docked AA-2. The last 3 S-boats being turned out there were S-44 (SS-155), S-46 (SS-157) & S-47 (SS-158); respectively laid down 14 January, 23 February & 26 February 1921. 		US National Archives photo # 19lc 1 from NARA, College Park, Maryland, courtesy of Sean Hert.
SS 164 NR Launching of New U. S. Submarine
Above are shown the S-47 (SS-158), the last word in undersea fighting craft....sponsored by Mrs. Morris D. Gilmore... 		Image and text provided by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library, Chapel Hill, NC.
Photo from Roanoke Rapids Herald. [volume] (Roanoke Rapids, N.C.) 1914-192?, 25 January 1924, Image 6, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov
S-18, 47, & 44 200k From left to right: S-18 (SS-123), S-47 (SS-158), & S-44 (SS 155) tied up at Groton, CT., 8 April 1924. The 3 subs are moored to the self propelled barge Isaac L. Rice. EB used it for submarine testing and acted as a tender for subs under construction or undergoing maintenance while at EB. USN photo # 19-N-10282, from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), courtesy of Daniel Dunham.
Text courtesy of Ric Hedman.
SS 153 270k Typical of the last E.B.'s S-boats, S-42-47 (SS-153-58) is shown as in 1924-25 (the date of final changes to the original plans is illegible). These boats were part of a second, redesigned series. They were lengthened enough to accomodate both the new 4in/50 gun & the gun access hatch shown (arrowed) forward of the conning tower fairwater (it is the main visual difference between these and earlier E.B. units) Drawing & Text courtesy of U.S. Submarines Through 1945, An Illustrated Design History by Norman Friedman. Naval Institute Press.
US Fleet Problem Number VI 1.72k Control Force Employment Schedule, 4 January to 1 March 1926. US Fleet Problem Number VI. Photo courtesy of Steve Ireland.
SS 158 123k S-47 (SS-158) leaving Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, en route to Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA., in April 1927. Two other S-boats and a larger V-boat class submarine are in the foreground. Ship in the middle distance is either Aroostook (CM-3) or Shawmut (CM-4). USN photo # NH 42191, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
SS 158 834k S-47 (SS-158) off San Diego, circa later 1920s. A fuel barge marked "Star & Crescent Oil Co. // Associated Gasoline" is beyond S-47's bow. A San Diego Consolidated Gas & Electric Company power plant is in the center distance. USN photo # NH 42190, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
SS 153
0815306		2.54k 19th Submarine Division at San Diego, California, 28 July 1928, with officers and crewmen paraded on deck. Panoramic photograph, taken by O.A. Tunnell, 521 A St., San Diego. The first three submarines are (from inboard): S-46 (SS-157); S-42 (SS-153) and S-47 (SS-158). The 4th & 6th boats on the right are (in no order) S-43 (SS-154) & S-44 (SS-155). The fifth boat is S-45 (SS-156), with the E emblazoned on her conning tower.
My grandad Julius "Fred" Hatchett is on the closest sub, the S-46. He's at the far right of the middle group of sailors. 		Courtesy of Julius "Fred" Hatchett via his grandson Steve Hatchett.
SS 158 97k Holland (AS-3) in Balboa harbor, Panama Canal Zone, 7 May 1927, with seven S-boats alongside. Panoramic photograph, taken for the National Photo Service, San Antonio, Texas. Note that firm's logo in the right-center. Submarines in the center group are (from outboard): S-46 (SS-157); S-47 (SS-158); S-44 (SS-155); and an unidentifed boat. Outboard submarine in the group astern is S-45 (SS-156). USN photo # NH 96623, now in the collections of the US National Archives. Courtesy of Captain Gordon Peterson, USN.
SS 153 398k From left to right:
S-47 (SS-158), S-42 (SS-153), S-43 (SS-154) & Barracuda (SS-163); at the sub base in Coco Solo, Panama Canal Zone, probably circa early 1936. 		USN photo courtesy of Robert M. Cieri.
S-boats 327k Submarine Division 11 is shown moored together here in this photograph, probably taken in 1936 at the Submarine Base in Coco Solo, Panama Canal Zone. Shown are the S-46 (SS-157), S-43 (SS-154), S-47 (SS-158), S-42 (SS-153), S-44 (SS-155), and S-45 (SS-156). Photo i.d. & text courtesy of David Johnston (USN, retired)
USN photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
SS 131, 137, 158 & 166450kSubmarines S-47 (SS-158), S-32 (SS-137), S-26 (SS-131) & Argonaut (SS-166) in Honolulu Harbor in 1936. Notice Aloha Tower in the background.
Notice that all the S-boats have the post S-4 (SS-109) accident messenger buoy modifications to their stern, and how deeply in the water the stern light sits, making visibility of this light problematic in anything but glass calm seas. 		Partial text & i.d. courtesy of David Johnston Photo by Edward Cwalinski, submitted by Barry Litchfield.
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.
SS 158 62k S-47 (SS-158) off San Francisco, CA., 7 September 1943, following overhaul. A platform has been added to her conning tower for a single 20-millimeter antiaircraft gun; her gun deck gun is a manually-operated dual-purpose 3-inch 50-caliber. Mounted just ahead of her periscopes is an SJ surface-search and torpedo-control radar. The small tripod forward of the deck gun supports an early type of underwater listening equipment. S-47 displays no identification except her national ensign, and wears dull black wartime submarine finish.
In the left background is the characteristic silhouette of a New Mexico class (BB-40 / 42) battleship. Both the Mississippi (BB-41) & Idaho (BB-42) were there at the time, with the Idaho arriving that day. 		USN photo # NH 42192, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
SS 158 110k Stern view of S-47 (SS-158) off San Francisco on 7 September 1943. She is heading for the suspension section of the Oakland Bay Bridge. USN photo # 6346-43, courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.
SS 158 50k Broadside view of S-47 (SS-158) off San Francisco on 7 September 1943. USN photo # 6342-43,courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.
SS 158 127k Bow on view of S-47 (SS-158) off San Francisco on 7 September 1943. USN photo # 6350-43,courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.
SS 158 170k Port quarter view of the S-47 (SS-158) off San Francisco on 7 September 1943. You can now see Yerba Buena Island with both ends of the Oakland Bay Bridge. USN photo # 6347-9-43,courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.
SS 158 32k S-47 (SS-158), possibly off San Francisco on 7 September 1943. USN photo courtesy of Robert Hurst.
SS 158 129k S-47 (SS-158), entering dry dock ARD-6 at Dutch Harbor, Alaska, 25 January 1944. USN photo courtesy of "US Warships of World War II" by P. Silverstone. Partial text contributed from P. Silverstone & Mike Green.
Pomodon 32k Rear Adm. Allen Alfred Bergner was the Commanding Officer of the S-47 (SS-158) from December 1944 to October 1945. Official photograph of the U.S. Navy courtesy of Bill Gonyo.
View the S-47 (SS-158)
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
PigBoats.COM TM A Historic Look at Submarines
Back To The Main Photo Index Back To the Submarine Index
Problems and site related matters, E-mail Webmaster
This page is created and maintained by Michael Mohl
All Pages © 1996 - 2024 NavSource History