Allied Warships

S-42 (SS-153)

Submarine of the S-42 class

Navy	The US Navy
Type	Submarine
Class	S-42
Pennant	153
Built by	Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp. (Quincy, Massachusetts, U.S.A.)
Ordered
Laid down	16 Dec 1920
Launched	30 Apr 1923
Commissioned	24 Nov 1924
End service	25 Oct 1945
History	Decommissioned 25 October 1945. Stricken 13 November 1945. Sold in November 1946 to be broken up for scrap.

Commands listed for USS S-42 (153)

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	Lt. Oliver Grafton Kirk, USN	Apr 1939	12 Aug 1942
2	Lt. Harley Kent Nauman, USN	12 Aug 1942	Oct 1943
3	Lt.(jg) Charles Francis Leigh, USN	Oct 1943	Mar 1944
4	T/Lt. Paul Edward Glenn, USN	Mar 1944	Nov 1944
5	Charles A. Staples, USNR	Nov 1944	25 Oct 1945

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 S-42 include:

5 Mar 1942
USS S-42 (Lt. O.G. Kirk) departed from Coco Solo, Panama Canal Zone for Brisbane, Australia.

15 Apr 1942
USS S-42 (Lt. O.G. Kirk) arrived at Brisbane.

25 Apr 1942
USS S-42 (Lt. O.G. Kirk) departed from Brisbane for her 1st war patrol. She was ordered to patrol off New Ireland.

11 May 1942
USS S-42 (Lt. O.G. Kirk) torpedoed the Japanese minelayer Okinoshima (4470 tons, offsite link) west of Buka Island, Solomon Islands in position 05°06'S, 153°48'E. The Japanese minelayer is heavily damaged and sank the next day.

20 May 1942
USS S-42 (Lt. O.G. Kirk) ended her 1st war patrol at Brisbane.

3 Jul 1942
USS S-42 (Lt. O.G. Kirk) departed from Brisbane for her 2nd war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in St. George's Channel.

12 Jul 1942
USS S-42 (Lt. O.G. Kirk) lands an Australian agent at Adler Bay, near Rabaul.

19 Jul 1942
USS S-42 (Lt. O.G. Kirk) returns to Adler Bay to re-embark the Australian agent she landed a week ago.

28 Jul 1942
USS S-42 (Lt. O.G. Kirk) ended her 2nd war patrol at Brisbane.

21 Aug 1942
USS S-42 (Lt. H.K. Nauman) departed from Brisbane for her 3rd war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the Solomons.

19 Sep 1942
USS S-42 (Lt. H.K. Nauman) ended her 3rd war patrol at Brisbane.

20 Oct 1942
USS S-42 (Lt. H.K. Nauman) departed from Brisbane for her 4th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the Solomons.

16 Nov 1942
USS S-42 (Lt. H.K. Nauman) ended her 4th war patrol at Suva, Fiji.

1 Dec 1942
USS S-42 (Lt. H.K. Nauman) departed from Suva to proceed to the US east coast for an overhaul.

8 Feb 1943
USS S-42 departed Coco Solo, Panama Canal Zone for Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

13 Feb 1943
USS S-42 arrived at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba from Coco Solo, Panama Canal Zone.

30 Mar 1943
USS S-42 departed Guantanamo Bay, Cuba for the Philadelphia Navy Yard.

6 Apr 1943
USS S-42 arrived at the Philadelphia Navy Yard from Trinidad for a refit.

14 Jun 1943
With her refit completed, USS S-42, departed the Philadelphia Navy Yard for Hampton Roads, Viginia.

23 Jun 1943
USS S-44 departed Hampton Roads, Viginia for Coco Solo, Panama Canal Zone.

2 Sep 1943
With her east coast overhaul and after subsequent transit to the US west coast, USS S-42 (Lt.Cdr. H.K. Nauman) departed from Dutch Harbour, Alaska for her 5th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the Kurils.

12 Oct 1943
USS S-42 (Lt.Cdr. H.K. Nauman) ended her 5th war patrol at Dutch Harbour.

23 Nov 1943
USS S-42 (Lt.Cdr. H.K. Nauman) departed from Dutch Harbour for another patrol in the Kurils.

27 Nov 1943
USS S-42 (Lt.Cdr. H.K. Nauman) has developed engine trouble and puts into Attu for repairs. Repairs took considerable time and her patrol was cancelled. It was February 1944 before S-42 left for Dutch Harbour and from there to Pearl Harbor.

19 Mar 1944
USS S-42 (Lt.Cdr. P.E. Glenn) arrived at Milne Bay, New Guinea to provide training services.

7 Apr 1944
HMAS Australia (Capt. E.F.V. Dechaineux, DSC, RAN, flying the flag of Rear-Admiral V.A.C. Crutchley, VC, DSC, RN) and HMAS Shropshire (Capt. J.A. Collins, CB, RAN) conducted AA gunnery exercises at Milne Bay.

HMAS Arunta (Cdr. A.E. Buchanan, RAN) and USS Ammen (T/Cdr. H. Williams, Jr., USN) conducted A/S exercises at Milne Bay with USS S-42 (T/Lt.Cdr. P.E. Glenn, USN).

Around 1600K/7, Task Force 74, made up of HMAS Australia, HMAS Shropshire, HMAS Arunta, HMAS Warramunga (Cdr. N.A. Mackinnon, RAN), USS Ammen and USS Mullany (T/Cdr. B.J. Mullaney, USN) departed Milne Bay for exercises in the northern Coral Sea.

All ships returned to Milne Bay on completion of the exercises the following day. HMAS Warramunga and USS Mullany also conducted A/S exercises with USS S-42 before entering Milne Bay. (1)

14 Apr 1944
HMAS Vendetta (Lt.Cdr. J.S. Mesley, RAN) and USS PC-1134 (Lt. D.J. Callaghan. Jr. USNR) conducted A/S and radar exercises off Milne Bay with USS S-42 (T/Lt.Cdr. P.E. Glenn, USN). (2)

6 Aug 1944
USS S-42 (Lt.Cdr. P.E. Glenn) departed from Seeadler Harbor for her 6th war patrol. She was ordered to land agents at Halmahera island.

3 Sep 1944
With her mission completed USS S-42 (Lt.Cdr. P.E. Glenn) ended her 6th war patrol at Seeadler Harbor.