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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive
Patch on left contributed by Harold F.(Carl) Carlson & submitted by Gary Carlson. Patch on right courtesy of Mike Smolinski.

Marlin (SS-205)

Radio Call Sign: November - Echo - November - Victor
Mackerel Class Submarine: Laid down, 28 May 1940, at Portsmouth Navy Yard, on Seavey Island in Kittery, Maine. Launched, 29 January 1941; Commissioned, USS Marlin (SS-205), 1 August 1941; Decommissioned, 9 November 1945, at Boston, MA.; Struck from the Naval Register, (date unknown); Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 29 March 1946, to Boston Metal Co., Baltimore, MD.

Specifications: Displacement, Surfaced: 825 t., Submerged: 1,179 t.; Length 238' 11"; Beam 21' 8"; Draft 15' 2"; Speed, Surfaced 16 kts, Submerged 9 kts; Complement 4 Officers, 34 Enlisted; Armament, six 21" torpedo tubes, 12 torpedoes, one 3"/50 dual purpose deck gun, two .50 cal. machine guns, two .30 cal. machine guns; Propulsion, diesel-electric, four Electric Boat Co. diesel engines, 3,360 hp, Fuel Capacity, 29,000 gals., four Electro Dynamic electric motors, 1,500 hp, Battery cells 120, twin propellers.
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For Full Size		Size Image Description Source
Marlin 15k Commemorative postal cover on the occasion of the keel laying of the Marlin (SS-205), 28 May 1940, at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Portsmouth, N.H. Courtesy of Jack Treutle (of blessed memory).
Grayling665kGrayling (SS-209) stern view from after catwalk, 10 July 1940.
The submarine under construction to the left is the Marlin (SS-205), she is considerably smaller than the Grayling by more than 20%.		Photo i.d. courtesy of David Johnston.
US National Archives photo # 19LCM 350-40, from National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), College Park, Maryland, courtesy of Sean Hert.
Marlin 15k Commemorative postal cover on the occasion of the first day of postal service on the Marlin (SS-205), 22 September 1941. Courtesy of Jack Treutle (of blessed memory).
Grenadier458kBow view looking aft of the Grenadier (SS-210) from overhead large crane, 1 October 1940.
The Marlin (SS-205) is under construction on the ways to the left of the Grenadier. 		Photo i.d. courtesy of David Johnston.
US National Archives photo # 19LCM 553-40, from National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), College Park, Maryland, courtesy of Sean Hert.
Marlin408kMrs. John D. Wainwright, sponsor for U.S. Submarine Marlin (SS-205), Navy Yard, Portsmouth, NH., 29 January 1941. National Archives Identifier: 7788713
Photo courtesy of catalog.archives.gov
205 673k Navy Yard Portsmouth, N.H. Launching Party at Launching of U.S. Submarine Marlin (SS-205), Mrs. John D. Wainwright, Sponsor, Miss Jane A. Breakey, Maid of Honor. Photo courtesy of NARA, Creator: Department of Defense. Department of the Navy. First Naval District. Portsmouth Naval Station. 9/1947-ca. 1961. National Archives Identifier: 7788735 Container Identifier: 4.
Marlin 22k Commemorative postal cover on the occasion of the launching of the Marlin (SS-205), 29 January 1941. Courtesy of Jack Treutle (of blessed memory).
Marlin 59k Commemorative postal cover on the occasion of the commissioning of the Marlin (SS-205), 1 August 1941, at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Portsmouth, N.H.
 USN photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Marlin 24k Commemorative postal cover on the occasion of the Marlin's (SS-205) first deep dive, 14 October 1941. Courtesy of Jack Treutle (of blessed memory).
Navy Day20kCommemorative postal cover marking Navy Day, 27 October 1941 and the following submarines commissioned since the previous year:
Trout (SS-202),
Tuna (SS-203),
Mackerel (SS-204),
Marlin (SS-205),
Gar (SS-206),
Grampus (SS-207),
Grayback (SS-208),
Grayling (SS-209),
Grenadier (SS-210) &
Gudgeon(SS-211). 		Courtesy of Jack Treutle (of blessed memory).
205 1.03k Looking down the length of the forward section of the Marlin (SS-205). Photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
205 211k Scene from the 1943 20th Century Fox production of the movie Crash Dive, Starring Tyrone Power and Dana Andrews. These two photos show the Marlin (SS-205) backing out from a slip at the Naval Submarine Base New London, CT where the exterior shots were filmed. Marlin played the lead in this movie. In the center of the photo is the 3"/50 caliber Mk 6 deck gun. Immediately forward of the gun is an extension of the conning tower fairwater, and an open hatch that leads to the after battery/crew's mess can be seen. This extension is a unique feature of the Marlin. This is the as-built configuration for the Marlin. She would eventually have the covered pilothouse forward of the bridge cut down and have radars installed. Photo & text courtesy of David Johnston.
205 178k Scene from the movie Crash Dive, showing a close up of the Marlin (SS-205) conning tower fairwater. The conning tower itself was considerably shorter that the ones on the fleet boats and was not much more than an access trunk to the bridge. Both of the periscopes let into the control room. The oval cutout in the fairwater near the deck led into the interior of the fairwater and was used by the gun crew to access the main deck, though a door in the aft end of the small conning tower. Notice the mount on the aft fairwater "cigarette" deck for a water cooled M2 50 caliber machine gun. The gun was dismounted and taken below when the boat dived, leaving the mount topside. The fairwater around the pilothouse forward of the bridge would be cut down in May 1943 in an effort to lesson the boat's silhouette. Photo & text courtesy of David Johnston.
205 210k A late summer 1942 photo of the Marlin's (SS-205) forward deck. This shows the slotted teak decking, with the stowage area for the boat's liberty launch on the left. The launch set into a recess in the superstructure and was covered by this piece of removable decking. It was lifted and set into the water by a collapsible derrick/crane. Photo & text courtesy of David Johnston.
205 197k A view from aft of the Marlin's (SS-205) conning tower fairwater. The stepped arrangement of the fairwater is very evident in this photo, giving the Marlin a unique appearance. Photo & text courtesy of David Johnston.
205 185k In this photo of Marlin's (SS-205) after deck you can see (top to bottom), the raised hatch to the After battery/crew's mess, the 3"/50 caliber Mk 6 deck gun, the open engine room hatch, raised covers (port and starboard) for the engine mufflers, emergency rescue buoy (starboard), the after torpedo loading hatch, and the after torpedo room access hatch. Photo & text courtesy of David Johnston.
205 171k This live action scene from Crash Dive shows Marlin (SS-205) firing her deck gun. The boat is ballasted down, in order to provide easy access to the deck for three men in a rubber raft, which is out of frame in this shot. Photo & text courtesy of David Johnston.
205 186k The raft returning to the Marlin (SS-205) during the gun battle scene. Co-star Tyrone Power is in the middle of the raft. Photo & text courtesy of David Johnston.
205 155k Port bow shot of the Marlin (SS-205) during the closing of the movie Crash Dive. The circular antenna on the deck forward of the fairwater is for low frequency communications and can receive signals while the boat is surfaced or at periscope depth. Photo & text courtesy of David Johnston.
205 189k A scene from the 1943 movie Crash Dive, showing an unidentified O-class submarine backing out of a berth at the Naval Submarine Base New London, CT in the late summer of 1942. The boat can not be positively identified, but is one of group of eight O-class submarines that were brought out of mothballs to train submarine crews. This particular boat is either O-2 (SS-63),O-3 (SS-64), O-4 (SS-65), O-7 (SS-68), O-8 (SS-69), or O-10 (SS-71). The submarine in the foreground is the Marlin (SS-205). Photo & text courtesy of David Johnston.
Marlin 103k Photographed off Portsmouth on 19 May 1943, Marlin (SS-205) poses for a broadside view. USN photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Marlin 172k Photographed off Portsmouth on 19 May 1943, Marlin (SS-205), shows war alterations, most importantly the 20-mm gun platform abaft her bridge, the wire loop for underwater HF reception, & an SD air warning radar. Another 20-mm gun was mounted forward of her bridge.
 USN photo.
Text courtesy of U.S. Submarines Through 1945, An Illustrated Design History by Norman Friedman. Naval Institute Press.
Marlin 187k Marlin (SS-205) as modified, 19 May 1943, showing her SJ & SD radars. She retained her old bridge face, with its windows, but had the roof removed to provide an open bridge, with a venturi to protect it. USN photo. Text courtesy of U.S. Submarines Through 1945, An Illustrated Design History by Norman Friedman. Naval Institute Press.
Marlin 81k Marlin (SS-205), underway in June 1943, place unknown. USN photo courtesy of Mike Green.
Marlin 388k Port side view of the Marlin (SS-205), probably taken in 1943 while she was employed patrolling and training ships off New London and Portsmouth, N.H. USN photo courtesy of ussubvetsofworldwarii.org.
Marlin 446k On board the Marlin (SS-205), at New London, Conn. Sailor looks down the hatch. August 1943. NARA Photo # 80-G-468099 by Lt. Comdr. Charles Fenno Jacobs. Photo # HD-SN-99-02602, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil, Defense Visual Information Center.
Mackerel 103k Submarine Commanding Officer sights through a periscope in the submarine's control room, during training exercises at the Submarine Base, New London, Groton, Connecticut, in August 1943. In the background, another officer watches men at the control dials. Photographed by a member of Edward Steichen's unit.
Note: Captain Edward L. Beach commented (during the mid-1980s) that this submarine is not a "Fleet Boat", but is more likely either Mackerel (SS-204) or Marlin (SS-205). He also thought that the officer at the periscope might be John F. Walling, who was lost in April 1945 while commanding Snook (SS-279). 		USN photo # 19-N-23871 from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives.
B&W high res here
USN photo # 80-G-43492 by Cdr. Edward J. Steichen, from National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), College Park, Maryland, courtesy of Sean Hert.
Submarine Division 13 21k Commemorative postal cover honoring Submarine Division 13, the O-7 (SS-68) & Marlin (SS-205), 27 October 1943. Courtesy of Jack Treutle (of blessed memory).
Marlin 113k Portsmouth's Marlin (SS-205) is shown in February 1944; her bridge was cut down like a fleet boats'. Armament was a 3-in/50 gun aft & a pair of 20-mm guns on the bridge fairwater. Radar has been added; a surface-search SJ forward of the periscopes and a air search SD on the vertical antenna mast abaft the periscopes. On deck, just abaft the forward boat / torpedo derrick, is a JP sonar There was also a keel sonar (presumably QB/JK) in a trunk just abaft the well for the SD mast.
Unlike a fleet boat, she had a very small conning tower; both periscopes were let into the control room below it; the control room also housed the torpedo data computer at its after end, port side.
Marlin, unlike a contemporary Gato (SS-212-84), had direct drive diesels. Her motors were controlled from a console at the forward end of the machinery space.
Most of the crew was accommodated in the big crew space abaft the control room (24 berths), but there was also accommodations in the forward (8 berths) & after (6 berths) torpedo room. Complement was 4 officers & 38 enlisted men.		 Drawing courtesy of Jim Christley.
Text courtesy of U.S. Submarines Through 1945, An Illustrated Design History by Norman Friedman. Naval Institute Press.
View the Marlin (SS-205)
DANFS history entry located on the Haze Gray & Underway Web Site.
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