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
Patches contributed by Mike Smolinski

Flying Fish (SS-229) (AGSS-229)

Radio Call Sign: November - Foxtrot - Alpha - Papa
Gato Class Submarine: Laid down, 6 December 1940, at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, ME, Launched, 9 July 1941; Commissioned USS Flying Fish (SS-229), 10 December 1941; Reclassified Auxiliary Research Submarine (AGSS-229), 29 November 1950; Decommissioned, 28 May 1954, at New London, CT.; Laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet; Struck from the Naval Register, 1 August 1958; Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 1 May 1959. Flying Fish received 12 battle stars for World War II service.

Specifications: Displacement, Surfaced: 1,526 t., Submerged: 2,410 t.; Length 311' 10"; Beam 27' 3"; Draft 15' 2"; Speed, Surfaced 20.25 kts, Submerged 8.75 kts; Complement 6 officers, 54 enlished; Operating Depth, 300 ft; Submerged Endurance, 48 hrs at 2 kts; Patrol Endurance 75 days; Cruising Range, 11,000 miles surfaced at 10 kts; Armament, ten 21" torpedo tubes, six forward, four aft, 24 torpedoes, one 3"/50 deck gun, two .50 cal. machine guns, two .30 cal. machine guns; Propulsion, diesel electric reduction gear with four Fairbanks-Morse diesel engines, 5400 hp, Fuel Capacity, 94,400 gals., four Elliot Motor Co., electric motors, 2740 hp, two 126-cell main storage batteries, twin screws.
Click On Image
For Full Size		Size Image Description Source
Flying Fish 28k Commemorative post mark on the occasion of Flying Fish's (SS-229) keel laying, 6 December 1940, at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, N.H. Photo courtesy of Bill Gonyo.
229
0822932		379kThe Flying Fish (SS-229) was sponsored by Mrs. Husband E. Kimmel, wife of the Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet, at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, ME, 9 July 1941. Photo courtesy of Manning Kimmel IV, grandson of the sponsor, via Robbyn Swan (CO-Author with husband Anthony Summers) of A Matter of Honor: Pearl Harbor: Betrayal, Blame, and a Family's Quest for Justice
Flying Fish 204k Flying Fish (SS-229) at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, ME, 9 July 1941. USN photo courtesy of ussubvetsofworldwarii.org.
Flying Fish 426k The Flying Fish (SS-229) is waterborne after sliding down the launching ways at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, ME, 9 July 1941. National Archives Identifier: 7788738
Photo courtesy of catalog.archives.gov
Spadefish 177k Flying Fish (SS-229) with the yard tugs Yaqui & Pennacook bringing vessel to berth # 2 at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, ME, 9 July 1941. USN photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Flying Fish 53k Commemorative post mark on the occasion of Flying Fish's (SS-229) launching, 9 July 1941. Photo courtesy of Jim Savo, Skate (SS-305) Plankowner, who also served on the Flying Fish during WW II, submitted by Greg Krenzelok.
Flying Fish 23k Commemorative post mark on the occasion of Flying Fish's (SS-229) launching, 9 July 1941. Courtesy of Jack Treutle (of blessed memory).
229
0822933		685kCommissioning on 10 December 1941 at Portsmouth Navy Yard, New Hampshire. Lieutenant Commander G.R. Donaho, USN, reads orders of commissioning, 10 December 1941. Photo courtesy of history.navy.mil
Flying Fish 35k Commemorative post mark on the occasion of Flying Fish's (SS-229) first day in commission, 10 December 1941. Photo courtesy of Jim Savo, Skate (SS-305) Plankowner, who also served on the Flying Fish (SS-229) during WW II, submitted by Greg Krenzelok.
Donaho 75k In 1940 and 1941 Lt. Glynn R. Donaho was Commanding Officer of the submarine R-4 (SS-81). When the United States entered World War II on 7 December 1941, Lieutenant Donaho was Prospective Commanding Officer of the new submarine Flying Fish (SS-229), which he placed in commission a few days later and operated with distinction during six war patrols in the Pacific. He was promoted to Lieutenant Commander at the beginning of 1942 and to Commander in September of that year.
During 1944 and several months of 1945 he commanded both a submarine division and the submarine Picuda (SS-382), conducting further notably successful combat operations against Japanese shipping. Donaho finished the Pacific War as a battleship force staff officer.
He is pictured here as a Vice Admiral. 		Official USN photo # NH 99330, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center, submitted by Bill Gonyo.
Haddock 757k THEY GOT 250,000 TONS.
Photo taken on 22 May 1943 at Pearl Harbor and run in the Vallejo Times Herald on 25 May 1943. Awards are for CDR Fenno in Runner (SS-275), LCDR Morton in Wahoo (SS-238), LCDR Donaho in Flying Fish (SS-229) and LCDR Taylor in Haddock (SS-231). 		Photo from the Vallejo Times Herald, Vallejo, California, 25 May 1943, courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.
Flying Fish 152k The Flying Fish (SS-229), leaving Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, for testing for her newly added mine detection and clearance equipment. In May she would make her 12th and last war patrol wearing this measure 32 camouflage paint scheme. The boat is equipped with a 20mm gun forward and a 40mm gun aft. A 5"/25 cal. gun is mounted on the main deck aft. Photo and text courtesy of The Floating Drydock, Fleet Subs of WW II" by Thomas F. Walkowiak.
Flying Fish 65k The aft lookout keeps a sharp eye out for any contacts on board the Flying Fish (SS-229). Circa 1944-45. USN photo # NH-9356. Photo and text courtesy of The Floating Drydock, Fleet Subs of WW II" by Thomas F. Walkowiak.
Flying Fish 210k Crew photo of the Flying Fish (SS-229) at Brisbane Australia at the New Farm Wharf in July of 1944.
Victor A Barnhart Jr is in the first row, third from the right. 		Photo courtesy of Dale Martin and Jim Savo, Skate (SS-305) Plankowner, who also served on the Flying Fish (SS-229) during WW II, submitted by Greg Krenzelok.
Flying Fish 1.49k Flying Fish (SS-229) remained on her scouting station until 23 June 1944, then sailed for Manus and Brisbane. Here she refitted between 5 July and 1 August .
She is pictured in Brisbane, Queensland drydock in July 1944. 		Text courtesy of DANFS.
Photo courtesy of former Flying Fish crewmember William Apostolos via Tony Bachta.
Flying Fish 73k Flying Fish (SS-229) crew photo. Courtesy of the Richard W. McIlrath estate, Motor Machinist's Mate and throttleman aboard the Flying Fish (SS-229) during all 12 war patrols.
Images courtesy of Richard D. Johnson. Author of "Seeds of Victory" & "Tiger Patterns".
Flying Fish 47k Richard W. McIlrath and some WW II experiences while onboard Flying Fish (SS-229). Courtesy of the Richard W. McIlrath estate, Motor Machinist's Mate and throttleman aboard the Flying Fish (SS-229) during all 12 war patrols.
Images courtesy of Richard D. Johnson. Author of "Seeds of Victory" & "Tiger Patterns".
Flying Fish 251k The Wallem & Co A/S- owned tramp steamer Solviken at anchor, 31 May 1935. In 1940 Solviken (2,398 grt) was renamed Capella under the Panamanian flag. 8 December 1941 seized off Saigon, French indo-China by Japanese. August 1942 renamed Minami Maru. Torpedoed and sunk on 1 April 1944 while moored off Kita Daito-Jima (25 degrees 59' N, 131 degrees 19' E) by the submarine Flying Fish (SS-229). Photo courtesy Wallem & Co. Taken from "The World's Merchant Fleets: 1939" by Roger W. Jordan via Robert Hurst.
Operation Barney
0828330		2.54k
Submarine Force Pacific Fleet...
extends to.....
membership in the distinguished order of...
Mighty Mine Dodgers
A small band of brave men of high courage who have completed with skill, ingenuity and tenacity a task that required a transit of the most dangerous of war waters through enemy minefields and penetrating what the Emperor of Japan considered his inviolate waters....The Sea of Japan. No weapon of Dai Nippon could halt these determined men. They did wilfully and with due knowledge of the dangers involved, carry out their assigned task to emerge from incontrovertible proof of the success of their daring, thus becoming members of the Mighty Mine Dodgers and thus entitled to all the rights and privileges thereof.
Let all men who read this scroll be forever grateful and respectful of those heroic American submariners who went in and especially to those who gave their lives in this operation. The job was superlatively well done.
Chas Lockwood
Vice Admiral
This was Operation Barney		Operation Barney link courtesy of Steven Trent Smith, World War II Magazine via navytimes.com
Photo courtesy of the family of Charles H Wagner Jr., TM2c (SS) USNR. Service from 1942-1946, aged 18-22, aboard S-37 (SS-142) & Tinosa (patrols 6-12).
Spadefish 390k Hellcats get together one by one:
From inboard to outboard: Flying Fish (SS-229) & Spadefish (SS-411), July 1945. 		USN photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Spadefish 269k Hellcats get together two plus one:
From inboard to outboard: Flying Fish (SS-229), Spadefish (SS-411) & with Bowfin (SS-287) approaching, July 1945. 		USN photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Spadefish 298k Hellcats get together three plus one:
From inboard to outboard: Flying Fish (SS-229), Spadefish (SS-411), Bowfin (SS-287) with Tinosa (SS-283) approaching, July 1945. 		USN photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Spadefish 241k Hellcats get together with one to go:
From inboard to outboard: Flying Fish (SS-229), Spadefish (SS-411), Bowfin (SS-287), Tinosa (SS-283) & Skate (SS-305) approaching, July 1945. 		USN photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Spadefish 192k All together now:
From inboard to outboard: Flying Fish (SS-229), Spadefish (SS-411), Bowfin (SS-287), Tinosa (SS-283) & Skate (SS-305) July 1945. 		USN photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Flying Fish 134k Flying Fish (SS-229), Spadefish (SS-411), Tinosa (SS-283), Bowfin (SS-287), and Skate (SS-305) as they appeared from a photo taken at the top of training tower at Sail 9 in 1945. USN photo courtesy of "Proceedings" magazine, submitted by George Klos.
Flying Fish 84k Flying Fish (SS-229), returning to Pearl Harbor in July, 1945 with other members of wolf pack. USN photo courtesy of Mike Green.
Flying Fish 164k VADM Lockwood going aboard the Flying Fish (SS-229) on 4 July 1945 to congratulate her captain & crew on a successful 12th War Patrol. The Flying Fish was part of the "Hellcats Group". The officers are identified from left to right: Risser, Foly, Siegloft, VADM Lockwood, Bruton and Comstock. USN photo courtesy of Robert M. Cieri.
Crews 269k Crew get together;
From inboard to outboard: Flying Fish (SS-229), Spadefish (SS-411), Tinosa (SS-283) and Skate (SS-305), July 1945. 		USN photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Flying Fish 167k Conning tower shot of the Flying Fish (SS-229), in Pearl Harbor, most likely mid to late July of 1945. Her Ships emblem is resting on the deck leaning against the conning tower. USN photo courtesy of Ric Hedman.
Flying Fish 98k WW II battle flag of the Flying Fish (SS-229). Photo courtesy of Dale Martin & Jim Savo, Skate (SS-305) Plankowner, who also served on the Flying Fish (SS-229) during WW II, submitted by Greg Krenzelok.
Flying Fish 6.14k PDF article of the Flying Fish (SS-229). This is a short history of the twelve patrols between December 1941 and 15 August 1945. It is fifty nine pages long and ends with totals of sunk and damaged and a summary of miles steamed and days spent on patrol. PDF article courtesy of Victor A Barnhart Jr, via John D. Bozarth & Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Flying Fish 501k Front cover of a four page welcome aboard program of the Flying Fish (SS-229) and giving a brief history of her accomplishments and submarines during WW II and post Cold War period. Photo courtesy of Dale Martin & Jim Savo, Skate (SS-305) Plankowner, who also served on the Flying Fish (SS-229) during WW II, submitted by Greg Krenzelok.
Spadefish 208k During the next 8 years, from her base at New London, the veteran Flying Fish (SS-229) conducted reserve training cruises in Long Island and Block Island Sound, exercised off the Virginia Capes, trained men of foreign navies, joined in major operations in the Caribbean, and cruised to Canadian ports. Text courtesy of DANFS.
USN photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Spadefish 334k Flying Fish (SS-229) and crew come to rest. USN photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Spadefish 150k Flying Fish (SS-229) tied up. USN photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Spadefish 280k Broadside view of & friend & Flying Fish (SS-229) tied up. USN photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Flying Fish 441k Not your typical South Seas tropical atoll in the background: Flying Fish (SS-229) is shown here after she returned to New London sometime after 21 September 1945 to become flagship of Commander, Submarine Force, Atlantic Fleet.
Note her emblem is missing. 		Photo courtesy of David Buell.
Partial text courtesy of DANFS.
229 & 481148kRequin (SS-481) and Flying Fish (SS-229) berthed at the Baltimore Inner Harbor for Navy Day activities, 20-27 October 1945. From the collection of Henry V Roberts, USS Schroeder, submitted in honor of her father by Gail Roberts McGinn via John Chiquoine.
Flying Fish 23k Commemorative post mark on the occasion of Navy Day, 27 October 1946. Courtesy of Jack Treutle (of blessed memory).
Grouper305kSecretary of the Navy D. A. Kimball (Stetson over heart during ceremony) and party during a photo op held dockside prior to their boarding the Flying Fish (SS-229). The Sea Robin (SS-407) & Grouper (SS-214) are in the background. Photographer: Peter Stackpole, courtesy of time.com. via Bill Gonyo & Life.
Flying Fish 106k On board for the event was a distinguished party headed by Secretary of the Navy D. A. Kimball.
Bow on shot of the boat tied to the pier. 		Photographer: Peter Stackpole, courtesy of time.com. via Life.
Flying Fish 114k Commemorative plaque entitled Five Grander issued to the crew of the Flying Fish (SS-229) after the ceremony marking the boat's 5,000th dive. Photographer: Peter Stackpole, courtesy of time.com. via Life.
Sarda91kFlying Fish (SS-229) circa 1951 at rest at a pier with the fleet submarine Sarda (AGSS-488), location unknown. Flying Fish is fitted with the large GHG (Gruppen Horsch Gerat) conformal sonar array taken from the German heavy cruiser KMS Prinz Eugen.USN photo and text from The American Submarine by Norman Polmar, courtesy of Robert Hurst.
Flying Fish 106k "With lines reminiscent of the Civil War's Monitor, the Flying Fish (SS-229) was fitted with a unique round conning tower containing experimental sonar equipment."
On 11 January 1951, she began to serve the Underwater Sound Laboratory in sonar experiments. On 29 February 1952, at 1053, Flying Fish made submarine history as she dived for the 5,000th time, first American submarine to reach such a record. On board for the event was a distinguished party headed by Secretary of the Navy D. A. Kimball.
Stern view of her on this ocassion.		 Partial text courtesy of DANFS.
Insert photo via Robert Hurst.
Text & photo courtesy of Sea Classics Magazine, submitted by Lawrence W. Lee Jr.
229
0822902		379kSETTING A NEW RECORD IN SUBMARINE HISTORY
... The submarine Flying Fish (SS-229), with Navy Secretary Dan A. Kimball at the controls, complete its 5,000th dive recently, setting a new record for American submarine dives. Leaving the submarine on the completion of the trip in New London, Kimball (center) congratulates Lieutenant Commander R. W. Phipps (right), commanding officer of the sub. Rear Admiral Stuart S. Murray, commander of the submarine force of the Atlantic, looks on. The United Slates navy has estimated that the submarine has spent the equivalent of nine months under water since being commissioned three days after Pearl Harbor day. 		Image and text provided by Minnesota Historical Society; Saint Paul, MN.
Photo & text by St. Paul Recorder. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1934-2000, 21 March 1952, Image 3, courtesy of chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
229
0822907		462kFlying Fish (SS-229) underway on 23 March 1951. National Archives Identifier: 6931350
Photo courtesy of catalog.archives.gov via Robert Hurst.
View the Flying Fish (229)
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
Ep-21 (1) - Victory At Sea ~ Full Fathom Five - HQ
Back To The Main Photo Index Back To the Submarine Index
Problems and site related matters, E-mail Webmaster
This page is created by Gary Priolo, and maintained by Michael Mohl
All Pages © 1996 - 2024 NavSource History All rights reserved.