USS ARGONAUT SS 166

USS ARGONAUT SS 166 V-4 Class

January 10, 1943. Sunk by surface craft. 105 men lost.

From: Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships

Argonaut
A relative of the octopus - sometimes call the paper nautilus - which propels itself underwater by expelling a jet of water. The name argonaut may also have been inspired by the submarine of that name built in 1897 by Simon Lake which was the first submarine to navigate extensively in the open sea. Ultimately, the name is derived from the band of 50 heroes in Greek legend who sailed with Jason in the ship Argo to retrieve the Golden Fleece.

(SF-7: dp. 2,710 (surf.), 4,080 (subm.); l. 381'; b. 33'10"; dr. 15'4"; s. 15 k.; cpl. 89; a. 2 6", 4 21" tt.; cl. V-4)

In December 1942, Argonaut departed Brisbane on her fourth war patrol. She was assigned to patrol in the hazardous area between New Britain and Bougainville, south of St. George's Channel. On 10 January 1943 Argonaut spotted a convoy of five freighters and their destroyer escorts. An Army aircraft was by chance flying overhead and witnessed Argonaut's attack. Argonaut hit at least one of the destroyers with her torpedoes, and they promptly counterattacked. A crew member on board the plane saw Argonaut's bow suddenly break the water at an unusual angle. It was apparent that a depth charge had severely damaged the submarine. The destroyers continued circling Argonaut and pumping shells into her. She slipped below the waves and was never heard from again. Postwar Japanese records confirmed a submarine was sunk between Rabual and Lae on January 10, 1943.

One hundred and five officers and men went down with the submarine. Her name was struck from the Navy list on 26 February 1943.

Argonaut won two battle stars for her World War II service. She is credited with making the first submerged sonar wartime approach on enemy naval forces while on patrol duty near Midway Island when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.