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NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive

Falcon (ASR 2)



Call sign:
Nan - Easy - King - Nan

ex-AM-28
ex-Minesweeper No. 28



Call sign (1919):
George - Tare - Sail - Fox
Lapwing Class Minesweeper:

  • Laid down 14 November 1917 by the Gas Engine and Power Co. and C.L. Seabury Co., Morris Heights, NY
  • Launched 7 September 1918
  • Commissioned USS Falcon, Minesweeper No. 28, 12 November 1918
  • Designated AM-28, 14 August 1921
  • Reclassified as a Submarine Rescue Vessel, ASR-2, 12 September 1929
  • Collided in heavy fog 12 April 1940 with U.S. freighter El Oceano in Buzzards Bay, MA, near Hens and Chickens Lightship
  • Decommissioned 18 June 1946
  • Sold 12 March 1947
  • Fate unknown.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 1,400 t.
  • Length 187' 10"
  • Beam 37' 6"
  • Draft 13' 2"
  • Speed 14 kts.
  • Complement 91
  • Armament: 20mm mounts or smaller
  • Propulsion: Two Babcock and Wilcox 200psi saturated steam boilers, one Harlan and Hollingsworth 1,400shp vertical triple expansion engine, one shaft.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    USS Falcon, Minesweeper No. 28
    Falcon 52k
    Namesake:

    Falcon - A longwinged hawk

    		 Tommy Trampp
    Falcon
    110202807    		 1.10k THIS SHOWS THE MINE SWEEPER Falcon as it was towing the target through the shallow water. After getting into deeper water, the target is towed by means of a three-inch tow line 24 June 1919. National Archives Identifier: 86726434
    Photo courtesy of catalog.archives.gov
    Falcon 334k Original photo: c. 1919
    Replacement photo: U.S. Navy photo    		 Replacement photo: Jim Kurrasch, Battleship Iowa, Pacific Battleship Center
    Falcon 79k c. 1919
    U.S. Navy photo NH 54138    		 Naval Historical Center
    Falcon 124k c. 1919-1920, Falcon escorting the German destroyer G102 to a U.S. port. The G102 was turned over to the U.S. as war reparations, she was later expended as a target
    U.S. Navy photo NH 45786
    Falcon 295k Photo from "Sweeping the North Sea Mine Barrage" by the U.S. Navy North Sea Minesweeping Detachment Joe Radigan
    USS Falcon (AM 28)
    Falcon 127k 23 December 1924, off Pensacola with sails rigged
    U.S. Navy photo NH 54140    		 Naval Historical Center
    Falcon 100k 7 July 1926, S-51 being towed into the New York Navy Yard, supported by salvage pontoons. The S-51's conning tower is visible between the middle pair of pontoons, Falcon is assisting from the rear of the tow
    Courtesy San Francisco Maritime Museum, San Francisco, CA. 1969
    U.S. Navy photo NH 69222
    Falcon 280k c. December 1927
    Off Provincetown, MA
    A diver from Falcon preparing to dive on the sunken S-4
    Courtesy of the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection    		 Boston Public Library
    Falcon 80k c. 1928 .
    Falcon 92k
    Falcon 221k 17 March 1928
    Off Provincetown, MA
    Falcon and Wandank (AT 26) positioning pontoons
    Courtesy of the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection    		 Boston Public Library
    Falcon 273k
    Falcon 372k 17 March 1928
    Off Provincetown, MA
    Preparing to raise S-4
    Courtesy of the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection
    Falcon 323k 17 March 1928
    Off Provincetown, MA
    S-4 comes to surface after being on the bottom for 4 months in 102 ft. of water
    Courtesy of the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection
    Falcon 335k 18 March 1928
    Boston Navy Yard
    S-4 arriving at the Navy Yard. It took 14 hours to cover the 49 miles between the salvage site and the Navy Yard
    Courtesy of the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection
    Falcon 290k USS S-4 (SS-109), Being towed to the Boston Navy Yard, Charlestown, Massachusetts, after being raised off Provincetown, Massachusetts, where she had been sunk in collision with USCGC Paulding on 17 December 1927. Original caption gives this photo's date as 19 March 1928, but it may have been taken the day before. Salvage pontoons are supporting S-4, four located forward and two aft. The ship immediately astern of S-4 is probably Falcon
    Naval History and Heritage Command photo NH 41832    		 Robert Hurst
    Falcon 144k "Commander Harold Eugene Saunders, USN, (left center) is turning on the air lines, attached to the sunken submarine S-4 (SS-109), to force her to the surface during salvage operations off Provincetown, Massachusetts, where she had been sunk in collision with USCGC Paulding on 17 December 1927. Original caption gives this photo's date as 19 March 1928, but it may have been taken somewhat earlier. Probably photographed on board USS Falcon (AM-28)."
    Naval History and Heritage Command photo NH 41831    		 Bill Gonyo
    Falcon 198k c. April 1928
    Boston Navy Yard
    Courtesy of the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection    		 Boston Public Library
    Falcon 107k 14 December 1928, In port, the submarine S-4 moored alongside Falcon
    Courtesy San Francisco Maritime Museum, San Francisco, CA. 1969
    U.S. Navy photo NH 68837    		 Naval Historical Center
    Falcon 74k 20 December 1928, during salvage tests off New London. USS S-4 being supported by salvage pontoons, with Falcon (AM-28) assisting from alongside and a U.S. Coast Guard patrol boat off her bow
    Courtesy San Francisco Maritime Museum, San Francisco CA, 1969
    U.S. Navy photo NH 69221
    USS Falcon (ASR 2)
    Falcon 102k Photo contributed by Fred Reep. Photo and text from http://www.naft.net Robert Hurst
    Falcon 91k c. 1920s to early 1930s, Falcon seen here serving as a submarine rescue ship but still retaining her original hull number. The submarine rescue symbol is painted on her bow
    U.S. Navy photo NH 54139    		 Naval Historical Center
    Falcon 55k Photo from the 1937 movie “Submarine D-1.” It shows the USS Falcon (ASR-2) and it was taken in the summer of 1937 at the Submarine Base [New London], Groton, CT Dave Johnston
    Falcon 77k 29 April 1939
    Off New York City
    Courtesy Donald M. McPherson, 1969
    U.S. Navy photo NH 67740A    		 Original photo: Naval Historical Center
    Replacement photo: Darryl Baker
    Photo added 4 October 2021
    Falcon 82k 24 May 1939
    Wandank (AT-26) at left, and Falcon moored over the sunken Squalus (SS-192) during rescue operations. The McCann Rescue Chamber, which brought 33 of Squalus's crew to safety, is visible on Falcon's after deck
    U.S. Navy photo NH 57508    		 Naval Historical Center
    Falcon 85k 24 May 1939
    Anchored over the sunken Squalus, a day after that submarine sank on trials
    Naval History and Heritage Command photo NH 57508 (cropped from above photo)    		 Mike Green
    Falcon 423k Bow of USS Squalus (SS 192), which showed for a brief moment against a background of pontoons and salvage ships, before she broke her chains and sank again off the coast of New Hampshire, probably on 13 July 1939. Falcon is the center salvage vessel shown in the background
    Office of Information Agency photo 306-PSB-56-16761 from National Museum of the U.S. Navy     		Michael Mohl
    Falcon 90k c. 1939
    In position over Squalus
    Photo contributed by Craig Rothhammer. Photo and text from http://www.naft.net    		 Robert Hurst
    Falcon 131k c. 1939 Richard Miller, BMCS, USNR, Ret.
    Falcon 155k
    Falcon 101k
    Falcon 290k c. 1939
    "On the bridge of the USS Falcon (AM-28) standing Left to right are CDR Earl LeRoy Sackett (Junior Aide to the Commander of the Squalus Rescue and Salvage Operations), Lt. Oliver Francis Naquin ( C.O. USS Squalus), RADM Cyrus William Cole (Commander of the Squalus Rescue and Salvage Operations) and Captain Richard Stanislaus Edwards (Senior Aide to the Commander of the Squalus Rescue and Salvage Operations). RADM Cole was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal and Captain Richard Stanislaus Edwards was awarded the Navy Cross."     		Bill Gonyo
    Falcon 143k Scene on the after deck of Falcon during the early stages of the salvage operations, 30 May 1939, showing congested conditions. View looks to port, with men assisting a diver toward the left. Officer behind them, in center, appears to be Commander Allan R. McCann
    Photographed by the Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, Maine.
    Naval Historical Center photo NH 57501
    Falcon 137k Scene on the after deck of Falcon during the early stages of the salvage operations, 30 May 1939, showing congested conditions. View looks forward and to port, with diving stage in left center background. Officer leaning against the hawser in left center appears to be Commander Allan R. McCann
    Photographed by the Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, Maine
    U.S. Navy photo NH 57500 from the Naval History and Heritage Command    		 Robert Hurst
    Falcon 86k Scene on the after deck of Falcon during the early stages of the salvage operations, 30 May 1939, showing congested conditions. View looks forward and to port, with diving stage in left center background
    Photographed by the Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, Maine
    U.S. Navy photo NH 57502 from the Naval History and Heritage Command
    Falcon 103k Scene on the after deck of Falcon during the early stages of the salvage operations, 30 May 1939, showing congested conditions. View looks aft and to starboard, with officers and men in foreground gathered near the diver communications unit (in lower left)
    Photographed by the Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, Maine
    U.S. Navy photo NH 57504 from the Naval History and Heritage Command
    Falcon 77k A diving bell on the after deck of USS Falcon (ASR-2) during the early stages of the salvage operations, 30 May 1939. This is not a McCann Rescue Chamber, but is a smaller unit
    Photographed by the Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, Maine
    U.S. Navy photo NH 57503 from the Naval History and Heritage Command
    Falcon 216k The McCann Rescue Chamber in the water alongside Falcon during the rescue of 33 men still alive and trapped in the sunken submarine Squalus (SS-192), off the New Hampshire coast, circa 24-25 May 1939. The submarine sank when the main induction valve in the engine room stuck in the open position, flooding her after compartments when she submerged
    Naval History and Heritage Command photo NH 97292
    Falcon 234k Falcon moored over the sunken Squalus (SS-192), during salvage operations off the New Hampshire coast in the Summer of 1939. USS Sculpin (SS-191) is in the
    right background
    Naval History and Heritage Command photo NH 1149028    		 Robert Hurst
    Falcon 108k c. May - September 1939
    "On the Bottom -- A tense moment during salvage operations -- USS Squalus". Photographed on the after deck of Falcon, with men listening to communications from a diver working on the sunken submarine
    Naval History and Heritage Command photo NH 97293
    Falcon 112k 21 June 1941
    Portsmouth, NH
    "SALVAGE SHIP STANDS BY IN SUB HUNT-The U.S. Navy salvage ship Falcon, king-pin of the Squalus rescue, stands by near the spot where the submarine O-9 disappeared ready to begin salvage operations today. A submarine that aided in the hunt for the doomed craft is in the background."
    Associated Press wirephoto bw70900pjc    		 Ron Reeves
    Falcon 119k c. June 2015
    Ships bell given to V. A. Barton when he departed King Abdul-Aziz Naval Base, Jubail, Saudi Arabia during the first Gulf War (2 August 1990 – 28 February 1991,
    Operation Desert Shield)    		 V. A. Barton, CTC, USN, Ret.
    Armed Forces Retirement Home, Gulfport, MS
    Commanding Officers
    01LT Bailey Edgar Rigg, USN12 November 1918
    02LT John Conrad Lindberg, USN - Awarded the Navy Cross (1919)1 June 1919
    03LT John Carl Heck, USN18 November 1922 - 11 October 1924
    04LT Henry Hartley, USN - Awarded the Distinguished Service Medal (1925) and the Navy Cross (1928)
    Retired as Rear Admiral    		11 October 1924
    05LT Gregoire Francois Joseph Labelle, USN - Awarded the Navy Cross (1919) - Retired as Lieutenant10 June 1929
    06LT John Chinn Redman, USN6 February 1931
    07LT Joseph Bryan Renn, USN - Retired as Rear Admiral2 June 1932
    08LT Richard Ellington Hawes, USN - Awarded two Navy Crosses (1926/1941)
    Retired as Rear Admiral    		17 May 1933
    09LT George Arthur Sharp, Jr., USN - USNA Class of 1929
    Awarded the Legion of Merit (1945) - Retired as Rear Admiral    		1 March 1938 - 1940
    10LT William Shirley Stovall, Jr., USN - USNA Class of 1929
    Awarded two Navy Crosses (1942) - Retired as Rear Admiral    		27 May 1938
    11LT George Kenneth MacKenzie, Jr., USN5 May 1941 - 31 May 1942
    12LCDR John Lee Hunter, USN31 May 1942 - 10 October 1944
    13LT John Wilbur Thompson, USN10 October 1944 - 9 September 1945
    14LT Worth Thomas Windle, USN9 September 1945 - 31 March 1946
    15LT Harry J. Messick, USN31 March 1946 - 18 June 1946
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler, Ron Reeves and Joe Radigan
    View the Falcon (AM-28)
    DANFS History entry located on the Haze Gray & Underway Website
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