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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive

Patch contributed by Mike Smolinski

Corvina (SS-226)

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Click On Image For Full Size	Size	Image Description		Source By
	25k	The Shortfin Corvina, Cynoscion parvipinnis.		Courtesy of mexfish.com.
	31k	Commemorative post mark on the occasion of the Corvina's (SS-226) keel laying, 21 September 1942, at the Electric Boat Co., Groton, CT.		Courtesy of Jack Treutle (of blessed memory).
	44k	Commemorative post mark on the occasion of the Corvina's (SS-226) keel laying, 21 September 1942, at the Electric Boat Co., Groton, CT.		Courtesy of ebay.com.
	302k	U.S. submarine Corvina (SS-226), laying of the keel, 21 September 1942, at the Electric Boat Co., Groton, CT.		Electric Boat photo courtesy of Wendy S. Gulley, Archivist, Submarine Force Museum, Naval Submarine Base NLON, Groton, CT.
	500k	Official letter from the Electric Boat Company dated 5 February 1943 choosing Corvina's (SS-226) Sponsor, Mrs. R. W. Christie.		USN photo courtesy of Wendy S. Gulley, Archivist, Submarine Force Museum, Naval Submarine Base NLON, Groton, CT.
	698k	Official letter from the L.Y. Spear, President of the Electric Boat Company dated 23 February 1943 informing Mrs. R. W. Christie that she will sponsor the Corvina (SS-226) on 9 May 1943.		USN photo courtesy of Wendy S. Gulley, Archivist, Submarine Force Museum, Naval Submarine Base NLON, Groton, CT.
	288k	Topside looking forward of the Bonefish (SS-223), on the building ways at the Electric Boat Co., Groton, CT., 7 March 1943. Also under construction from right to left are the Cod (SS-224), Cero (SS-225), & at extreme right Corvina (SS-226). Directly under the photographer would have been the #1 way at the Old North Yard, which on 7 March would have been occupied by the keel of Sealion (SS-315).		Electric Boat Co / USN photo courtesy of ussubvetsofworldwarii.org. Text i.d. courtesy of David Johnston (USN, retired)
	311k	Letter from A.G. Barnes on 23 April 1943 congratulating Mrs. R. W. Christie as sponsor for the Corvina (SS-226).		USN photo courtesy of Wendy S. Gulley, Archivist, Submarine Force Museum, Naval Submarine Base NLON, Groton, CT.
	478k	Page 1 of a 2 page Official letter from the L.Y. Spear, President of the Electric Boat Company to Mrs. Claire Boothe Luce dated 28 April 1943 informing her of wartime procedures at the launching ceremonies.		USN photo courtesy of Wendy S. Gulley, Archivist, Submarine Force Museum, Naval Submarine Base NLON, Groton, CT.
	496k	Letter from the management of E.B. on 6 May informing employees that they may attend the launching of the Corvina (SS-226).		USN photo courtesy of Wendy S. Gulley, Archivist, Submarine Force Museum, Naval Submarine Base NLON, Groton, CT.
	183k	Mrs. R. W. Christie, sponsor for the U.S. submarine Corvina (SS-226), 9 May 1943.		Electric Boat photo courtesy of Wendy S. Gulley, Archivist, Submarine Force Museum, Naval Submarine Base NLON, Groton, CT.
	187k	U.S. submarine Corvina (SS-226) sponsor's party, Mrs. W.M. Christie & Mrs. R. W. Christie, 9 May 1943.		Electric Boat photo courtesy of Wendy S. Gulley, Archivist, Submarine Force Museum, Naval Submarine Base NLON, Groton, CT.
	87k	U.S. submarine Corvina (SS-226) sponsor's party, Mrs. W.M. Christie & Mrs. R. W. Christie, Mr. & Mrs. J.G. Venter, 9 May 1943.		Electric Boat photo courtesy of Wendy S. Gulley, Archivist, Submarine Force Museum, Naval Submarine Base NLON, Groton, CT.
	214k	Mrs. Ralph W. Christie, Sponsor for the Corvina (SS-226) and the bottle of champagne before it met the boat's bow on 9 May 1943.		Electric Boat photo courtesy of Wendy S. Gulley, Archivist, Submarine Force Museum, Naval Submarine Base NLON, Groton, CT.
	727k	Mrs. R.S. Rooney, Mrs. R. W. Christie, & Lt. Com. R. S. Rooney, 9 May 1943.		USN photo # 80-G-70669, from National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), College Park, Maryland, courtesy of Sean Hert
	938k	Electric Boat Launches Corvina (SS-226), Sixth Submarine Christened in 11 Weeks. Submarine Corvina Slides into the Thames.		Photo from The New London Evening Day, Monday 10 May 1943, courtesy of Wendy S. Gulley, Archivist, Submarine Force Museum, Naval Submarine Base NLON, Groton, CT.
	776k	The Corvina (SS-226) slides down the ways at the Electric Boat Co., Groton, CT, launched, 9 May 1943.		USN photo # 80-G-70680, from National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), College Park, Maryland, courtesy of Sean Hert.
	606k	Telegram from L.Y. Spear, President of the Electric Boat Company to Admiral Christie congratulating him on his wife's successful sponsoring of the Corvina (SS-226) on 9 May 1943.		USN photo courtesy of Wendy S. Gulley, Archivist, Submarine Force Museum, Naval Submarine Base NLON, Groton, CT.
	287k	Admiral Christie returns the favor to E.B.		USN photo courtesy of Wendy S. Gulley, Archivist, Submarine Force Museum, Naval Submarine Base NLON, Groton, CT.
0822630	754k	Launch Cachet Corvina (SS-226), 9 May 1943.		Photo courtesy of hipstamp.com
	968k	Corvina's (SS-226) crew & their significant others party at Polly's Inn off West Norwich Road, Montville, CT. 16 July 1943. Lieutenant Commander R. S. Rooney & wife are in the middle of the 3rd row. Polly's Inn burned down (total loss) during the night of 5 March, 1947. See the attached newspaper article (Front page, bottom right under FLASHES!).		USN photo courtesy of Wendy S. Gulley, Archivist, Submarine Force Museum, Naval Submarine Base NLON, Groton, CT. Polly's Inn insert courtesy of Joshua Blodgett.
	723k	Corvina's (SS-226) crew at Polly's Inn off West Norwich Road, Montville, CT. 16 July 1943. Lieutenant Commander R. S. Rooney is 7th from the right, front row. Lieutenant Commander (Executive Officer) David Kinney Sloan, Jr. is to his left.		USN photo courtesy of Wendy S. Gulley, Archivist, Submarine Force Museum, Naval Submarine Base NLON, Groton, CT.
	383k	Corvina's (SS-226) officers with their wives at Polly's Inn off West Norwich Road, Montville, CT. 16 July 1943. Lieutenant Commander (Executive Officer) David Kinney Sloan, Jr. is seated 4th from the left in the front row. Lieutenant Commander R. S. Rooney is in the middle, second row. The last officer and wife are William Chewning & wife Betsy.		USN photo courtesy of Wendy S. Gulley, Archivist, Submarine Force Museum, Naval Submarine Base NLON, Groton, CT. Insert photo courtesy of Tommy Burgdorf.
	368k	Ladies, music, cigarettes, and drinks.		USN photo courtesy of Wendy S. Gulley, Archivist, Submarine Force Museum, Naval Submarine Base NLON, Groton, CT.
	154k	Corvina's (SS-226) crew living it up while life lasted. Captions in the background posters are from the Four Freedoms speech by President Roosevelt.		USN photo courtesy of Wendy S. Gulley, Archivist, Submarine Force Museum, Naval Submarine Base NLON, Groton, CT.
	131k	Corvina's (SS-226) crew living it up while life lasted. Note the regulation hat.		USN photo courtesy of Wendy S. Gulley, Archivist, Submarine Force Museum, Naval Submarine Base NLON, Groton, CT.
	695k	Corvina's (SS-226) crew living it up while life lasted. No i.d. on the sailor with the bottle who seems to be the life of the party.		USN photo courtesy of Wendy S. Gulley, Archivist, Submarine Force Museum, Naval Submarine Base NLON, Groton, CT.
	169k	Raised glasses in a toast to the living.		USN photo courtesy of Wendy S. Gulley, Archivist, Submarine Force Museum, Naval Submarine Base NLON, Groton, CT.
	180k	Last look for the camera.		USN photo courtesy of Wendy S. Gulley, Archivist, Submarine Force Museum, Naval Submarine Base NLON, Groton, CT.
	31k	Commemorative post mark on the occasion of the Corvina's (SS-226) commissioning, 6 August 1943, at the Electric Boat Co., Groton, CT.		Courtesy of Jack Treutle (of blessed memory).
0822600	730k	Name these faces: Attached text reads: Crewmen relax with coffee in torpedo room of Corvina (SS-226) at submarine base New London, Ct. August 1943. The crewman looking up with the mug of coffee is Robert W. Finske, Radioman Third Class, and the crewman looking down from the bunk could be Max Frederick Micha, Motor Machinist's Mate, First Class. Delbert Lloyd Green, Jr., Chief Radioman, appears in the rear of the photo wearing radio headset.		Photo i.d. courtesy of Francis Joseph McDonough II. USN photo # 80-G-468673, by Cdr. Edward J. Steichen, from National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), College Park, Maryland, courtesy of Sean Hert
0822629	762k	Bobby in uniform with his mother. A short montage of Robert W. Finske's short life: (Baby pic with his grandfather, hanging out with his three sisters, Jean Marie, Terry, & Ann, and dressed up in white for his high school Prom at St. Mary's Catholic High School in Michigan City where, in his senior year was a founding member of the Oriflamme Society before joining the Corvina (SS-226). I have 4-5 of Bobbie’s letters he sent to my mother Terry, the last one being 11/10/43 before being considered MIA in 11/30/1943. He always kidded with her about the Marine and Army boys across the street at Notre Dame when she attended St. Mary’s College. Bobbie’s other sister, Jeanne Marie, was a member of the Sister of the Holy Cross Congregation of Notre Dame in South Bend for over 70 years. Not surprised by Bobbie’s hunch, Terry met and married a handsome Army fella at Notre Dame and married at the Log Chapel on UND campus in 1954 under Father Hesburgh & Father Cavanaugh. Terry’s husband, John M. McDonough, passed away on July 3rd 1987 while both were watching the movie ‘The Longest Day’. He died instantly of a massive heart attack with Terry next to him at home. He was only 61 when he departed. My mother is still alive and the last living person in Bobbie’s family, a matriarch. She was 95 on July 16th 2021. I see it in my mother’s eyes she always thinks of Bobbie. Now with the Lost 52 Project she is determined to fight on to stay alive in hope they do find Corvina someday. I told my mother about this and I could see the tears and renewed spirit in her to continue to be strong and alive. That’s my take is why she is still alive these days. She is an amazing woman. She was an Emergency Room Nurse Supervisor and acting Director at Los Alamos Medical Center in New Mexico, not far from where they made the nuclear bombs.		Photo & text courtesy of Francis Joseph McDonough II & Bobbie's sister, Terry McDonough.
	498k	Submarine gun crew in action! Manning a 4-incher, these deep-seamen are duelling on the surface. Hot-shell man (possibly Joseph Edward Halpin, Jr.) removes shell case as the third loader passses up shell. Photographed at the Submarine Base, New London, Conn. Photo released 4 November 1943.		Text courtesy of Theodore Roscoe, from his book "U.S. Submarine Operations of WW II", published by USNI. USN photo # 80-G-43491 by Cdr. Edward J. Steichen, from National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), College Park, Maryland, courtesy of Sean Hert.
0822625	NR	Our Subs Are Hitting the Japs Where It Hurts! WITH their score in Jap ships sunk or damaged soaring to the 500 mark, American submarines are bleeding the arteries of Japan at a pace that threatens desperate straits for the long overseas communications of her lately seized empire. Vital but unglamorous is this steady whittling down of enemy tonnage, particularly in transport vessels, by our growing undersea fleet. These pictures take you aboard one of the ships of that fleet, show you the young Americans serving cheerfully within the sleek steel hulls the sun may not touch for weeks at a time. Haunting the very coastal waters of Japan means submersion all day, surfacing only at night. It takes iron nerve, discipline, relieved only by such comforts as can be packed within the tightly allotted space of a sub's hull. What it takes the Yank sub crews have shown they have plenty of!   Note: There is at least one photo here that is of the Corvina (SS-226) & one of the Capelin (SS-289) & the possibility exists there are more as well. It is somewhat ironic that by the date of the release of this article the Corvina was already lost & the Capelin would follow, possibly within a less than a week.		Image and text provided by Library of Congress, Washington, DC. Photo & text by Evening Star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972,  28 November  1943, Image 96, courtesy of chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
	210k	Daddy's little girl: Torpedoman's Mate, Third Class John Rosta from Perth Amboy, New Jersey and his only child, 7 year old Patricia Ann sit together before going off to the Pacific aboard the Corvina (SS-226) where he and the rest of the 81 man crew would be K.I.A. on 16 November 1943. John Black wrote: "While my mother had 6 kids and was married for over 58 years, her father's death affected her for the rest of her life. We talked often about him."		Photo courtesy of his grandson & namesake, John Black.
	63k	Japanese submarine I-176, which sank the Corvina (SS-226). Note: This was the first patrol for both submarines. 16 November 1943: Cdr Roderick S. Rooney's Corvina, on her first war patrol, Drum (SS-228) and Blackfish (SS-221) receive an ULTRA message about the arrival of I-176 and are sent to intercept her. 300 miles S of Truk. At 2312 (K), when heading N at 16 knots, the lookouts on partially flooded I-176 sight a dark object in northeasterly direction, 8,800 yards away, illuminated by the bright moonlight. Lt.Cdr Yamaguchi orders to prepare for diving and turns toward the target. Four minutes later it is identified as a "Perch-class" submarine, evidently in the process of recharging her batteries. 17 November 1943: I-176 crash-dives, goes to silent running and by 0057 reaches the position on Corvina's starboard quarter, distance 2,700 yards. Lt.Cdr Yamaguchi considers the firing angle excessive and orders to battle-surface in 15 minutes. At 0112, Corvina suddenly turns towards the I-176. Yamaguchi orders to belay the order to surface and makes a turn himself, keeping the target on his port beam. At 0120 Yamaguchi fires three torpedoes from bow tubes. Twenty-five seconds later two heavy explosions are heard and the boat is shaken considerably. Corvina blows up and sinks with all 82 hands at 05-50N, 151-10E. At 0130, after making a periscope search, I-176 surfaces and heads for the site of attack. An oil slick and various debris are sighted.		Text & photo courtesy of combinedfleet.com.
	NR	Submarine Corvina (SS-226) Missing on Patrol		Image and text provided by Library of Congress, Washington, DC. Photo from Evening Star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 7 March 1944, Image 7, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
	7k	Roderick Shanahan Rooney, Commander (Commanding Officer) of the Corvina (SS-226) at the time of her loss.		USN photo courtesy of oneternalpatrol.com.
	56k	Commemorative photo in honor of the memory of the crew of the Corvina (SS-226).		Photo courtesy of Tom Kermen. Dante's Prayer courtesy of Loreena McKennitt via loreenamckennitt.com
	296k	Letter from the Navy Dept. dated 14 March 1944 informing Mrs. Robert E. Ennis, Jr, the next of kin of Machinist's Mate, First Class Robert E. Ennis, Jr, of the Corvina (SS-226) loss in action.		USN photo courtesy of Wendy S. Gulley, Archivist, Submarine Force Museum, Naval Submarine Base NLON, Groton, CT.
	287k	Letter from Admiral Lockwood dated 11 March 1947 informing the wife of Robert E. Ennis, Jr. that there were no survivors from the Corvina (SS-226).		USN photo courtesy of Wendy S. Gulley, Archivist, Submarine Force Museum, Naval Submarine Base NLON, Groton, CT.
	860k	More than 28,000 Americans that gave their lives in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War are memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial. Among them is Roderick Shanahan Rooney, CO of the Corvina (SS-226).		Photo & text courtesy of abmc.gov
	52k	Google Earth satellite photo of Corvina's (SS-226) last approximate position based during post-war debriefings. This position is thought to be the final resting place of the Corvina and her crew.		View courtesy of Google Earth.
	255k	Port broadside view of a model of the Corvina (SS-226) & her bridge built under the direction of Joe Christian, supervisor of the metal shop in the Northern Nevada Correctional Center in Carson City.		Photos courtesy of Alicia Barber, Ph.D., Stories in Place LLC
0822628	2.26k	One of a series of photos of Corvina (SS-226) under glass.		Photo courtesy of usscorvinabase.org
	3.62k	5 Page PDF on the Corvina (SS-226) that appeared in Sea Classics Magazine by Robert Sabels.		USN photos courtesy of Wendy S. Gulley, Archivist, Submarine Force Museum, Naval Submarine Base NLON, Groton, CT.
	117k	Joyce DaSilva, the wife of Jesse DaSilva of the Tang (SS-306), one of the nine survivors of the boat, tosses a flower into a reflecting pool to honor the memory of one of the 52 submarines lost during World War II at the National Submarine Memorial-West on board Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach, Calif. On this Veterans Day, the Submarine Veterans of World War II transferred ownership of the memorial to the U.S. Navy. The following text is from The Coming Fury by Bruce Catton., pg. 478. "Major Sullivan Ballou of Rhode Island was killed in the battle, and just before it he had wrote to his wife, Sarah, to tell her that he believed he was going to be killed and to express a tremulous faith that could see a gleam of light in the dark: "But O Sarah! If the dead can come back to this earth and float unseen around those they loved, I shall always be near you in the gladdest days and in the gloomiest nights, always, always, and if there be a soft breeze upon your chest it shall be my breath, as the cool air fans your throbbing temple it shall be my spirit passing by. Sarah, do not mourn me dead; think I am gone and wait, for we shall meet again!"		Text i.d. courtesy of Marlynn Starring. Photo i.d. courtesy of Chuck Senior, Vice Commander, Los Angeles-Pasadena Base, USSVI. USN photo # N-1159B-021 by Journalist 2nd Class Brian Brannon, courtesy of news.navy.mil.
	289k	This could have been the view through the periscope lens of the Japanese submarine I-176 when she sunk the Corvina (SS-226) had it been in daytime, but she was sunk at night, illuminated by an almost full moon. This is the Devilfish (SS-292), being sunk as a target by Wahoo (SS-565) at San Francisco, CA., 14 August 1968. In Memorium: In the Second Book of Shmuel (Samuel), 22nd chapter, 5th through the 20th verses, translated from the original in Hebrew and published by the Koren Publishers of Jerusalem, Israel, 1982, can perhaps aptly describe the fate of the crew and all other U.S. submariners who died defending their county: "When the waves of death compassed me / the floods of ungodly men made me afraid; / the bonds of She'ol encircled me; / the snares of death took me by surprise; / in my distress I called upon the Lord, / and cried to my G-D: / and he heard my voice out of his temple, / and my cry entered into his ears. / Then the earth shook and trembled; /the foundations of heaven moved / and shook because of his anger /...the heavy mass of waters, and thick clouds of the skies /... And the channels of the sea appeared, / the foundations of the world were laid bare, / at the rebuking of the Lord, at the blast at the breath of his nostrils. / He sent from above, he took me; / he drew me out of many waters; / he delivered me from my strong enemy, and from those who hated me; for they were too strong for me. / They surprised me in the day of my calamity: / but the Lord was my stay / He brought me forth also into a large place: / he delivered me because he delighted in me./"		USN photo, courtesy of ussubvetsofworldwarii.org.

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View the Corvina (SS-226)
DANFS history entry located on the Haze Gray & Underway Web Site.

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Crew Contact And Reunion Information
U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation
Fleet Reserve Association

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Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
On Eternal Patrol
ComSubPac Report of loss of USS Corvina (SS 226) November 16 1943 - 82 Men Lost
Ep-21 (1) - Victory At Sea ~ Full Fathom Five - HQ
USS CORVINA SS-226 MEMORIAL

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