View source for USS S-31

{{short description|Submarine of the United States}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2024}}
{{Infobox ship
|section1={{Infobox ship/image
 |image= USS S-31 (SS-136).jpg
 |image_caption=USS ''S-31'', probably off [[San Diego, California|San Diego]], [[California]], sometime between 1943 and 1945.
 }}

|section2={{Infobox ship/career
 |hide_header=
 |country=United States
 |flag= {{USN flag|1912}}
 |name= USS ''S-31''
 |namesake=
 |ordered=  
 |builder= [[Union Iron Works]], {{nowrap|[[San Francisco]], [[California]]}}
 |laid_down= 13 April 1918
 |launched= 28 December 1918
 |sponsor=Mrs. George A. Walker
 |acquired=
 |commissioned= 11 May 1922
 |decommissioned= 4 October 1922
 }}

|section3={{Infobox ship/career
 |hide_header=yes
 |recommissioned= 8 March 1923
 |decommissioned= 7 December 1937
 }}

|section4={{Infobox ship/career
 |hide_header=yes
 |recommissioned= 18 September 1940
 |decommissioned= 19 October 1945
 |in_service=
 |out_of_service=
 |struck= 1 November 1945
 |reinstated=
 |homeport=
 |motto=  
 |nickname=
 |honors=
 |fate=*Sold May 1946
       *Scrapped July 1947
 |notes=
 }}

|section5={{Infobox ship/characteristics
 |hide_header=
 |header_caption=
 |class= [[United States S class submarine|S-class]] [[submarine]]
 |displacement=*{{convert|854|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} surfaced
               *{{convert|1062|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} submerged
 |length= {{convert|219|ft|3|in|m|abbr=on}}
 |beam= {{convert|20|ft|8|in|m|abbr=on}}
 |draft= {{convert|15|ft|11|in|m|abbr=on}}
 |propulsion=
 |speed=*{{convert|14.5|kn|mph km/h|lk=in}} surfaced
        *{{convert|11|kn|mph km/h}} submerged
 |range=  
 |test_depth=
 |complement=42 officers and men
 |sensors=
 |EW=
 |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
 |armor=
 |notes=
 }}

|section6={{Infobox ship/service record
 |header_caption= 
 |partof=
 |codes=
 |commanders=
 |operations=[[World War II]]
 |victories=1 [[battle star]]
 |awards=
 }}
}}
'''USS ''S-31'' (SS-136)''' was a first-group (''S-1'' or "Holland") [[United States S class submarine|''S''-class submarine]] of the [[United States Navy]].

==Construction and commissioning==
''S-31''′s [[keel]] was [[Keel-laying|laid down]] on 13 April 1918 by the [[Union Iron Works]] in [[San Francisco]], [[California]]. She was [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 28 December 1918, sponsored by Mrs. George A. Walker, and [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 11 May 1922.

==Service history==
===1922–1941===
Commissioned as improved engines were being developed for her class, ''S-31'' was ordered to [[New London, Connecticut|New London]], [[Connecticut]], toward the end of the summer of 1922 for alterations to her main propulsion machinery by the prime contractor, the [[Electric Boat]] Company. [[Ship decommissioning|Decommissioned]] at New London on 4 October 1922, she remained in the company's yards through the winter and was recommissioned on 8 March 1923. In April 1923 she moved south and conducted exercises in the [[Caribbean Sea]], then transited the [[Panama Canal]] to return to California. She remained on the [[United States West Coast]] through 1924, conducting exercises off the coast of California with her [[Division (naval)|division]], Submarine Division 16. She took part in exercises in the [[Aleutian Islands]] during June and July 1923 and then moved to the Panama Canal area and the Caribbean for [[Fleet Problem]]s during the winter of 1924.

In 1925, Submarine Division 16 was transferred to the [[United States Asiatic Fleet]], and ''S-31'' departed San Francisco in April 1925, bound for the [[Philippine Islands]]. On 12 July 1925 she arrived at [[Cavite]], [[Luzon]]. For the next seven years, she conducted patrols and exercises in the Philippines during the fall and winter months and deployed to the [[China]] coast for spring and summer operations. The operations off China primarily involved individual, division, and fleet training exercises.

In September 1930, ''S-31'', while engaged in a full-power run off China between [[Qingdao]] and [[Qinhuangdao]], surfaced amidst wreckage in heavy seas in the [[Gulf of Zhili]] and sighted a Chinese [[Junk (ship)|junk]] which had collided with a [[Steamship|steamer]]. The junk's cargo of [[lumber]] had torn loose, endangering ''S-31'' and hindering her efforts to rescue the junk's seven survivors. ''S-31'' made an approach from the windward side, and as the wind pushed her past the stern of the wrecked junk, she took five men off it. ''S-31''′s crew threw lines to the two remaining survivors, and they were hauled aboard ''S-31'' as the rough seas propelled loose wreckage toward her [[Hull (watercraft)|hull]]. She then cleared the area and proceeded to Qinhuangdao to rejoin her division in exercises.

On 2 May 1932, ''S-31'' completed her tour in the Asiatic Fleet and departed [[Manila]] bound for [[Pearl Harbor]], [[Hawaii]], wher she was based with her division until 1937. In February 1933, she took the role of the fictional [[World War I]] submarine USS ''AL-14'' for the [[submarine movie]] ''[[Hell Below]]''. The movie depicted her as sinking an [[Austro-Hungarian Navy]] [[minelayer]] portrayed by the decommissioned [[destroyer]] {{USS|Moody|DD-277}}), though the movie studio actually sank ''Moody'' using carefully placed [[demolition charge]]s.

Designated for inactivation, ''S-31'' cleared Pearl Harbor on 14 June 1937 and arrived at [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]], on 27 August 1937. On 7 December 1937, she was decommissioned and berthed in Philadelphia at [[League Island]].

Recommissioned at Philadelphia on 18 September 1940 and assigned to Submarine Division 52, ''S-31'' operated from New London until December 1940, then moved south to the [[Panama Canal Zone]]. At the end of the spring of 1941, she returned to New London and subsequently performed [[submarine warfare]] and [[antisubmarine warfare]] training exercises along the [[New England]] coast. In November 1941, she returned to Philadelphia  and underwent an overhaul.

===World War II===
==== First two war patrols ====
The Japanese [[attack on Pearl Harbor]] on 7 December 1941 brought the [[United States]] into [[World War II]]. With her overhaul complete, ''S-31'' rejoined her division at New London in January 1942. In February 1942, she headed back to the Panama Canal Zone. After a stop at  [[Bermuda]], she arrived at [[Coco Solo]], [[Panama]], in mid-February 1942 and conducted two defensive war patrols in the approaches to the Panama Canal, the first from 10 March to 31 March 1942 and the second from 14 April to 13 May 1942. Toward the end of May 1942, ''S-31'' headed north to [[San Diego]], California, to prepare for duty in the Aleutian Islands.

==== Third war patrol ====

The [[Aleutian Islands campaign]] began on 3 June 1942 with the [[Battle of Dutch Harbor]] and the Japanese occupation of [[Attu Island|Attu]] and [[Kiska]]. By the end of June 1942, ''S-31'' was en route to the [[Territory of Alaska]], and, on 7 July 1942 she departed the submarine base at [[Dutch Harbor]] on [[Amaknak Island]] off [[Unalaska]] in the Aleutians for her first war patrol. Moving west from Unalaska, she reconnoitered the [[Adak Island]] area, then shifted north to her patrol area in the [[Bering Sea]] just north of the Aleutian chain. On 19 July 1942, she was ordered further west, and, on 30 July 1942, she took station to the east of Kiska to intercept [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] ships moving toward an [[Allies of World war II|Allied]] force scheduled to bombard Kiska. The bombardment took place on 7 August 1942. The following evening, ''S-31'' headed back for Dutch Harbor. During her patrol, she had encountered problems common to all [[United States S class submarine|S-boat]]s operating in the Aleutians area: loose [[Superstructure (ship)|superstructure]] plates, the lack of a [[fathometer]] and [[radar]], inadequate interior [[Hull (watercraft)|hull]] insulation, and poor weather for submarine operations. On 10 August 1942, when she was {{convert|60|nmi|0}} from Dutch Harbor, a Mark X emergency identification [[flare]] exploded, inflicting fatal chest injuries on ''S-31''′s [[commanding officer]], [[Lieutenant Commander (United States)|Lieutenant Commander]] Thomas F. Williamson. The U.S. Navy had ordered discontinuation of the use of the Mark X flare on 13 July 1942, but the order had not reached ''S-31''. The accident underscored for the U.S. Navy the need for [[pharmacist's mate]]s to serve aboard S-boats and for better communications between Dutch Harbor and ships operating in the northern [[Pacific Ocean]].

==== Fourth war patrol ====

Inclement weather and sporadic communication, which resulted in two mistaken attacks on ''S-31'' by American aircraft, provided the greatest hazards to ''S-31'' during her fourth patrol, conducted between 26 August and 28 September 1942 in support of the occupation of Adak. For most of the patrol, she was buffeted by turbulent seas, although occasionally she encountered only choppy conditions. On 28 August, a U.S. Navy [[Consolidated PBY Catalina|PBY Catalina]] [[flying boat]] depth-charged her as she [[Crash dive|crash-dived]] to {{convert|125|ft|0}} in the Pacific Ocean {{convert|30|nmi}} southeast of [[Agattu]] at {{coord|51|53|N|174|27|E}}.<ref>Hinman & Campbell, p. 213.</ref> On 30 August, poisonous [[chlorine gas]] formed when [[seawater]] driven by a {{convert|40|kn|mph km/h|0|adj=on}} wind entered her forward [[Electric battery|battery]] compartment. ''S-31''′s crew soon detected and eliminated  the [[poisonous gas]]. On 13 September, two [[United States Army Air Forces]] [[Lockheed P-38 Lightning|P-38 Lightning]] [[Fighter aircraft|fighters]] — misidentified by {{nowrap|''S-31''′s}} crew as two [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] [[Mitsubishi A6M Zero]] (Allied reporting name "Zeke") [[Fighter aircraft|fighters]]  — [[Strafing|strafed]] her as she crash-dived in the Pacific Ocean {{convert|8|nmi}} south of Adak, just west of [[Kagalaska Strait]] at {{coord|51|36|N|176|26|W}}.<ref>Hinman & Campbell, pp. 213–214.</ref>

==== Fifth war patrol ====

On her fifth war patrol, conducted from 13 October to 8 November 1942, ''S-31'' operated in the [[Kuril Islands]]. She arrived on station on 20 October 1942. On 22 October 1942, she was off [[Paramushiro]] at the northern end of the Kurils, and she patrolled the shipping lanes in the Paramushiro-[[Shumushu]] area until 24 October 1942. She then headed for [[Onekotan Strait]], and on 25 October 1942 she patrolled in its northeast approaches. On the morning of 26 October 1942, she closed the coast of Paramushiro, and at 08:25 she sighted the Japanese 2,864-[[gross register ton]] [[cargo ship]] ''Keizan Maru'' in [[Otomae Bay]] and began an approach. At 09:22, she fired two [[torpedo]]es and sank ''Keizan Maru'' in the anchorage. At 09:23, ''S-31'' went aground on a [[reef]]. She backed off and went ahead. Between 09:28 and 09:55, she grounded several more times at [[periscope depth]]. At 10:00, she reached deep water and cleared the area unpursued by Japanese forces. That night, she transited Onekotan Strait through what her crew described as "monstrous seas," and on 27 October 1942 she patrolled along the west coast of Paramushiro. At the beginning of November 1942 she ran low on fuel, and on 2 November she headed for Dutch Harbor, where she  arrived on 8 November 1942.

====November 1942–March 1943====
On 11 November 1942 ''S-31'' got underway from Dutch Harbor bound for San Diego, where she provided training services for the [[United States West Coast|West Coast]] Sound School from 27 November 1942 to 3 January 1943. A refit followed and was completed in February 1943. Toward the end of February 1943, she moved west to Hawaii. There, her 4-inch (102&nbsp;mm) [[deck gun]] was replaced by a 3-inch (76.2&nbsp;mm) gun, and she conducted further training exercises.

====Sixth and seventh war patrols ====

On 11 March 1943, ''S-31'' got underway from Pearl Harbor to begin her sixth war patrol. From 23 March to 29 March 1943 she reconnoitered [[Kwajalein Atoll]] and searched the sea lanes between Kwajalein, [[Chuuk Lagoon|Truk Atoll]], and [[Wotje]] for Japanese shipping. On 29 March 1943, she set a course for [[New Caledonia]]. She crossed the [[equator]] on 2 April 1943 and arrived at [[Nouméa]] on [[Grande Terre (New Caledonia)|Grande Terre]] on 9 April 1942. After an eight-day refit, she provided services as a target for [[destroyer]] antisubmarine warfare training exercises. From 5 July to 26 July 1943 she interrupted her training schedule for her seventh war patrol, which took her into the southern [[New Hebrides]] to transport and support a reconnaissance team that landed on [[Aneityum]] and to hunt for an [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] submarine reported to be operating in the area. On her return to Nouméa, she resumed training exercises and continued them until 20 August 1943.

==== Eighth war patrol ====

While in Nouméa, ''S-31'' became the first U.S. Navy submarine to be equipped with a [[plan position indicator]], or PPI. The PPI originally was intended for [[Admiral (United States)|Admiral]] [[William Halsey Jr.|William F. Halsey]]'s [[flagship]], the [[battleship]] {{USS|South Dakota|BB-57}}, but crewmen from the ''S-31'' appropriated it for their own use, and it proved remarkably useful during her eighth war patrol.<ref>{{cite web
| url =https://www.usna.com/tributes-and-stories---stories-1942#WWII
| title = Fighting World War II In A World War I Submarine
| last = Malone
| first = Gene
| access-date = 20 October 2022
}}</ref> On 22 August 1943, she began her eighth and last war patrol, conducted in the [[St. George Channel]] area to intercept Japanese traffic between [[Rabaul]] and [[New Guinea]]. From her patrol area, she proceeded to [[Brisbane]], [[Australia]]. As a result of her increased efficiency using the PPI, the U.S. Navy had production of the PPI expedited for distribution to the rest of its submarine fleet.<ref>''Id.''</ref>

==== December 1944–October 1945 ====
After an overhaul at Brisbane, ''S-31'' returned to the New Caledonia-New Hebrides area in early December 1944. There, she resumed antisubmarine warfare training duties, which she continued until July 1944, when she was ordered to California. She arrived at San Diego in early August 1944 for overhaul, which was completed in November 1944. She then provided submarine and sound training services for [[United States West Coast]] training commands. Hostilities ended in mid-August 1945, and in September 1945 ''S-31'' proceeded to San Francisco for inactivation. She was decommissioned on 19 October 1945.

==Disposal==
Struck from the [[Navy Vessel Register]] on 1 November 1945, ''S-31'' was sold for scrap in May 1946. Her [[Hulk (ship type)|hulk]] was delivered to the purchaser, [[Salco Iron and Metal Company]] of San Francisco, in December 1946, and she was scrapped in July 1947.

==Honors and 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

==References==
===Citations===
{{Reflist}}
*{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/s/s-31.html}}

===Bibliography===
* [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.pigboats.com/ww2/s31.html Kill record: USS ''S-31''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202223238/http://www.pigboats.com/ww2/s31.html |date=2 December 2008 }}

{{United_States_S_class_submarine}}
{{August 1942 shipwrecks}}
{{September 1942 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:S-31 (SS-136)}}
[[Category:United States S-class submarines|S-31]]
[[Category:World War II submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Ships built in San Francisco]]
[[Category:1918 ships]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in August 1942]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in September 1942]]
[[Category:Friendly fire incidents of World War II]]