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USS Argonaut SM-1

The USS Argonaut was originally named V-4, and was launched under that name on November 10, 1927 and commissioned on April 2, 1928. She was the first of a second generation of V-boats, and remains part of a group comprising the largest non-nuclear submarines built by the U.S. Navy. Exempt by special agreement from the limitations of the Washington Treaty, V-4 and her sister ships had large, powerful diesel engines. Unfortunately, however, the design of the vessels proved to be unwieldy, and the submarines built to these specifications were slower than intended.

During a series of trials off the coast of Massachusetts in 1929, the V-4 broke previous submarine depth records by achieving a dive of 318 feet. Over the next decade she participated in various trials and exercises, and was renamed as the USS Argonaut on February 19, 1931. In 1932 she was assigned to operate out of Pearl Harbor, where she undertook patrol duty, minelaying duty, and other routine operations.

The USS Argonaut during World War II

The USS Argonaut left Pearl Harbor on November 28, 1941, to patrol near Midway Island, and was therefore not at base when the Japanese attacked on December 7. After sunset on that day she surfaced to hear naval gunfire around Midway Island, and believing the Japanese may be landing an invasion force, she submerged to approach. However, the invasion force turned out to be only two Japanese destroyers, which were bombarding the shores of Midway Islands, and which completed their mission and departed before the Argonaut was able to begin a second approach. Just a week later she spotted three or four destroyers, but did not attack. She then returned to Pearl Harbor at the completion of her patrol on January 22, 1942, before departing for Mare Island.

The USS Argonaut returned to action in August as a troop transport submarine, assigned along with the Nautilus to transport marine raiders on Makin Island. The Makin Raid was a measure which was designed to relieve pressure on the American forces which had recently landed at Guadalcanal. The Argonaut and the Nautilus departed for Makin on August 8, and arrived off Makin on August 16. Marines began landing the next day, and despite being met by Japanese snipers hidden in trees on the shore, the battle was over and won by midnight of August 18, with the 85-man Japanese garrison wiped out, along with supplies and installations.

Arriving at Pearl Harbor on August 26, the USS Argonaut was redesignated on September 22, and her base of operations was shifted to Brisbane, Australia. In December she departed to begin patrolling between New Britain and Bougainville, which was known as a particularly hazardous area. On January 2, 1943, she sank the Ebon Maru, a Japanese gunboat, in the Bismarck Sea.

After this success early in her patrol, however, the USS Argonaut was about to meet with serious trouble. On January 10, she spotted a convoy which included five freighters and three destroyer escorts, the Mikaze, Isokaze, and Hamakaze.

By chance, an army aircraft was flying overhead at the moment the Argonaut attacked. A crewman on the plane reported seeing one destroyer struck by a torpedo, but the three destroyers counterattacked quickly, and the Argonaut was struck by a depthcharge which damaged her severely. The destroyers continued to attack, firing into the Argonaut as she submerged for the last time. The USS Argonaut, and the 105 officers and crew members she was carrying, was neither seen nor heard from again. She was removed from the Naval Register on February 26, 1943.

Japanese reports which were made available following the end of the war indicate that the depthcharge attack was followed by heavy artillery fire, and suggest that the torpedo attack witnessed by the crewmember of the plane flying overhead may actually have been one of the Argonaut's own torpedoes exploding, as none of the three destroyers involved in the incident reported no damage on that date. The USS Argonaut was awarded two battle stars for her service in World War II.

Many United States Navy vessels contained large amounts of asbestos, as the substance was once used extensively as an insulator and fire-proofing material. Many people who served onboard these vessels, or were involved in building, repairing, or outfitting them, have subsequently developed asbestos-related diseases due to asbestos exposure. If you've developed an asbestos-related disease as a result of involvement with Navy vessels, contact us for information about your legal options.

Submarines Index

USS Albacore SS 218 USS AmberJack SS 219 USS Angler SS 240 USS Apogon SS 308 USS Archer-fish SS 311 USS Argonaut-SM-1 USS Argonaut SS 475 USS Aspro SS 309 USS Atule SS 403 USS Balao SS 285 USS Bang SS 385 USS Barbel SS 316 USS Barbero SS 317 USS Barb SS 220 USS Barracuda SS 163 USS Bashaw SS 241 USS Bergall SS 320 USS Besugo SS 321 USS Billfish SS 286 USS Blackfin SS 322 USS Blackfish SS 221 USS Blenny SS 324 USS Blower SS 325 USS Blueback SS 326 USS Bluefish SS 222 USS Bluegill SS 242 USS Boarfish SS 327 USS Bonefish SS 223 USS Bonita SS 165 USS Bowfin SS 287 USS Bream SS 243 USS Brill SS 330 USS Bugara SS 331 USS Bullhead SS 332 USS Bumper SS 333 USS Burrfish SS 312 USS Cabezon SS 334 USS Carbonero SS 337 USS Hake SS 256 USS Hammerhead SS 364 USS Harder SS 257 USS Hardhead SS 365 USS Hawkbill SS 366

USS Herring SS 233 USS Hoe SS 258 USS Icefish SS 367 USS Jack SS 259 USS Jallao SS 368 USS Kete S 369 USS Kingfish SS 234 USS Kraken SS 370 USS Lagarto SS 371 USS Lizardfish SS 373 USS Loggerhead SS 374 USS Macabi SS 375 USS Mackerel-204 USS Manta SS 299 USS Mapiro SS 376 USS Marlin SS 205 USS Mingo SS 261 USS Moray SS 300 USS Muskallunge SS 262 USS Narwhal SS 263 USS Nautilus-ss-0024 USS Paddle SS 167 USS Pampanito SS 383 USS Parche SS 384 USS Pargo SS 264 USS Perch SS 176 USS Permit SS 178 USS Peto SS 265 USS Pickerel SS 177 USS Picuda SS 382 USS Pike SS 173 USS Pilotfish SS 386 USS Pintado SS 387 USS Pipefish SS 388 USS Pirahna SS 389 USS Plaice SS 390 USS Plunger SS 179 USS Pogy SS 266 USS Pollack SS 180 USS Pomfret SS 391 USS Pompano SS 181 USS Pompon SS 267 USS Porpoise SS 172

USS Puffer SS 268 USS Queenfish SS 393 USS Quillback SS 424 USS Rasher SS 269 USS Raton SS 270 USS Ray SS 271 USS Razorback SS 394 USS Redfin SS 272 USS Redfish SS 395 USS Robalo SS 273 USS Rock SS 274 USS Ronquil SS 396 USS Runner SS 275 USS Runner SS 476 USS S-1 SS 105 USS S-20 SS 125 USS S-46 SS 157 USS Sailfish SS 192 USS Salmon SS 182 USS Sand Lance SS 381 USS Sargo SS 188 USS Saury SS 189 USS Sawfish SS 276 USS Scabbardfish SS 397 USS Scamp SS 277 USS Scorpion SS 278 USS Sculpin SS 191 USS Sea Cat SS 399 USS Sea Devil SS 400 USS Sea Dog SS 401 USS Seadragon SS 194 USS Sea Fox SS 402 USS Seahorse SS 304 USS Sealion SS 195 USS Seal SS 183 USS Sea Owl SS 405 USS Sea Poacher SS 406 USS Searaven SS 196 USS Sea Robin SS 407 USS Seawolf SS 197 USS Segundo SS 398 USS Sennet SS 408

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