USS Southard (DD-207, DMS-10)

Figure 1: USS Southard (DD-207) underway on 20 April 1932. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 2: USS Southard (DD-207), date and place unknown. Photograph courtesy of Robert M. Cieri. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 3: USS Southard (DD-207) in Alaskan waters during the 1930s. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 4: USS Southard (DMS-10) off the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, 9 June 1942. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 5: USS Southard (DMS-10) off the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, 9 June 1942. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 6: USS Southard (DMS-10) photographed from dead ahead, off the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, 10 June 1942.The actual date of the photo may be 9 June 1942. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 7: USS Southard (DMS-10) photographed from directly astern, off the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, 10 June 1942. The actual date of the photo may be 9 June 1942. Note details of her conversion to a fast minesweeper: squared-off triangular transom, with her name visible; sweep gear and davits on the stern; depth charge tracks angled out over the propeller guards; .50 caliber anti-aircraft machine guns at the rear of her after deckhouse. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 8: USS Southard (DMS-10) off San Francisco, California, 27 May 1943, after an overhaul. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 9: USS Southard (DMS-10) off San Francisco, California, 27 May 1943, after an overhaul. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 10: USS Southard (DD-207), circa the early 1930s. Photograph courtesy of Marc Piché. Click on photograph for larger image.



Named after Secretary of the Navy Samuel L. Southard (1787-1842), USS Southard (DD-207) was a 1,215-ton Clemson class destroyer that was built by William Cramp & Sons at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and was commissioned on 24 September 1919. The ship was approximately 314 feet long and 30 feet wide, had a top speed of 35 knots, and had a crew of 122 officers and men. Southard was armed with four 4-inch guns, one 3-inch gun, 12 21-inch torpedo tubes, and depth charges.

Shortly after being commissioned, Southard patrolled off the east coast of the United States and then was deployed to the Mediterranean. In late 1920, the ship steamed through the Suez Canal and moved on to the Far East, arriving at the Cavite Navy Yard in the Philippines on 16 February 1921. Southard remained in the Philippines until August 1922, when she was ordered to return to the United States. She arrived at San Diego, California, in October and was decommissioned there on 7 February 1922.

Southard was re-commissioned on 6 January 1930. For the next ten years, the ship served mainly in the Pacific, but also made occasional visits to the Atlantic. By 1940, as war was raging in Europe, Southard was converted into a high-speed minesweeper and was re-designated DMS-10 in October of that same year. Although now based at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, Southard was at sea when Pearl Harbor was attacked on 7 December 1941. She returned to Pearl Harbor two days after the attack and was assigned to patrol various approaches to the naval base until 23 January 1942.

During the next seven months, Southard assisted in escorting convoys between Hawaii and the west coast of the United States. The destroyer then was sent to the South Pacific in July 1942 and one month later participated in the American amphibious assaults on Guadalcanal and Tulagi in the Solomon Islands. For the rest of 1942, Southard was assigned to convoy escort duty between New Caledonia and the New Hebrides and the Solomon Islands.

Early on the morning of 10 November 1942, while steaming off Guadalcanal on her way to another convoy assignment, Southard spotted a Japanese submarine steaming on the surface. Southard immediately slowed down to 10 knots and opened fire on the submarine. The submarine submerged and Southard began her first depth-charge attack of the war. After making a preliminary attack, the destroyer lost contact with the Japanese submarine for more than three hours. But Southard remained in the area and regained contact. For the next three hours, the destroyer made five more depth-charge runs over the submarine. Finally, after her last attack, the men on board Southard spotted oil floating to the surface, an indication that the submarine was hit. Southard steamed over the oil slick to investigate, but found no other wreckage from the submarine. Suddenly, like a wounded shark, the submarine surfaced almost vertically, exposing her whole conning tower, the hull forward of the tower, and part of her keel. The submarine’s bow gradually dropped about 10 degrees and then the ship sank rapidly by the stern. Although absolute confirmation of the kill was never obtained, all evidence pointed to Southard having sunk the Japanese warship.

Southard was sent back to the United States for an overhaul and arrived at San Francisco, California, on 19 April 1943. The overhaul was completed by 8 June, at which point Southard was sent back to the Solomon Islands, just in time to take part in the amphibious assault on the island of Bougainville. Southard was one of the ships that bombarded enemy targets on Bougainville and was also used for minesweeping duties in Empress Augusta Bay, Florida Island, and Purvis Bay. But the bulk of Southard’s time was spent on convoy escort duties. After several months of convoy escort duty, Southard was sent back to the United States for another major overhaul. The ship returned to San Francisco and arrived there on 31 May 1944.

Southard’s overhaul was completed in July of 1944. She was immediately sent back to the western Pacific and participated in minesweeping duties during the invasions of the Palau Islands in September 1944, Leyte Island in October and Luzon in January 1945, both of which were in the Philippines. But while on a minesweeping mission in Lingayen Gulf in the Philippines on 6 January 1945, a Japanese kamikaze aircraft crashed into Southard amidships. The plane’s engine buried itself inside the ship while the rest of the plane broke off and bounced off her starboard side, tearing a hole six feet wide in her deck. The crew began emergency repairs on the destroyer and, incredibly, after only 14 hours the ship was back in action sweeping for mines. On 14 January, the ship was sent back to Pearl Harbor for more extensive repairs. She reached Hawaii in February and repairs were completed in May 1945.

After repairs were completed, Southard was sent to Okinawa to participate in the assault on that island. She reached Okinawa towards the end of May and for the next three months she swept mines, screened transports, and delivered mail to the fire support ships around Okinawa. After the Japanese surrendered in August 1945, Southard remained in the vicinity of Okinawa. Sadly, In September and October 1945, soon after the end of the war in the Pacific, the ship was battered by typhoons and driven aground on two different reefs during two different storms. The ship was written off as a total loss and Southard was formally decommissioned on 5 December 1945. Her hulk was destroyed on 14 January 1946. USS Southard received 10 battle stars for her service during World War II.

USS Belknap (CG-26)

Figure 1: USS Belknap (CG-26) in the Kithira Strait off of Greece on October 1975. View from the Soviet ship Krasny Krim ( a Kashin class DDG). Photograph courtesy of Eugene Ivkin. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 2: USS Belknap (CG-26) in the Kithira Strait off of Greece on October 1975. View from the Soviet ship Krasny Krim ( a Kashin class DDG). Photograph courtesy of Eugene Ivkin. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 3: USS Belknap (CG-26) in the Kithira Strait off of Greece on October 1975. View from the Soviet ship Krasny Krim ( a Kashin class DDG). Photograph courtesy of Eugene Ivkin. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 4: USS Belknap (CG-26) in the Kithira Strait off of Greece on October 1975. View from the Soviet ship Krasny Krim ( a Kashin class DDG). Photograph courtesy of Eugene Ivkin. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 5: USS Belknap (CG-26) in the Kithira Strait off of Greece on October 1975. View from the Soviet ship Krasny Krim ( a Kashin class DDG). Photograph courtesy of Eugene Ivkin. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 6: USS Belknap (CG-26) was heavily damaged and caught fire when it collided with the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67) during night operations in the Ionian Sea on 22 November 1975. In this photograph, firefighters aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Claude V. Ricketts (DDG-5) direct spray from their hoses onto the fire on board Belknap. US Navy Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 7: USS Belknap (CG-26) was heavily damaged and caught fire when it collided with the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67) during night operations in the Ionian Sea on 22 November 1975. In this photograph, firefighters aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Claude V. Ricketts (DDG-5) direct spray from their hoses onto the fire on board Belknap. US Navy Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 8: Official US Navy photograph taken on 23 November 1975, the day after Belknap’s collision with John F. Kennedy. Though essentially intact up to the weather deck, her aluminum superstructure burned and melted. This significantly influenced the decision to build the Arleigh Burke class destroyers with steel superstructures. US Navy Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 9: An overhead amidships view of the damaged superstructure of the guided-missile cruiser Belknap on 23 November 1975, the day after she collided with the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy during night operations in the Ionian Sea. US Navy photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 10: USS Belknap (CG-26) on 10 May 1980, the day she was re-commissioned after completing extensive repairs due to her collision with the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67). Courtesy Dale Hargrave. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 11: Port bow view of Belknap (CG-26) in 1983, location unknown. US Navy photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 12: Belknap (CG-26) taken sometime in 1985, location unknown. After her collision with USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67), she was rebuilt and then selected to serve as the flagship for the commander of the Sixth Fleet. This is the flagship configuration. Note the added deck house in front of the superstructure. Courtesy Demetrius J. C. Carter, SM1 USN. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 13: A port bow view of the guided-missile cruiser USS Belknap (CG-26) and the guided-missile destroyer USS Conyngham (DDG-17) moored at a pier, with the city of Gaeta, Italy, in the background. Photograph by JO1 Burke, 1 November 1989. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 14: A port bow view of the guided-missile cruiser USS Belknap (CG-26), flagship of the US Sixth Fleet, 21 July 1992. Photograph by JO1 James Slater. US Navy Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.



Named after Rear Admiral George Belknap (1832-1903), the 8,957-ton USS Belknap (CG-26) was the lead ship of a class of guided-missile cruisers for the US Navy. The ship was built by the Bath Iron Works at Bath, Maine, and was commissioned on 7 November 1964. Belknap was approximately 547 feet long and 55 feet wide, had a top speed of 34 knots, and had a crew of approximately 477 officers and men (610 when it acted as a flagship). The cruiser was heavily armed with one 5-inch gun, two 3-inch guns, one Terrier missile/SM-2ER launcher, six 15.5-inch torpedoes, Harpoon missile launchers, and two 20-mm Phalanx Close-in Weapons Systems (CIWS). Belknap was also loaded with various radar and sonar systems.

After completing her sea trials and shakedown cruise in 1965, Belknap was assigned to the US Navy’s Atlantic Fleet. For roughly the next year, Belknap completed numerous training exercises, and patrol and escort missions. In August 1966, Belknap was part of a major NATO deployment just off the coast of Norway and north of the Arctic Circle. She was joined by other American warships, as well as ships from the Norwegian and British navies. After finishing this assignment, Belknap returned to her home port at Norfolk, Virginia, and then headed for the Mediterranean Sea in September 1966 for a six-month tour of duty with the Sixth Fleet.

A year later in September 1967, Belknap was ordered to steam to the Pacific and served off the coast of Vietnam. After the ship arrived in the Gulf of Tonkin, Belknap served as a powerful floating radar station for Task Force 77 of the US Navy’s Seventh Fleet. Belknap monitored the positions of all US and enemy aircraft over the gulf. The ship was also used for various search-and-rescue duties before leaving Vietnam in early 1968.

Belknap spent the rest of 1968 and the first three months of 1969 in dry dock being overhauled. After that, she completed some trials and training exercises before being sent back to the Gulf of Tonkin in early 1970. Belknap left Vietnam in March 1970 and arrived back at Norfolk in May. In September, Belknap was sent back to the Mediterranean and joined the Sixth Fleet for a second time. While there, she was awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation.

Belknap remained with the Sixth Fleet, but on the night of 22 November 1975, the cruiser was severely damaged by the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67) in a collision in the Ionian Sea off the coast of Sicily. A huge fire broke out on board Belknap and quickly spread throughout the ship. Other American warships, such as the destroyer USS Claude V. Ricketts (DDG-5), rushed to assist the burning cruiser. The fire was so intense that it melted the aluminum superstructure of the ship, gutting Belknap right down to the deck level. The fire was finally put out the next day, after it claimed the lives of seven crewmembers and injured 47 others. What was left of Belknap was towed back to the United States to the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The ship was decommissioned on 20 December 1975.

Belknap was basically reconstructed at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard from 30 January 1976 to 10 May 1980, when she was re-commissioned into the Navy. Belknap returned to the Sixth Fleet and played a brief role in the American intervention in Lebanon in 1983. Belknap also served as the flagship of the Sixth Fleet from May 1985 to March 1986.

In December 1989, Belknap served as the American flagship for the Malta Summit between President George H.W. Bush and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. President Bush maintained his sleeping quarters on board Belknap, but because of stormy weather the meetings actually took place on board the Soviet cruise ship Maxim Gorkiy. Belknap also won awards for combat preparedness in 1988, 1989, and 1994, and earned three more Meritorious Unit Commendations in 1989, 1992, and 1994.

USS Belknap was decommissioned for the last time on 15 February 1995 and was sunk as a target for gunnery practice on 24 September 1998. Because the tragic fire on board Belknap melted its aluminum superstructure, it was determined by the US Navy that only steel would be used in the superstructures of future warships. That decision was reflected in the next major class of US warships, the USS Arleigh Burke class destroyers. All of the ships were built with steel superstructures.

USS Brooklyn (CA-3)

Figure 1: USS Brooklyn (CA-3) at the New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, NY, 1898. Photographed by Enrique Muller. Collection of the New York Naval Shipyard. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 2: USS Brooklyn (CA-3) in New York Harbor during the Spanish-American War victory naval parade, August 1898. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 3: USS Brooklyn (CA-3) in New York Harbor during the victory fleet review, August 1898. USS New York (CA-2) is in the left background. The original photograph was copyright by George P. Hall & Son, New York, 1898. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 4: USS Brooklyn (CA-3) returns to the United States from Cuban waters, August 1898. Her crewmen are waving to the photographer. The original photograph was published on a stereograph card by Strohmeyer & Wyman, New York, 1898. Donation of Louis Smaus, 1985. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 5: USS Brooklyn (CA-3) steaming in the New York naval parade, August 1898, upon the return of the fleet from Cuban waters. The original photograph was published on a stereograph card by the American Stereoscopic Company, copyrighted by R.Y. Young, 1899. Donation of Louis Smaus, 1985. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 6: USS Brooklyn (CA-3) in drydock at the New York Navy Yard, 1898, with men working over her side. Note rudder and starboard propeller. Original photograph was copyright 1899 by R.Y. Young. Courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, Corte Madera, CA, 1971. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 7: USS Brooklyn (CA-3) sailors and Marines on the cruiser's forecastle, with mascot goat, 1898. Note details of pilothouse and bridge, improvised gun port shields on her forward 8-inch gun turret, and very odd "flathat" worn by one sailor. The original photograph was published on a stereograph card, copyright by C.L. Wasson, 1899. Courtesy of Commander Donald J. Robinson, USN(Ret), 1982. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 8: "Next" -- Barber shop scene on board USS Brooklyn (CA-3) in 1898. Note that this shop uses a portable barber's chair, set up in Brooklyn's windlass room. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.



Originally named after the city of Brooklyn (before it was incorporated into New York City as a borough in 1898), the 9,215-ton USS Brooklyn (CA-3) was an armored cruiser that was built by William Cramp and Sons at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and was commissioned on 1 December 1896. The ship was approximately 402 feet long and 64 feet wide, had a top speed of 20 knots, and had a crew of 561 officers and men. Brooklyn was armed with eight 8-inch guns, 12 5-inch guns, 12 6-pounder guns, four 1-pounders, and five 18-inch torpedo tubes.

After her shakedown cruise, Brooklyn steamed to Great Britain to represent the United States during Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee celebration. She left England on 6 July 1897 and returned to New York City on 17 July. After that, Brooklyn patrolled along America’s east coast and in the West Indies. Brooklyn became the flagship of Commodore W.S. Schley’s “Flying Squadron” on 28 March 1898, shortly after the battleship USS Maine was sunk in Havana harbor, Cuba, on 15 February. Congress declared war on Spain on 25 April 1898, marking the official beginning of the Spanish-American War.

Schley’s Flying Squadron arrived off Cienfuegos, Cuba, on 21 May 1898 and established a blockade of that port. On 26 May, the Flying Squadron moved to Santiago, Cuba, where the Spanish fleet was hiding behind the protection of Spanish coastal forts. When the Spanish fleet finally left Santiago to do battle with the American fleet on 3 July 1898, Brooklyn was one of the key US naval vessels that took part in what turned out to be the Battle of Santiago. Brooklyn scored numerous hits on the Spanish ships. The US warships ended up dominating the battle and destroyed the Spanish Fleet. Brooklyn also demonstrated her toughness by sustaining 20 hits, but losing only one man killed and one man wounded.

Brooklyn returned to New York on 20 August 1898 and resumed patrolling off America’s east coast and in the Caribbean. She participated in the Spanish-American War victory celebration in New York on 5 October 1899 and then steamed to Manila in the Philippines, going via the Mediterranean Sea and the Suez Canal. Brooklyn arrived in Manila on 16 December 1899 and became the flagship of the US Asiatic Squadron. She participated in the North China Relief Expedition (8 July to 11 October 1900), also known as the “Boxer Rebellion,” and completed a cruise to Australia and the Dutch East Indies from 10 April to 7 August 1901. Brooklyn remained with the Asiatic Squadron until 1 March 1902 and then returned to the United States, again via the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean. She arrived at the New York Navy Yard on 1 May 1902.

On 20 May 1902, Brooklyn arrived at Havana, Cuba, and participated in ceremonies that transferred control of that island from the United States to the new Cuban government. For the next four years, Brooklyn sailed with the North Atlantic Fleet and with the European Squadron, eventually returning to New York on 25 May 1905. On 7 June 1905, while acting as flagship for Rear Admiral C.D. Sigsbee, Brooklyn sailed for Cherbourg, France, where the remains of John Paul Jones were received and transported back to the United States. The ship returned to the United States and arrived at the US Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, where the remains were transferred to shore and placed into a vault at the Naval Academy on 23 July 1905.

After completing a cruise with the naval militia and a tour of the Mediterranean, Brooklyn went into reserve on 16 May 1906. She was placed back into commission for a brief period of time from 30 June to 2 August 1906 for a trip to Havana, Cuba. But Brooklyn was again placed in reserve until the spring of 1907, when she was used as a display for the Jamestown Exposition at Jamestown, Virginia. The ship was placed back in reserve on 21 December 1907.

Brooklyn was decommissioned on 23 June 1908 and remained that way until she was re-commissioned on 2 March 1914. She was assigned to the Atlantic Reserve Fleet and became a receiving ship at the Boston Navy Yard at Boston, Massachusetts, from July 1914 to March 1915. With World War I raging in Europe, Brooklyn conducted neutrality patrols around Boston until November 1915. Brooklyn was sent back to the Asiatic Fleet in the Philippines where she served as the flagship for the commander-in-chief there. She made numerous visits to China, Japan, and Russia until September 1919. Brooklyn went on to become flagship for the commander of Division 1 of the Asiatic Fleet and then in January 1920 was assigned to the Pacific Fleet as the flagship for the commander of destroyer squadrons. She continued functioning in that capacity until 15 January 1921. USS Brooklyn was decommissioned for the last time at the Mare Island Navy Yard in California on 9 March 1921 and was sold for scrap on 20 December of that same year.

USS Seadragon (SS-194)

Figure 1: USS Seadragon (SS-194) moving along at 19.5 knots off the coast of Provincetown, Massachusetts, 28 August 1939. US Navy photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 2: Broadside view of USS Seadragon (SS-194) moving along at 19.5 knots off the coast of Provincetown, Massachusetts, 28 August 1939. US Navy photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 3: USS Seadragon (SS-194) moving along at 19.5 knots off the coast of Provincetown, Massachusetts, 28 August 1939. US Navy photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 4: USS Seadragon (SS-194) photographed from directly ahead while underway off the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, 17 April 1943. Note the escort ship (DE) fitting out in the background. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 5: USS Seadragon (SS-194) photographed from directly astern while off the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, 17 April 1943. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 6: USS Seadragon (SS-194) off the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, 5 August 1944. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 7: USS Seadragon (SS-194) off the Hunters Point Navy Yard, San Francisco, California, 24 May 1945. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.



Named after a small fish, USS Seadragon (SS-194) was a 1,450-ton Sargo class submarine that was built by the Electric Boat Company at Groton, Connecticut, and was commissioned on 23 October 1939. The ship was approximately 310 feet long and 27 feet wide, had a top speed of 20 knots surfaced and 8.75 knots submerged, and had a crew of 55 officers and men. Seadragon was armed with eight 21-inch torpedo tubes and carried a total of 24 torpedoes. The submarine was also armed with one 3-inch deck gun and two .50-caliber and two .30-caliber machine guns.

After her shakedown cruise along America’s east coast, Seadragon left New England and was sent to the Philippines in May 1940. After arriving at Cavite Naval Shipyard in the Philippines on 30 November, Seadragon became part of the US Asiatic Fleet and spent the next year participating in numerous training exercises. On 8 December 1941 (7 December east of the International Date Line), Seadragon was at Cavite undergoing an overhaul when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.

On 10 December 1941, Seadragon was moored next to another submarine, USS Sealion (SS-195), when Japanese aircraft attacked Cavite. Sealion took a direct hit which destroyed that submarine but also damaged Seadragon. The force of the explosion that ripped through Sealion tore off part of Seadragon’s bridge and sent shrapnel and splinters flying all over the ship, puncturing her fuel tanks and slicing through her conning tower, killing one officer and wounding five others. The heat from Sealion’s massive explosion scorched Seadragon’s hull and blistered her paint black. Although fires now raged all along the wharf next to Seadragon and flames were moving closer and closer to a nearby barge filled with torpedoes, the submarine rescue vessel USS Pigeon (AM-47) disregarded the imminent danger and moved in close to Seadragon. Pigeon managed to tow Seadragon away from the burning wharf and brought her safely into the nearby channel. Seadragon was then able to steam into Manila Bay under her own power.

After being temporarily repaired by the submarine tender USS Canopus (AS-9), Seadragon transported several Asiatic Fleet staff members to the East Indies. In late December, Seadragon began a combat cruise off the coasts of Indochina and Luzon in the Philippines. She made several attacks on enemy shipping but, due to several torpedo malfunctions, was only able to sink one Japanese merchant ship and severely damage another. Seadragon’s first war patrol ended in February 1942 with another mission to evacuate some vital personnel from the Philippines and bring them to Java in the Netherlands East Indies.

In March and April 1942, Seadragon was based at Fremantle, Australia, and carried urgent supplies to the beleaguered American garrison on Corregidor in the Philippines. She then picked up some passengers at Corregidor for the return trip to Australia. On one of those missions, more malfunctioning torpedoes spoiled an attack on a Japanese destroyer. But during the rest of 1942, Seadragon managed to sink four more Japanese cargo ships. On one of these patrols, Seadragon’s Pharmacist’s Mate also performed a successful emergency appendectomy on a fellow crew member. On 21 November 1942, Seadragon sank the Japanese submarine I-4 but was also damaged when one of her own torpedoes exploded soon after being fired. After that incident, Seadragon was sent back to the United States for an overhaul from January to April 1943. The ship was then based at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, from which she completed four anti-shipping cruises in the central Pacific from May 1943 to February 1944. Seadragon damaged several ships, but was not able to sink any.

After completing another overhaul, Seadragon was sent back into action in April and May 1944. She patrolled off the coast of Japan and managed to sink one freighter and one patrol boat. Upon completion of that cruise, Seadragon was overhauled yet again and given new engines. In September 1944, the ship became part of a three-submarine “wolf pack” which attacked Japanese ships off the coast of the Philippines. Seadragon managed to sink three cargo ships during that deployment.

Seadragon ended her combat career with a final patrol that lasted from December 1944 to January 1945. No ships were sunk during that deployment. After that, Seadragon was sent back to the United States and served as a training ship, first off the coast of California and then in the waters off Florida and Cuba. After the war ended in the Pacific in September 1945, Seadragon was scheduled for retirement. Although placed in reserve for a brief period of time, USS Seadragon was officially decommissioned on 29 October 1946 and was struck from the Navy list of ships on 30 April 1948. The ship was sold for scrapping in early July of that same year.