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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive
Contributed by Don McGrogan, BMCS, USN (ret.)

Icefish (SS-367)

Radio Call Sign: November - Juliet - Uniform - November
Balao Class Submarine: Laid down, 4 September 1943, at Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co., Manitowoc, WI.; Launched, 20 February 1944; Commissioned USS Icefish (SS-367), 10 June 1944; Decommissioned, 21 June 1946, at Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA; Laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet; Recommissioned, 5 May 1952; Decommissioned, 29 July 1952 at Groton, CT.; Converted to a Guppy type submarine; Recommissioned, 10 December 1952; Decommissioned, 21 February 1953, and transferred (loaned) under terms of the Military Defense Assistance Program, to The Netherlands, renamed, Walrus (S-802); Returned to US Navy custody, and struck from the Naval Register, 15 July 1971; Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 15 August 1971 to A.J. Van Den Kooy N.V., Rijnacker Netherlands for $ 105,105.00. on 11-12-71.Icefish earned four battle stars for World War II service.
Partial data submitted by Ron Reeves (of blessed memory)& Yves Hubert.

As built to the 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; Cruising Range, 11,000 miles surfaced at 10kts; Submerged Endurance, 48 hours at 2kts; Operating Depth, 400 ft; Complement 6 Officers 54 Enlisted; Armament, ten 21" torpedo tubes, six forward, four aft, 24 torpedoes, one 5"/25 deck gun, one 40mm, one 20mm, two .50 cal. machine guns; Patrol Endurance 75 days; Propulsion, diesel-electric reduction gear with four General Motors main generator diesel engines, 5,400 hp, Fuel Capacity, 116,000 gals., four General Electric main motors with 2,740 hp, two 126-cell main storage batteries, two propellers.
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Icefish36k Commemorative postal cover marking the keel laying of the Icefish (SS-367), 4 September 1943, at Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co., Manitowoc, WI.
Courtesy of Jack Treutle (of blessed memory).
Icefish
0836719		814kIcefish (SS-367) was sponsored by Mrs. Stanley P. Mosely, wife of Captain Mosely. Photo by Harry Berns, Official photographer of the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co., Manitowoc, WI.
This photo # P70-7-426, can be ordered from the Wisconsin Maritime Museum.
Icefish
0836720		1.15kIcefish (SS-367) sponsor Mrs. Stanley P. Mosely and friends at christening at Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company on 20 February 1944. Photo by Harry Berns, Official photographer of the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co., Manitowoc, WI.
This photo # P70-7-432, can be ordered from the Wisconsin Maritime Museum.
Icefish
0836721		953kIcefish (SS-367) sponsor Mrs. Stanley P. Mosely christening submarine at Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company on 20 February 1944. Photo by Harry Berns, Official photographer of the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co., Manitowoc, WI.
This photo # P70-7-433, can be ordered from the Wisconsin Maritime Museum.
Icefish62k Icefish's (SS-367) launching timbers begin to lift in the air as they feel her weight on the building ways at Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co, Manitowoc, WI., 20 February 1944.
Editors Note: There are over 200 images submitted on these pages covering the following submarines that were constructed at the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co, Manitowoc, WI,: SS-265 through SS-274, and SS-361 through SS-380.
None of them would have seen the light of day if it were not for the efforts of Curator, Asst. Director, Bill Thiesen of the Wisconsin Maritime Museum and Larry Bohn, who sent them to NavSource for publication.
A special debt of gratitude is owed to these two men and the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, home of the Cobia (SS-245), for allowing these photographs to be seen by the lovers of naval history worldwide.
Manitowoc55k Watercolor print by the artist Tom Denton of the side launching of a Manitowoc built boat. Courtesy of submarineart.com
Icefish36k Commemorative postal cover marking the Icefish's (SS-367) launching, 20 February 1944.
Courtesy of Jack Treutle (of blessed memory).
Icefish197k Starboard side view of the Icefish (SS-367) while undergoing sea trials on Lake Michigan shortly after being launched, 20 February 1944.
Photo by Harry Berns, Official photographer of the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co., Manitowoc, WI.
Submitted by Larry Bohn, courtesy of the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, home of the Cobia (SS-245)
Icefish200k Starboard side view of the Icefish (SS-367) while undergoing sea trials on Lake Michigan, February 1944.Photo by Harry Berns, Official photographer of the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co., Manitowoc, WI.
Submitted by Larry Bohn, courtesy of the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, home of the Cobia (SS-245)
Harry Berns485kPhoto of Harry Berns, Official photographer of the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co., Manitowoc, WI.
The photo of the Golet (SS-361) encased in snow appears on the wall above him on the upper right.
His obituary appears here. 		Photo courtesy of Susan Menk, Archives Assistant, Wisconsin Maritime Museum, Dee Anna Grimsrud,Reference Archivist, Wisconsin Historical Society, Steve Khail, CBC, Director of Investor Relations & Corporate Communications, The Manitowoc Company, Inc. & William Young.
Lagarto175kCrewmen and officers of the submarine Icefish (SS-367) eat a meal while seated at tables in the crews' quarters at the Navy Barracks on 16th Street, adjacent to Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company. This photograph was taken 16 May 1944 when actor Spencer Tracy and his brother and business manager Carroll Tracy visited the shipyards at the invitation of Richard W. Peterson, Commander of the Icefish . Tracy spent much of the day with the Icefish crew, including this meal at which he is seated third from the far end in the second row, beneath the man leaning over.Photo courtesy of Wisconsin Maritime Museum
Icefish18k Commemorative post mark on the occasion of Icefish's (SS-367) commissioning, 10 June 1944.Courtesy of Jack Treutle (of blessed memory).
Icefish52k Battle insignia of the Icefish (SS-367).
Photo by Harry Berns, Official photographer of the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co., Manitowoc, WI.
Submitted by Larry Bohn, courtesy of the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, home of the Cobia (SS-245)
Icefish55k Icefish (SS-367) WW II battleflag.USN photo courtesy of ussubvetsofwwii.org.
Icefish28k Icefish (SS-367) in June 1944 wearing the Ms 9 overall black camoflage.Courtesy of The Floating Drydock, Fleet Subs of WW II by Thomas F. Walkowiak.
Who Am I?440k Text accompanying this photo reads "Enlisted men repair and check instruments aboard a submarine just returned to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. May 1945."
Note: Many of the captions of Bristol's photography are lacking in details and some have the wrong dates, places and locations.
The "23" boat in question in this photo is definitely NOT the S-23 (SS-128). It is beyond a doubt a Salmon or Gato/Balao class fleet boat, and I would lean toward a Balao. The date of the photo is probably early to mid 1944.
The boat in question has the characteristicly fat, twin periscope shears and long, wide flat "cigarette" deck of a Balao. Directly above the head of the sailor who is working at the base of the aft scope is a radar mast. The sailor behind him is standing at and looking through the aft Target Bearing Transmitter (TBT). Barely visible on the far left of the photo is what I believe to be part of a 20 mm gun mount.
None of these features were ever present on any of the S-boats, even the later 40 series that were heavily modified (i.e. S-45 (SS-156) ) towards the end of the war. The whole conning tower fairwater on the boat in question is simply too large for a S-boat.
As for the "23" on the fairwater, I have seen wartime photos of fleet boats displaying mysterious one and two digit numbers that do not correspond to their hull number (see the Guardfish (SS-217) and Peto (SS-265) pages for examples). Despite a lot of research, I have not turned up an official explanation for these strange numbers. One source said that they were squadron or flotilla identifiers, but I can't back this up officially. It is possible that they were temporary numbers assigned while the boats were in home waters, maybe to cut down on friendly fire incidents. Strangely enough, these numbers also seemed to have been used briefly during WWI, as I have seen them on D, E, F, G, and H-class boats.
It is also entirely possible that these numbers are part of an official disinformation program designed to obscure the identities of the boats while allowing a wide distribution of photos to an information hungry wartime public. That would also account for the information inaccuracies attributed to otherwise highly thought of photographers.
Riveted construction on the conning tower fairwaters of the fleet boats was far more common than I previously thought. It seems that the fairwater plating was riveted to the supporting structure underneath during construction on virtually all of the fleet boats, no matter who built it. This was possible due to the fact that the fairwater was non-watertight and merely provided for a smooth flow of water around the conning tower and lower periscope shears.
Riveting was a long practiced and well known construction method, while welding was still relatively new and there was a fairly low number of skilled and experienced welders, and they had to be parceled out carefully depending on priority. All of the pressure resisting elements such as the conning tower and the main pressure hull were welded. The last fleet boat to have a riveted pressure hull was the Pompano (SS-181) in 1937. These original riveted fairwaters were retained until the end of the war, unless the boat had major rework of the fairwater performed (like most of the Gato's), or if the boat suffered battle damage. The rework jobs seemed to have been mostly welded.
I would lay money on it being a Manitowoc built Balao class and I will stick with the early to mid 1944 date.		 National Archives Record Administration (NARA) photo # 80-G-468179 & HD-SN-99-02504 by Lt. Comdr. Horace Bristol, from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil.
Partial text courtesy of Jason McDonald, President & Executive Producer MFA Productions LLC.
worldwar2database.com
Majority of text and photo i.d. courtesy of David Johnston
Lagarto450kCrewmen and officers of the submarine Icefish (SS-367) dockside, 1945. The contributor's father, CPhM John Hager, is 3rd from the right.Photo courtesy of Guy W. Hager.
Icefish116k Icefish (SS-367) entering Saipan Harbor, August, 1945.Courtesy of ussicefish.com.
Icefish254kIcefish (SS-367) sails into Portland Oregon, September 1945.USN photo courtesy of ussubvetsofwwii.org.
Mare Island Reserve Fleet137kReserve fleet at Mare Island, circa January 1946. There are 52 submarines and 4 Sub Tenders in this photo. This photo is a Berthing list identifying the ships in the picture. Photo commemorating 50 years, U. S. Submarine Veterans of WW II 1996 calendar, courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.
Mare Island Reserve Fleet453kPhoto of the Reserve fleet at Mare Island, circa January 1946. There are 52 submarines and 4 Sub Tenders in this photo. Whether coincidental or on purpose, the number of boats in the photo is the same as that which were lost in WW II.
From back to front and left to right, first group of 12 boats:
Sand Lance (SS-381)
Tunny (SS-282)
Aspro (SS-309)
Lionfish (SS-298)
Guvania (SS-362)
Sunfish (SS-281)
Macabi (SS-375)
Gurnard (SS-254)
Pampanito (SS-383)
Mingo (SS-261)
Guitarro (SS-363)
Bashaw (SS-241)
From back to front and left to right, second group of 12 boats:
Sealion (SS-315)
Hammerhead (SS-364)
Bream (SS-243)
Seahorse (SS-304)
Tinosa (SS-283)
Pintado (SS-387)
Mapiro (SS-376)
Pipefish (SS-388)
Moray (SS-300)
Batfish (SS-310)
Hackleback (SS-295)
Bluegill (SS-242)
From back to front and left to right, third group of 12 boats:
Hawkbill (SS-366)
Menhaden (SS-377)
Perch (SS-313)
Loggerhead (SS-374)
Barbero (SS-317)
Baya (SS-318)
Hardhead (SS-365)
Spadefish (SS-411)
Springer (SS-414)
Devilfish (SS-292)
Kraken (SS-370)
Dragonet (SS-293)
From back to front and left to right, fourth group of 12 boats:
Lamprey (SS-372)
Piranha (SS-389)
Manta (SS-299)
Pargo (SS-264)
Rancador (SS-301)
Archerfish (SS-311)
Mero (SS-378)
Sawfish (SS-276)
Spot (SS-413)
Lizardfish (SS-373)
Jallao (SS-368)
Icefish (SS-367)
From back to front and left to right, last group of 4 boats:
Steelhead (SS-280)
Puffer (SS-268)
Stickleback (SS-415)
Trepang (SS-412)
From back to front, Submarine Tenders group of 4 ships:
Pelias (AS-14)
Aegir (AS-23)
Euryale (AS-22)
Griffin (AS-13)
Photo commemorating 50 years, U. S. Submarine Veterans of WW II 1996 calendar, courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.
Mare Island Reserve Fleet227k The Icefish (SS-367) in the Mare Island Reserve Fleet on 13 October 1948. The other subs outbaord of Icefish are Jallao (SS-368), Trepang (SS-412), Spot (SS-413) and Stickleback (SS-415). USN photo # 1916-10-48, courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.
Icefish98kIcefish (SS-367) after being converted to a Guppy, post circa December 1952.USN photo courtesy of ussubvetsofwwii.org.
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).
Walrus (S-802)
Icefish863kex-Icefish (SS-367) , now Walrus (S-802), arriving in Rotterdam, South Holland, on 17 April 1953, from the United States of America. Photographer Harry Pot/ Anefo. This is an image from the Nationaal Archief, the Dutch National Archives. part number 905-6683, via Robert Hurst.
S-35
0836712		1.03k ex-Hawkbill (SS-366), as the Dutch Zeeleeuw (S-803) coming alongside ex-Icefish (SS-367), as the Dutch Walrus (S-802), Rotterdam, 7 March 1958. Note unidentified submarines opposite Walrus.Photographer Herbert Behrens/ Anefo copyright. This is an image from the Nationaal Archief, the Dutch National Archives. Item number: 909-3968, via Robert Hurst.
Icefish80kStarboard side view of the ex-Icefish (SS-367) after her transfer (loan) under terms of the Military Defense Assistance Program, to The Netherlands, renamed, Walrus (S-802), circa 1953-71.USN photo courtesy of ussubvetsofwwii.org.
Icefish183k Walrus (S-802) underway in 1965. Photo courtesy of Skyfotos via Robert Hurst.
Icefish313kCrewmen on deck of the Walrus (S-802) underway in 1969. Official Royal Netherlands Navy photo courtesy of Robert Hurst.
Mare Island Reserve Fleet252k Walrus (S-802) underway in British waters, 1971.Photo courtesy of Wright & Logan.
View the Icefish (SS-367)
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
Manitowoc Built Submarines
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