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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive

S-25 (SS-130)

Radio Call Sign: November - India - November - Papa
S-25 served both the US and Polish Navies (Lend Lease from U.K.)

S-18 Class Submarine (Holland-type): Laid down, 16 October 1918, at Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp., Quincy MA.; Launched, 20 May 1922; Commissioned, USS S-25 (SS-130), 9 July 1923; On 4 November 1941 she was Decommissioned from the U.S., transferred to the United Kingdom & commissioned into the Royal Navy as P 511 & subsequently transferred (lend-leased) to the Polish Navy and re-named ORP Jastrzab (Polish for Hawk). This happened under the agreement between the governments of Great Britain and the Polish government in exile in the U.K. on 3rd December 1940.
The Polish flag was raised on Jastrzab on 4 November 1941 in New London.
Final Disposition: Accidentally sunk on first operational patrol by allied escorts, Norwegian destroyer St. Albans ex-USS Thomas (DD-182) and minesweeper HMS Seagull off Norway, 2 May 1942. These vessels were assigned as escorts for convoy PQ-15 bound for Murmansk, en route, they subsequently encountered icebergs on their way & got off course about 70 miles to the south, accidentally entering into the operational sector of Jastrzab (based on other sources Jastrzab was some way out of planned position). In any event, the submarine was detected by the escorts & the Jastrzab was badly damaged by depth charges and forced to the surface; there she was strafed, despite showing yellow recognition smoke candles.) Five of her crew were lost, including the British radio operating officer and six injured, including the commander.
In September 1942 the crew of Jastrzab was decorated with Cross of Valour, and later received (lend-lease) a new U.K. built submarine. She was active in the Mediterranean and called ORP Dzik.{Boar)
On 13 July 1943, a Royal Navy Court found the commanders of St. Albans and HMS Seagull guilty of sinking Allied units not in their assigned operational sector.
Text courtesy of Hubert Gosciniak.

Specifications: Displacement, Surfaced: 854 t., Submerged: 1,062 t.; Length 219' 3" ; Beam 20' 8"; Draft 15' 11"(mean); Depth Limit 200'; Speed, Surfaced 14.5 kts, Submerged 11 kts; Complement, 4 Officers, 34 Enlisted; Armament, four 21" torpedo tubes, 12 torpedoes, one 4"/50 deck gun; Propulsion, diesel-electric, New London Ship & Engine diesel engines, hp 1200, Fuel Capacity, 41,192 gals.; Ridgeway Dynamo & Electric Co., electric motors, hp 1500, Battery Cells, 120, twin propellers.
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S-25
0813018		 45k Sponsor: Mrs. Ross P. Schlabach (Vera Hobart), wife of Commander R. P. Schlabach, U. S. Navy, Superintending Constructor. Partial text via Ships of the United States Navy and Their Sponsors, 1913—1923, by Anne Martin Hall (Editor), Edith Wallace Benham (Editor),pg 204. & findagrave.com
SS 129, SS 130 & SS 133 379k S-24 (SS-129), S-25 (SS-130) & S-28 (SS-133) at Groton, CT, 4 May 1923. USN photo # 19-N-10271, from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), courtesy of Daniel Dunham.
SS 130 341k Stern view of the S-25 (SS-130) on a temporary wooden platform at Groton, CT, 5 July 1923. USN photo # 19-N-10273, from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), courtesy of Daniel Dunham.
SS 131 123k S-25 (SS-130) is seen on the Marine Railway at the Boston Navy Yard on 22 October 1923. Boston Navy Yard photo # 7158, National Park Service, Boston National Historical Park, cat. no. BOSTS-14143 courtesy of Stephen P. Carlson, Preservation Specialist, Boston NHP, Charlestown Navy Yard.
SS 130 135k Portside view of the S-25 (SS-130) possibly off New London, CT., during 1923 - 24. USN photo courtesy of ussubvetsofwwii.org.
SS 109103kThe Submarine Tender Holland (AS-3) in port, with several S-boats type submarines alongside, circa 1926. Note the Submarine Division Eleven insignia on the fairwaters of the two inboard subs. Submarines present are (from inboard to outboard):
unidentified;
S-25 (SS-130):
S-7 (SS-112):
S-4 (SS-109):
S-6 (SS-111) &
S-8 (SS-113). 		USNHC photograph # NH 53436.
S-boats 608k The Savannah (AS-8). Date is 1923 to 1927. Location is hard to determine, and could be anywhere from the Atlantic coast all the way to Hawaii. Alongside are the S-25 (SS-130) and another 20 series S-boat. Photo & text i.d. courtesy of David Johnston (USN, retired)
USN photo thanks to Jim Kurrasch @ Battleship Iowa, Pacific Battleship Center.
Savannah 114k Savannah (AS-8) at Portland, OR., during the 1920s. Submarines alongside are (from left to right): S-27 (SS-132), S-29 (SS-134) and S-25 (SS-130). Photo by Peck.
USN photo # NH 71012 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
Photo donated to the US Naval Historical Center by LT. Gustave Freret, USN (Retired), 1970.
SS 130 839k Portside view of the S-25 (SS-130) with crew on deck in moderate seas, during the 1920s. USN photo courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.
SS 138 900k I included the original Mare Island Public Works photo (above) which show waterfront paving work at the yard on 25 June 1925 and a cropped view of the S class submarine on the far left of the photo.
"Prison labor" means that the prisoners from Mare Island Naval Brig were doing the work, another story of the yard not often told.
Shipyard journals of the period indicate that the submarine in the foreground is S-33 (SS-138) and she was in overhaul at the yard from 1 September 1924 until 3 October 1925. You will note the temporary access patch over her engine room. The six boats in the background are S-24 (SS-129), S-25 (SS-130), S-26 (SS-131), S-27 (SS-132), & S-28 (SS-133) & S-29 (SS-134), all arrived at the yard on 24 June 1925 along with Savannah (AS-8). It appears the photo was taken from the stern of the Savannah. 		Vallejo Naval & Historical Museum photo courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.
S-25 639k S-25 (SS-130) pulling into Naval Station San Diego at the 32nd Street piers, 1924-1928. Photo i.d. via Ric Hedman & David Johnston (USN, retired)
USN photo thanks to Jim Kurrasch @ Battleship Iowa, Pacific Battleship Center.
S-9 731k All the boats in the image are S-boats.
On the left is the S-9 (SS-114). The next is probably S-24 (SS-129). All of the rest are 20 series boats. The boat in the background IS NOT the S-2 (SS-106). It is a 20 series like the others. The last digit in the boat's name is obscured by the torpedo davit on the boat in the middle.
As for a location, the pier in the background looks like some images I have seen of San Pedro, California. Although the fact that this came from the New York Daily News Archive seems to indicate the Brooklyn Navy Yard or some location in the city.
I can't see the stern of any of the boats. This helps in dating the photo. It appears that the aft skeg of the S-24 is still in place and there are no post S-4 (SS-109) safety modifications so this would indicate that the photo was taken in the mid to late 1920's, but this is only a rough guess. 		Photo & text i.d. courtesy of David Johnston
Photo by NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images, courtesy of gettyimages.com.
SS 130 106k Bow on view of the S-25 (SS-130) at fuel dock, probably off Southern California, circa 1926-28. Photo courtesy of Phil Lucy.
SS 130 81k Deck gun of the S-25 (SS-130), probably off Southern California, circa 1926-28. Photo courtesy of Phil Lucy.
SS 130 & 131 108k S-25 (SS-130) and S-26 (SS-131) in dry-dock, circa 1926-28, at Mare Island.
 Photo courtesy of Phil Lucy.
SS 130 & 131163k Port quarter view looking to aft end of the S-26 (SS-131) & S-25(SS-130), in Mare Island dry dock about 1926-28. Photo courtesy of Phil Lucy.
SS 131 116k Torpedo room of the S-25 (SS-130), circa 1926-28. Photo courtesy of Phil Lucy.
SS 131 190k S-25's (SS-130) crew poses between 1932 and 1933.
Among the crew members pictured is the XO of the S-25, Louis Shane Jr., who would subsequently go on to climb the command ladder and rise to the rank of Lieutenant Commander (Commanding Officer) of the Shark (SS-174), the first U.S. sub lost at sea, 11 February 42. 		Photo courtesy of John Shane.
SS 130 431k Broadside port view of the S-25 (SS-130) in Hawaii, probably circa late 1930's. USN photo # 19-N-17946, from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), courtesy of Daniel Dunham. Photographed probably by Tai Sing Loo.
ORP Jastrzab
Dutch Harbor NR U.S. SUBMARINES GO INTO WAR DUTY
The British flag (left) and the Polish flag (right) fly over a pair of American submarines during a ceremony at the United States submarine base here yesterday as the undersea craft were turned over to the British and Polish navies. One craft was built in 1919, the other in 1923.
The S-25 (SS-130) on the right was transferred to the United Kingdom & commissioned into the Royal Navy as HMS P.511 & subsequently transferred (lend-leased) to the Polish Navy and re-named ORP Jastrzab (Polish for Hawk).
The boat on the left is the R-3 (SS-80) which would become HMS P.511 & stay as such. 		Image and text provided by Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
Photo courtesy of Evening Star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 05 November 1941, Image 3, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
A P. Wirephotos.
S-25
0813017		 NR Poles Take Over U. S. Submarine
Under terms of the lend-lease act, two average United States submarines were turned over to the British and Polish navies at the Groton submarine bases, Groton, Conn. The Polish crew is shown going aboardvthe submarine, an 800-ton craft built In 1931. The British got a 600-ton submarine built in 1918.		 Image and text provided by Montana Historical Society; Helena, MT.
Photo & text by Carbon County News. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, [volume] (Red Lodge, Mont.) 1936-current, 14 November 1941, Image 3, courtesy of chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
Dutch Harbor 902k The handing over ceremony to rename the ex-American S-class submarine S-25 (SS-130), ORP Jastrzab (ex-HMS P.511).
Lt.Cmdr. Bolesaw Romanowski waits for officials in front of the crew. 		Photo from the book Wielkie dni ma?ej floty (Big day, A small fleet) by Jerzy Pertek, Wydawnictwo Poznaskie, 1976 via Robert Hurst.
SS 130 409k Location where the Jastrzab, ex-S-25 (SS-130) was mistakenly sunk by the Norwegian destroyer St. Albans and the British minesweeper HMS Seagull in the Norwegian Sea in position 71º30'N, 12º32'E., 5 men died. Photo courtesy of Google Earth.
Text courtesy of Great Circle Mapper - © Karl L Swartz / uboat.net.
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