USS S-45

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USS S-45 (SS-156) was a third-group (S-42) S-class submarine of the United States Navy.

Construction and commissioning

S-45′s keel was laid down on 29 December 1920 by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation's Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts.<ref name=DANFS>DANFS.</ref> She was launched on 26 June 1923, sponsored by Mrs. Charles Hibbard, and delivered and commissioned on 31 March 1925.<ref name=DANFS/>

Service history

Completing shakedown exercises off the southern New England coast, S-45 departed New London, Connecticut, on 9 June 1925.<ref name=DANFS/> Nineteen days later, she joined Submarine Division (SubDiv) 19 at Coco Solo, Canal Zone, and commenced type exercises and joint United States Army-United States Navy maneuvers in the Panama Canal area.<ref name=DANFS/> During the next two years, only Fleet Problems VI and VII took her out of her normal operating area.<ref name=DANFS/> In May 1927, the S-boat moved northwest to Mare Island for overhaul, then began operations out of San Diego, California.<ref name=DANFS/>

The following spring, S-45 participated in Fleet Problem VIII, a convoy and antisubmarine search and contact problem conducted en route between San Francisco, California, and Honolulu, Hawaii.<ref name=DANFS/> During the winter of 1929, she returned to the Panama Canal Zone for Fleet Problem IX.<ref name=DANFS/>

In December 1930, S-45 was transferred a third time; and, on 12 December, she arrived at her new home port, Pearl Harbor, whence she operated, with SubDiv 11, on a schedule of exercises and fleet problems similar to those followed previously for the next year and one half.<ref name=DANFS/> In September 1932, she joined Rotating Reserve Division 14 and, for the next several years alternated active service with Division 11 and reserve status in Division 14.<ref name=DANFS/>

In March 1936, the boats of SubDiv 11 were ordered back to Panama.<ref name=DANFS/> They participated in Fleet Problem XVII en route and arrived at Coco Solo, their new home port, on 22 May.<ref name=DANFS/> For the next four years, they maintained a schedule similar to previous tours in the Canal Zone.<ref name=DANFS/>

With the new decade, 1940, and the expansion of hostilities in Europe and Asia, the schedule was varied.<ref name=DANFS/> Exercises and patrols in the vital canal area were stepped up, and plans were made to overhaul and modernize the old S-boats.<ref name=DANFS/> On 15 May 1941, S-45 got underway for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.<ref name=DANFS/> There, she received new equipment, exclusive of air-conditioning, and a complete overhaul.<ref name=DANFS/> By August, she was off the New England coast for simulated war patrol exercises, and, in October, she moved south to Bermuda for patrol and antisubmarine warfare training duties.<ref name=DANFS/>

World War II

First two defensive patrols

After the 7 December attack on Pearl Harbor, S-45 returned to Panama and assumed patrol duties in the approaches to the canal.<ref name=DANFS/> By 1 February 1942, she had conducted two defensive patrols, during which her crew became even better acquainted with the defects in the torpedoes she carried and with the limited wartime capabilities of boats of her class.<ref name=DANFS/>

Then, as the Japanese thrust toward Australia continued, the Panama S-boats prepared to assist in defensive efforts in the southwestern Pacific.<ref name=DANFS/> In March, S-45 and her division, now SubDiv 53, headed west.<ref name=DANFS/> In mid-April, they arrived at Brisbane, Queensland; and, on 12 May, S-45 departed Moreton Bay on her first offensive war patrol.<ref name=DANFS/>

First war patrol

Assigned to the Bougainville-Buka-New Ireland area, she remained on patrol into mid-June, unable to score against Japanese shipping and unable to contact an agent on Cape Sena.<ref name=DANFS/> On 19 June, she returned to Brisbane, where an overhaul brought the installation of temporary air conditioning and corrected some of the defects in the engines, the radio transmitter, and the bow planes which had hampered her during her recent patrol.<ref name=DANFS/> On 26 August, she headed back to the Solomon Islands.<ref name=DANFS/> By the end of the month, she was on station in the Shortland Island area.<ref name=DANFS/> Numerous targets were sighted; but, due to frequent squalls and her own limitations, she was unable to press home an attack.<ref name=DANFS/>

Second war patrol

On 5 September, she was ordered to the Trobriand Islands to intercept enemy shipping bound for Milne Bay, but her luck was no better there.<ref name=DANFS/>

On 12 September, S-45 sighted, closed, and attempted to fire a bow shot at a cruiser.<ref name=DANFS/> As the outer doors were opened, she became heavy forward, and depth control was lost. Periscope depth was soon regained but could not be held.<ref name=DANFS/> The sound operators lost the target in S-45’s own noises; and, by the time control was regained, the target had passed firing bearing.<ref name=DANFS/> The submarine swung to a new track to pursue.<ref name=DANFS/> Depth control was again lost.<ref name=DANFS/> Another battle for control of the boat was won but too late for S-45 to score.<ref name=DANFS/>

Third war patrol

S-45 returned to Moreton Bay on 23 September.<ref name=DANFS/> By 27 October, she was back in the Shortland Island area and, on 2 November, her presence near Fauro Island was detected by the enemy.<ref name=DANFS/> Explosions were heard, but none was close.<ref name=DANFS/> The next morning, prior to daylight, she was sighted by a destroyer as she was preparing for a surface shot.<ref name=DANFS/>

The destroyer swung left to ram; S-45 swung right, submerged, and rigged for depth charging.<ref name=DANFS/> Within minutes, the explosions, close aboard portside, were felt.<ref name=DANFS/> Varying her depth and course, the S-boat reached Template:Convert.<ref name=DANFS/> Her evasive maneuvering was successful, and she retired south.<ref name=DANFS/> The destroyer continued to circle on the surface near the initial contact point.<ref name=DANFS/> By daylight, a second destroyer had joined the first; and, for the next three hours, the two surface ships were heard, alternately close, then fading out.<ref name=DANFS/> After 09:30, no further pinging was heard.<ref name=DANFS/> Little damage had been done, but pressure in the boat was high, a result of blowing and venting tanks.<ref name=DANFS/> The high pressure, in turn, caused the depth gauge to register low.<ref name=DANFS/>

By 4 November, poor weather had set in; and, on 6 November, the boat cleared the area, setting course for Suva and the Panama Canal.<ref name=DANFS/> Arriving at the latter on 6 January 1943, she underwent voyage repairs, then received orders to Saint Thomas, United States Virgin Islands, for training duty.<ref name=DANFS/> On arrival, she was ordered back to Coco Solo, whence she continued on to San Diego and a three-month tour with the West Coast Sound School.<ref name=DANFS/> Overhaul followed, and on 19 November, she got underway for the Aleutian Islands.<ref name=DANFS/>

Fourth war patrol

S-45 arrived at Dutch Harbor on 2 December 1943.<ref name=DANFS/> Training and minor repairs occupied the remainder of the month; and, on 31 December, she departed the eastern Aleutians for Attu.<ref name=DANFS/> There, she topped off and continued on to the Kuril Islands, encountering strong winds and heavy seas as she moved west.<ref name=DANFS/> On 12 January 1944, she lost her antennae in a storm and, on 13 January, she arrived in her patrol area, the Ominato-Paramushiro convoy routes.<ref name=DANFS/>

Hunting was again poor; and, on 28 January, she returned to Attu.<ref name=DANFS/> Two days later, while charging batteries, she suffered an explosion in the after battery compartment.<ref name=DANFS/> By 10 February, the debris had been removed and temporary repairs had been made.<ref name=DANFS/> The next day, she moved east, arriving at Dutch Harbor on 14 February.<ref name=DANFS/> From there, she returned to San Diego, completed repairs, then got underway, in June, to cross the Pacific.<ref name=DANFS/> From mid-July to the end of the year, she conducted training exercises from Manus in the Admiralty Islands; then moved to Brisbane for repairs preparatory to returning to California.<ref name=DANFS/>

Retirement

S-45 arrived back at San Diego in early April 1945 and resumed operations for the West Coast Sound School.<ref name=DANFS/> In September, after the formal end of World War II, she moved up to San Francisco where she was decommissioned on 30 October 1945.<ref name=DANFS/> Her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 13 November 1945; and in December 1946, her hulk was sold for scrapping to the Salco Iron and Metal Company of San Francisco.<ref name=DANFS/>

Awards

References

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