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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive
Patch contributed by Mike Smolinski

Jack (SS-259)

Radio Call Sign: November - Bravo - Papa - Juliet
Gato Class Submarine: Laid down, 2 February 1942, at the Electric Boat Co., Groton, CT.; Launched, 16 October 1942; Commissioned USS Jack (SS-259), 6 January 1943;
After shakedown, sailed from New London, CT and received pre-deployment outfitting at Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo, CA before departing for duty at Pearl Harbor on 2 May 1943. Participated in the submarine offensive and, after 9 patrols in the Pacific war, Jack returned to New York, NY on 3 October 1945. On 8 June 1946, she was decommissioned at New London and held in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet.
In 1958, Jack was briefly re-commissioned to receive snorkel and sail modifications before being transferred (on loan) to the Hellenic Republic of Greece under terms of the Security Assistance Program.
On 21 April 1958, she was commissioned HS Amfitriti (also transliterated as Amphitriti). She was the second submarine of the Hellenic Navy to bear the name of the sea nymph and goddess of the Mediterranean. Amfitriti also bore three different pendant numbers ( S-09, Y-17 and S-17) while in Greek service.
Her name was canceled 28 April 1959 to clear the name for SSN-605, ordered in March 1959 to be built by Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, N.H.; After being returned to the custody of the United States, the submarine was used as a target for the U. S. Navy's 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean on 5 September 1967 and sunk at approx 32 degrees 16' N x 132 degrees 05' East. She was struck from the Naval Vessel Registry Stricken on 1 September 1967.
Jack was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation and received 7 battle stars for World War II service.
Researched by CTRC Donald J. Wagner, USN (Ret.) for NavSource.
Partial data submitted by Ron Reeves (of blessed memory)& & Yves Hubert.

Specifications: Displacement, Surfaced: 1,526 t., Submerged: 2,424 t.; Length 311' 9"; Beam 27' 3"; Draft 15' 3"; Speed, Surfaced 20.25 kts, Submerged 8.75 kts; Complement 6 Officers 54 Enlisted; 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 Hoover, Owens, Rentschler Co. main generator diesel engines, 5,400HP, Fuel Capacity, 97,140 gal., four Allis Chalmers Manufacturing Co. main motors, 2,740HP, two 126-cell main storage batteries, twin screws.
Click On Image
For Full Size		Size Image Description Source
Jack 22k Commemorative postal cover marking the keel laying of the Jack (SS-259) at the Electric Boat Co., Groton, CT., 2 February 1942. Photo courtesy of Jack Treutle (of blessed memory).
259
0825909		 NR Launches New Sub
Bottle up, Mrs. Frances B. Seely, of Groton, Conn., gets ready to launch the new U. S. submarine Jack (SS-259) at an east coast port. A vote of fellow employes of the company that built the undersea fighter won her the honor of sponsoring the vessel. She is a gold star mother. Her son William, 19, was lost in the attack on Pearl Harbor.		 Image and text provided by Central Michigan University, Clark Historical Library
Photo from The Ypsilanti Daily Press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 19 October 1942, Image 2, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
SS 259
0825924		 131k Postal cover of the launching of the Jack (SS-259) with the photograph and signature of the sponsor, Mrs. Francis Bailey Seely, a Gold Star mother & employee of Electric Boat.
Her son, S1c William Eugene Seeley, was KIA aboard the battleship Arizona during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941. 		Photo courtesy of Dale Hargrave.
Jack 636k Jack (SS-259) starts her slide into the waters at the Electric Boat Co., Groton, CT., 16 October 1942. USN photo # 80-G-40213 from NARA, College Park, Maryland, courtesy of Sean Hert.
Jack 29k Commemorative postal cover marking the launching of the Jack (SS-259), 16 October 1942. Photo courtesy of Jack Treutle (of blessed memory).
Jack 17k Commemorative postal cover marking the commissioning of the Jack (SS-259), 6 January 1943. Photo courtesy of Jack Treutle (of blessed memory).
Jack 351k Jack (SS-259) off Mare Island on 13 December 1943. USN photo # 8328-43, courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.
Jack107kPlan view forward of the Jack (SS-259) at Mare Island on 17 December 1943. Photo # 8330-43 courtesy of Richard Moore & submitted by Ron Reeves (of blessed memory)
Jack 85k Bow on view of the Jack (SS-259) in Mare Island channel on 17 December 1943. USN photo # 8324-43, courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.
Jack 99k Stern view of the Jack (SS-259) departing Mare Island on 17 December 1943. USN photo # 8325-43, courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.
Jack 99k Broadside view of the Jack (SS-259) off Mare Island on 17 December 1943. She was in overhaul at the yard from 18 October until 26 December 1943. USN photo # 8326-43, courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.
Jack 119k Undated pre-war image of the Yamashita Kisen KK owned general cargo ship Yosida Maru No.1 underway. Yosida Maru No.1 (5,425 grt): IJN transport 1943. Torpedoed and sunk on 26 April 1944 (in convoy*) at (position 18 degrees 06' N, 119 degrees 47' E) by the submarine Jack (SS-259). Photo courtesy Yamashita/ navix Line archives. Taken from "The World's Merchant Fleets: 1939" by Roger W. Jordan via Robert Hurst.
Jack 854k Jack (SS-259) underway in the North Pacific, 24 October 1945. USN photo # USN 351871 courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
SS 259
0825925		 1.14k Six page PDF history of the Jack's (SS-259) WW II service. USN photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Jack447k Jack's (SS-259) crew poses with the fruit of her effort. USN photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Jack 49k The Jack's (SS-259) WW II battleflag.
USN photo courtesy of ussubvetsofworldwarii.org.
Jack318kThe Jack's (SS-259) WW II battleflag & patches.Photo #'s CSF226-1-57 thru 228 courtesy of Richard Moore & submitted by Ron Reeves (of blessed memory)
Jack761kThree page PDF on Comdr. T. M. Dykers obituary that appeared in the Houston Post 23 September 1975. He was the Jack's (SS-259) initial CO. Photo courtesy of Richard Moore & submitted by Ron Reeves (of blessed memory)
Jack203kThe jacket Dick Reardin Jr. wore during his service aboard the Jack (SS-259) during WW II. Photo courtesy of Rich Reardin.
HHMS Amfitriti (S-17)
Jack302kThe following three photos show the Jack (SS-259) at Philadelphia Naval Ship Yard sometime between December 1957 & February 1958. Note all the bedding and supplies on her deck. She decommissioned at New London 8 June 1946, and was placed in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet.
She recommissioned briefly 20 December 1957, to prepare for transfer to the government of Greece and after training operations was loaned to the Royal Hellenic Navy 21 April 1958. 		Photo #'s CSF226-1-57 thru 228 courtesy of Richard Moore & submitted by Ron Reeves (of blessed memory) Partial text courtesy of DANFS.
Jack179k Jack (SS-259) at Philadelphia Naval Ship Yard sometime between December 1957 & February 1958.
Note the deck gun still on her bow.		Photo courtesy of Richard Moore & submitted by Ron Reeves (of blessed memory)
Jack314kJack (SS-259) at Philadelphia Naval Ship Yard sometime between December 1957 & February 1958.
Note the trash receptacles on the pier awaiting everything on her deck. 		Photo courtesy of Richard Moore & submitted by Ron Reeves (of blessed memory)
Jack149kStarboard broadside view of the Jack (SS-259) on the Delaware River off Philadelphia Naval Ship Yard on 4 March 1958 after undergoing Fleet snorkel conversion prior to transfer to Greece. Photo # CSF-597-3-58 courtesy of Richard Moore & submitted by Ron Reeves (of blessed memory)
Jack 66k The Jack (SS-259) as HHMS Amfitriti (S-17) in August 1961. USN photo courtesy of ussubvetsofwwii.org.
Jack 141k HHMS Amfitriti (S-09), underway circa 1964. Photo Royal Hellenic Navy, Official, courtesy of Robert Hurst, from the 1964-65 Edition of Jane's Fighting Ships.
Jack 150k Jack (SS-259) laying on her port side after being used as a target and shortly before sinking, 5 September 1967, in the Mediterranean Sea. Contributed by Tony Vrailas.
Fremantle 365k This plaque was unveiled 20 March 1995 by His Excellency Major General P.M. Jeffery OA MC, Governor of Western Australia to commemorate the sacrifices made by Allied submarines that operated out of Fremantle, Western Australia during WW II. Photo courtesy of Ron Reeves (of blessed memory).
View the Jack (SS-259)
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
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