View source for USS S-28

{{short description|Submarine of the United States}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=USS S-28 (SS-133).jpg
|Ship caption=USS ''S-28'' at [[Puget Sound Navy Yard]], [[Bremerton, Washington|Bremerton]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]], on 24&nbsp;June&nbsp;1943 after a refit.
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1942}}
|Ship name=USS ''S-28''
|Ship namesake=
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=[[Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation]], [[Quincy, Massachusetts|Quincy]],&nbsp;[[Massachusetts]]
|Ship laid down=16 April 1919
|Ship launched=20 September 1922
|Ship sponsor=Mrs. William R. Monroe
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=13 December 1923
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=
|Ship homeport=
|Ship motto=
|Ship nickname=
|Ship honors=
|Ship fate=Sank 4 July 1944
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class=[[United States S-class submarine|''S''-class]] [[submarine]]
|Ship displacement=*{{convert|854|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} surfaced
*{{convert|1062|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} submerged
|Ship length={{convert|219|ft|3|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|20|ft|8|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship draft={{convert|15|ft|11|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion=
|Ship speed=*{{convert|14.5|kn|mph km/h|lk=in|abbr=on}} surfaced
*{{convert|11|kn|mph km/h|abbr=on}} submerged
|Ship range=
|Ship test depth=
|Ship complement=42 officers and men
|Ship sensors=
|Ship armament=1 × [[4"/50 caliber gun|{{convert|4|in|mm|0|abbr=on}}]]/50 [[deck gun]], 4 × [[American 21 inch torpedo|21 inch (533 mm)]] [[torpedo tube]]s
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox service record
|is_ship=yes
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|commanders=
|operations=[[World War II]]
|victories=
|awards=1 [[Service star|battle star]]
}}
|}

'''USS ''S-28'' (SS-133)''' was an [[United States S-class submarine|''S''-class]] [[submarine]] of the [[United States Navy]]. A [[diesel submarine]], she served in [[World War II]] during which sank one [[Japan]]ese ship. She was lost at sea with all hands in July 1944. Her wreck was discovered in 2017 at a depth of {{convert|2600|m|sp=us|order=flip}} off the coast of [[Oahu]].

==Construction and commissioning==
''S-28''′s [[keel]] was [[Keel-laying|laid down]] on 16 April 1919 by the [[Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation]]'s [[Fore River Shipyard]] in [[Quincy, Massachusetts|Quincy]], [[Massachusetts]].<ref name=DANFS>DANFS</ref> She was [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 20 September 1922, sponsored by Mrs. William R. Monroe, and [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 13 December 1923.<ref name=DANFS/>

==Service history==
===Inter-war period===
Following [[shakedown cruise|shakedown]] exercises off the southern [[New England]] coast, ''S-28'' moved south in March 1924 to join Submarine [[Division (naval)|Division]] 11 in the final exercises of 1924's winter maneuvers in the [[Caribbean Sea]].<ref name=DANFS/> In April 1924 she returned to [[New London, Connecticut|New London]], [[Connecticut]], with her division and commenced local exercises which occupied the remainder of 1924.<ref name=DANFS/> In the winter of 1925, she moved south again, transited the [[Panama Canal]], and, after the conclusion of [[Fleet Problem V]], conducted in the vicinity of [[Guadalupe Island]], she arrived in the [[Hawaiian Islands]] for a month's stay.<ref name=DANFS/> In June 1924, she moved to [[San Diego]], [[California]], where her division replaced another division which had transferred to the [[United States Asiatic Fleet]].<ref name=DANFS/>

''S-28'' operated primarily off [[Southern California]] until 1931, calling at [[Mare Island Navy Yard]] in California for regularly scheduled overhaul periods and also deploying for a [[Fleet Problem]] in the Panama Canal area in 1926, for summer maneuvers near [[Hawaii]] in 1927, for a Fleet Problem in the Panama Canal area in 1929, and for summer maneuvers near Hawaii in 1930.<ref name=DANFS/>

''S=28'' departed the [[United States West Coast]] for Hawaii in mid-February 1931, and on 23 February 1931 arrived at [[Pearl Harbor]], Hawaii, from which she operated for the next {{frac|8|1|2}} years.<ref name=DANFS/> In mid-1939, she transferred back to San Diego, where she took part in training activities for the Underwater Sound Training School.<ref name=DANFS/>

===World War II===
On 7 December 1941, ''S-28'' – then a unit of Submarine Division 41 – was undergoing overhaul at Mare Island Navy Yard when the Japanese [[attack on Pearl Harbor]] brought the United States into [[World War II]].<ref name=DANFS/> On 22 January 1942, the work was completed, and she returned to San Diego, where she resumed her training activities for the Underwater Sound Training School.<ref name=DANFS/> She continued that duty into the spring of 1942, then was ordered north to the [[Aleutian Islands]] to augment U.S. defenses in the [[Territory of Alaska]].<ref name=DANFS/>

On 20 May 1942, ''S-28'', with other submarines of her division, departed San Diego.<ref name=DANFS/> They stopped at [[Port Angeles, Washington|Port Angeles]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]] on 25 May 1942, then continued on toward the newly established submarine base at [[Dutch Harbor]], on [[Amaknak Island]] off [[Unalaska]] in the Aleutian Islands.<ref name=DANFS/> On 29 May 1942, however, as the United States made preparations to minimize a two-pronged Japanese thrust against [[Midway Atoll]] in the [[Northwestern Hawaiian Islands]] and the Aleutians, the S-boats received orders to proceed to their patrol areas, bypassing Dutch Harbor.<ref name=DANFS/>

====First war patrol====
During a quickly extinguished fire in her [[Port and starboard|port]] main motor on the morning of 1 June 1942, ''S-28'' suffered minor damage.<ref name=DANFS/> That evening, she parted company with her [[sister ship]]s and their escort, and on 2 June 1942 she entered her assigned patrol area and commenced patrolling the approaches to [[Cold Bay]] on the tip of the [[Alaskan Peninsula]].<ref name=DANFS/> On 3 June 1942, the Japanese bombed Dutch Harbor, opening the [[Aleutian Islands campaign]], and, within the week, they had occupied [[Kiska]] and [[Attu Island|Attu]] in the Aleutians.<ref name=DANFS/> On 11 June 1942, a U.S. Navy [[floatplane]] mistook her for a Japanese submarine and attacked her in the [[Pacific Ocean]] south of the Aleutians at {{coord|53|57|25|N|164|30|00|W}}, dropping a [[Aerial bomb|bomb]] or [[depth charge]] as she [[Crash dive|crash-dived]] that inflicted only slight damage and no casualties.<ref>Hinman & Campbell, p. 209.</ref> On 12 June 1942, ''S-28'' arrived at Dutch Harbor, refueled, took on provisions, and headed west to resume her war patrol.<ref name=DANFS/>

On 15 June 1942, ''S-28'' crossed the [[International Date Line]], and on 17 June – after a two-day storm – she sighted Kiska and set a course to intercept Japanese shipping between there and Attu.<ref name=DANFS/> On 18 June 1942, she fired on her first enemy target – an [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] [[destroyer]] – and the destroyer in turn counterattacked her.<ref name=DANFS/> Eight hours later, sounds of the destroyer's search faded out to the south. ''S-28'' had survived her first encounter with Japanese [[antisubmarine warfare]] forces.<ref name=DANFS/>

Poor weather soon returned, and storms raged during 80% of ''S-28''′s remaining time on station.<ref name=DANFS/> On 28 June 1942, she moored in Dutch Harbor and commenced a refit.<ref name=DANFS/>

====Second war patrol====
On 15 July 1942, ''S-28'' got underway for her second war patrol and again headed for the Kiska area.<ref name=DANFS/> On 18 July 1942, she reconnoitered [[Semisopochnoi]], then moved on to [[Segula Island|Segula]].<ref name=DANFS/> Finding no signs of Japanese activity, she continued westward.<ref name=DANFS/> On 20 July 1942 she was ordered to take station on an {{convert|85|nmi|adj=on}} circle from [[Sirius Point]] prior to sunrise on 22 July 1942, at which time a U.S. Navy [[task force]] was to bombard Japanese facilities on Kiska.<ref name=DANFS/> The bombardment was delayed, delayed, and ''S-28'' remained on that more distant station until 30 July 1942, when she was ordered back into the Kiska area.<ref name=DANFS/> On 18 August 1942, having been unable to close any of the targets sighted during the latter part of her patrol, she returned to Dutch Harbor.<ref name=DANFS/>

====Third war patrol====
On her third war patrol, which she conducted from 16 September to 10 October 1942, ''S-28'' returned to the Kiska area.<ref name=DANFS/> She operated to the north of the island until 25 October 1942, then, with the discovery of the Japanese development of [[Gertrude Cove]] on [[Vega Bay]] on the coast of Kiska, she shifted to the island's southern shore.<ref name=DANFS/> On the night of 6–7 October 1942, she turned toward Unalaska, and on the morning of 10 October 1942, as she prepared to fire on an unidentified vessel, a ground in her [[Fire-control system|fire control circuits]] caused an accidental firing of a [[torpedo]] from the No. 1 [[torpedo tube]].<ref name=DANFS/> That afternoon, she arrived at Dutch Harbor.<ref name=DANFS/>

====October–December 1942====
From Dutch Harbor, ''S-28'' headed to San Diego, which she reached on 23 October 1942.<ref name=DANFS/> She provided training services for the [[United States West Coast|West Coast]] Sound School and for the [[Amphibious warfare|Amphibious Forces]] Training Group from 26 October to 13 November 1942.<ref name=DANFS/> Then, during an overhaul, she received a [[fathometer]], a Kleinschmidt [[Distillation|distilling]] unit, and [[SJ radar]].<ref name=DANFS/> On 9 December 1942, she again headed north.<ref name=DANFS/> On 16 December 1942, she reported by radio to [[Task Group]] 8.5 (TG 8.5), and on 21 December 1942 she arrived at Dutch Harbor.<ref name=DANFS/>

====Fourth war patrol====
On 27 December 1942, ''S-28'' departed Dutch Harbor on her fourth war patrol.<ref name=DANFS/> On 3 January 1943, she crossed the International Date Line, and on 5 January 1943 she entered her assigned area in the northern [[Kuril Islands]].<ref name=DANFS/> Moving down the coast of [[Paramushiro]], she patrolled in [[Onekotan Strait]], then headed north again, and on 20 January 1943 passed [[Shumushu]], from which she set a course for the Aleutians and returned to Dutch Harbor.<ref name=DANFS/>

====Fifth war patrol====
During her fifth war patrol, which she conducted from 6 to 28 February 1943, ''S-28'' remained in the western Aleutians, patrolling across the Attu-[[Buldir]]-Sirius Point route and along the coast of Attu, particularly off [[Holtz Bay]], [[Chichagof Harbor]], and [[Sarana Bay]].<ref name=DANFS/> Poor weather and her lack of speed, however, impeded her hunting.<ref name=DANFS/>

====March–June 1943====
On her return to Dutch Harbor, ''S-28'' was ordered south, and on 4 March 1943 she got underway for [[Esquimalt, British Columbia|Esquimalt]], [[British Columbia]], [[Canada]], where from 15 March to 15 April 1943 she conducted sound tests and antisubmarine warfare exercises with [[Royal Canadian Navy]] and [[Royal Canadian Air Force]] units.<ref name=DANFS/> She then continued on to the [[Puget Sound Navy Yard]] in [[Bremerton, Washington|Bremerton]], Washington, for overhaul and [[Superstructure (ship)|superstructure]] modification work. On 27 June 1943, she started back to [[Alaska]].<ref name=DANFS/>

====Sixth war patrol====
On 13 July 1943, ''S-28'' departed Dutch Harbor to return to the northern Kuril Islands for her sixth war patrol.<ref name=DANFS/> Again, she patrolled off Paramushiro and in the straits to its north and south.<ref name=DANFS/> Again, she was hindered by the weather, her obsolete design, and by mechanical failures.<ref name=DANFS/> On 14 August 1943, she headed for the Aleutians, and on 16 August 1943 she moored in [[Massacre Bay, Attu|Massacre Bay]] on the coast of Attu — retaken from the Japanese in the [[Battle of Attu]] in May 1943 — and commenced a refit.<ref name=DANFS/>

====Seventh war patrol====
The late arrival of needed spares from Dutch Harbor delayed her readiness for sea, but on 8 September 1943, ''S-28'' departed Attu to return to the northern Kuril Islands for her seventh and final war patrol.<ref name=DANFS/> On 13 September 1943, she entered her patrol area.<ref name=DANFS/> On 15 September 1943, severe smoking and sparking from her port main motor necessitated 14 hours of repair work.<ref name=DANFS/> On 16 September 1943, she transited [[Mushir Strait|Mushiru Kaikyo]], and, on the afternoon of 19 September 1943, she closed on an what she identified as an unescorted freighter off the island of [[Araito]].<ref name=DANFS/> Her [[torpedo]]es missed their mark. The supposed freighter was a [[warship]], which turned and within minutes had delivered the first two [[depth charge]]s of a 10-minute attack.<ref name=DANFS/> The Japanese ship searched the area for an hour, then departed.<ref name=DANFS/>

''S-28'' continued her patrol.<ref name=DANFS/> At 19:16 on 19 September 1943, she contacted a second unescorted Japanese vessel.<ref name=DANFS/> At 19:43, she fired a spread of four torpedoes.<ref name=DANFS/> At 19:44, two of the four exploded.<ref name=DANFS/> The target took on a 30° [[List (watercraft)|list]] and began to sink by the [[Bow (watercraft)|bow]].<ref name=DANFS/> At 19:46, the {{convert|1368|LT|t|abbr=on|adj=on}} converted [[gunboat]] {{Ship|Japanese gunboat|Katsura Maru Number Two||2}} sank, bow first, her [[stern]] vertical in the air.<ref name=DANFS/> Five loud [[underwater explosion]]s followed her disappearance.<ref name=DANFS/> ''S-28'' went deep and rigged for a depth charging which did not materialize.<ref name=DANFS/>

Into October 1943, ''S-28'' hunted just north of [[Araito]] and off the coast of the [[Kamchatka Peninsula]].<ref name=DANFS/> On 5 October 1943, she moved through [[Onekotan Strait]] and continued her patrol on the Pacific side of the Kuril Islands.<ref name=DANFS/> On 10 October 1943, however, a crewman developed severe [[appendicitis]], and she headed for Attu one day ahead of schedule.<ref name=DANFS/> On 13 October 1943, she moored at Attu.<ref name=DANFS/> The next day, she departed for Dutch Harbor.<ref name=DANFS/>

====November 1943–July 1944====
In November 1943, ''S-28'' headed south to Hawaii.<ref name=DANFS/> She arrived at Pearl Harbor in mid-November 1943, and – after overhaul – commenced training duty.<ref name=DANFS/> For the next seven months, she remained in [[Hawaiian Islands|Hawaiian waters]], providing training services.<ref name=DANFS/>

====Loss====
On 3 July 1944, ''S-28'' began anti-submarine warfare training operations off [[Oahu]] with the [[United States Coast Guard|United States Coast Guard cutter]] {{USCGC|Reliance|WSC-150}}.<ref name=DANFS/> The anti-submarine warfare exercises continued into the evening of 4 July 1944.<ref name=DANFS/> At 17:30, the day's concluding exercise began.<ref name=DANFS/> Contact between the two vessels became sporadic and, at 18:20, ''Reliance'' made and lost her last, brief contact with ''S-28''.<ref name=DANFS/> All of ''Reliance''′s further attempts to establish communications with ''S-28'' failed.<ref name=DANFS/>

Assistance arrived from Pearl Harbor, but a thorough search of the area failed to locate ''S-28'' or her crew.<ref name=DANFS/> Two days later, a [[Oil slick|slick]] of [[diesel fuel]] appeared in the area where she had been operating, but the extreme depth of the waters there exceeded the range of available rescue and [[Marine salvage|salvage]] equipment.<ref name=DANFS/> A court of inquiry was unable to determine the cause of the loss of ''S-28''.<ref name=DANFS/>

==Discovery of wreck==
On 20 September 2017, Tim Taylor, with the support of STEP Ventures. discovered the wreck of ''S-28'' at a depth of {{convert|2600|m|sp=us|order=flip}} off the coast of Oahu.<ref>[http://www.lost52project.org/S-28-Expedition.html "Expedition S-28"], Lost 52 Project website.</ref>

The wreck lies in 2 major pieces near each other on the ocean floor. The main portion of the midship and stern lies on its starboard side with visible implosion damage while the detached bow lies upside down.

==Awards==
*{{ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|ribbon=Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}} [[Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal]] with one [[battle star]] for [[World War II]] service<ref name=DANFS/>

==References==
===Footnotes===
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
* {{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/s/s-28.html}}
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=hkupDwAAQBAJ&dq=LApon+raton&pg=PA181 Hinman, Charles R., and Douglas E. Campbell. ''The Submarine Has No Friends: Friendly Fire Incidents Involving U.S. Submarines During World War II''. Syneca Research Group, Inc., 2019.] {{ISBN|978-0-359-76906-3}}.

==External links==
* [http://www.oneternalpatrol.com/uss-s-28-133.htm On Eternal Patrol: USS ''S-28'']
* [http://www.pigboats.com/ww2/s28.html Kill record: USS ''S-28''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202225104/http://www.pigboats.com/ww2/s28.html |date=2 December 2008 }}

{{United States S class submarine}}
{{June 1942 shipwrecks}}
{{July 1944 shipwrecks}}
{{coord|21|20|0|N|158|23|0|W|type:landmark_region:US|display=title}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:S-28 (Ss-133)}}
[[Category:United States S-class submarines]]
[[Category:World War II submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Friendly fire incidents of World War II]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in June 1942]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in July 1944]]
[[Category:United States submarine accidents]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of Hawaii]]
[[Category:Lost submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Ships built in Quincy, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:1922 ships]]
[[Category:Warships lost with all hands]]
[[Category:1944 in Hawaii]]
[[Category:Ships of the Aleutian Islands campaign]]