Allied Warships

Sealion (ii) (SS-315)

Submarine of the Balao class

USS Sealion during the war.

Navy	The US Navy
Type	Submarine
Class	Balao
Pennant	315
Built by	Electric Boat Co. (Groton, Connecticut, U.S.A.)
Ordered	6 Jun 1942
Laid down	25 Feb 1943
Launched	31 Oct 1943
Commissioned	8 Mar 1944
End service	20 Feb 1970
History	Decommissioned 2 February 1946. Laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet. Converted to a Submarine Transport, at Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, San Francisco, California and recommissioned 2 November 1948. Decommissioned 30 June 1960. Recommissioned 20 October 1961. Decommissioned 20 February 1970. Laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. Stricken 15 March 1977. Sunk as a target off Newport, Rhode Island 8 July 1978.

Commands listed for USS Sealion (ii) (315)

Please note that we're still working on this section
and that we only list Commanding Officers for the duration of the Second World War.

	Commander	From	To
1	T/Cdr. Eli Thomas Reich, USN	8 Mar 1944	4 Dec 1944
2	T/Lt.Cdr. Charles Francis Putman, USN	4 Dec 1944

You can help improve our commands section
Click here to Submit events/comments/updates for this vessel.
Please use this if you spot mistakes or want to improve this ships page.

Notable events involving Sealion (ii) include:

17 May 1944
With her trials and initial training completed USS Sealion (ii) (Lt.Cdr. Eli Thomas Reich) arrived at Pearl Harbor.

8 Jun 1944
USS Sealion (ii) (Lt.Cdr. E.T. Reich) departed from Pearl Harbor for her 1st war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the East China and Yellow Seas.

12 Jun 1944
USS Sealion (ii) (Lt.Cdr. Eli Thomas Reich) refuels at Midway.

28 Jun 1944
USS Sealion (ii) (Lt.Cdr. E.T. Reich) torpedoed and sank the Japanese collier Sansei Maru (2386 GRT) in Tsushima Strait in position 33°53'N, 129°01'E.

30 Jun 1944
USS Sealion (ii) (Lt.Cdr. E.T. Reich) sank a Japanese sampan with gunfire in the East China Sea in position 34°28'N, 125°21'E.

6 Jul 1944
USS Sealion (ii) (Lt.Cdr. E.T. Reich) torpedoed and sank the Japanese merchant passenger/cargo ship Setsuzan Maru (1922 GRT) off Ningpo, China in position 29°55'N, 122°55'E.

11 Jul 1944
While operating in the Yellow Sea off the west coast of Korea, near Shosei Jima USS Sealion (ii) (Lt.Cdr. E.T. Reich) torpedoed and sank the Japanese merchant cargo ship Taiun Maru No.2 (1034 GRT, built 1911) in position 37°30'N, 124°34'E and the Japanese merchant cargo ship Tsukushi Maru No.2 (2417 GRT, built 1926) in position 37°24'N, 124°31'E.

21 Jul 1944
USS Sealion (ii) (Lt.Cdr. E.T. Reich) ended her 1st war patrol at Midway.

17 Aug 1944
USS Sealion (ii) (Lt.Cdr. E.T. Reich) departed from Midway for her 2nd war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the South China Sea.

31 Aug 1944
USS Sealion (ii) (Lt.Cdr. E.T. Reich) torpedoed and sank the Japanese minelayer Shirataka (1345 tons, offsite link) in Luzon Strait south of Formosa in position 21°05'N, 121°26'E.

7 Sep 1944
USS Sealion (ii) (Lt.Cdr. E.T. Reich) takes on board additional fuel and torpedoes at Saipan.

12 Sep 1944
USS Sealion (ii) (Lt.Cdr. E.T. Reich) torpedoed and sank the Japanese troop transport Nankai Maru (8416 GRT) and the Japanese merchant passenger/cargo ship Rakuyo Maru (9418 GRT) in the South China Sea, east of Hainan in position 18°42'N, 114°30'E.

The Rakuyo Maru had some 1300 Allied POW's on board. Only some 160 were rescued by US submarines.

30 Sep 1944
USS Sealion (ii) (Lt.Cdr. E.T. Reich) ended her 2nd war patrol at Pearl Harbor.

31 Oct 1944
USS Sealion (ii) (Lt.Cdr. E.T. Reich) departed from Pearl Harbor for her 3rd war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the East China Sea.

4 Nov 1944
USS Sealion (ii) (Lt.Cdr. Eli Thomas Reich) refuels at Midway.

21 Nov 1944
USS Sealion (ii) (Lt.Cdr. E.T. Reich) torpedoed and sank the Japanese battleship Kongo (27500tons, offsite link) and the Japanese destroyer Urakaze (2035tons, offsite link) about 60 nautical miles north-north-west of Formosa in position 26°07'N, 121°36'E.

1 Dec 1944
USS Sealion (ii) (Lt.Cdr. E.T. Reich) ended her 3rd war patrol at Guam.

14 Dec 1944
USS Sealion (ii) (Lt.Cdr. Charles Frederick Putnam) departed from Guam for her 4th war patrol, and was ordered to patrol in the South China Sea.

20 Dec 1944
USS Sealion (ii) (Lt.Cdr. Charles Frederick Putnam) torpedoed and damaged the Japanese supply ship Mamiya (15820 tons, offsite link) in the South China Sea about 450 nautical miles north-east of Cam Ranh Bay, French Indo-China in position 17°48'N, 114°09'E.

21 Dec 1944
USS Sealion (ii) (Lt.Cdr. C.F. Putnam) torpedoed and sank the already damaged Japanese supply ship Mamiya (15820 tons, offsite link) in the South China Sea in position 17°55'N, 114°11'E.

24 Jan 1945
USS Sealion (ii) (Lt.Cdr. C.F. Putnam) ended her 4th war patrol at Fremantle, Australia.

19 Feb 1945
USS Sealion (ii) (Lt.Cdr. C.F. Putnam) departed from Fremantle for her 5th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the South China Sea and the Gulf of Siam.

17 Mar 1945
USS Sealion (ii) (Lt.Cdr. C.F. Putnam) torpedoed and sank the Thai oiler Samui (1458 GRT) off the Trengganu coast in position 05°18'N, 103°23'E.

6 Apr 1945
USS Sealion (ii) (Lt.Cdr. C.F. Putnam) ended her 5th war patrol at Subic Bay, Philippines.

30 Apr 1945
USS Sealion (ii) (Lt.Cdr. C.F. Putnam) departed from Subic Bay for her 6th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the northern part of the South China Sea.

30 Jun 1945
USS Sealion (ii) (Lt.Cdr. C.F. Putnam) ended her 6th war patrol at Pearl Harbor. She is now sent to San Francisco for a major overhaul.