Built by: Electric Boat
Design: EB 224A
Keel laid: 18 April 1938
Launched: 11 April 1939
Sponsor: Mrs. J. O. Richardson
Commissioned: 23 October 1939
Decommissioned: 15 November 1945
Recommissioned: 29 October 1946
First Skipper: LCDR John G. Johns

The following is from JAMES SANTOS (4896-A/LIFE-1996), and is an excellent piece of research.

Following a shakedown cruise off the American east coast and in the Caribbean, USS SEADRAGON returned to New England and on 23 May 1940, departed New London for the Philippines. With ComSubDiv 17 embarked, she arrived at Cavite on 30 November and commenced training operations as a unit of the Asiatic Fleet. A year later, she prepared for overhaul and by 8 December 1941 (which was 7 December east of the International Date Line) she had started her yard period at the Cavite Navy Yard.

Two days later, 10 December, she and sister ship USS SEALION (SS 195) moored together, were caught by an enemy air raid against Cavite. USS SEALION took a direct hit, which demolished that submarine and damaged USS SEADRAGON. The force of the explosion ripped off part of the bridge of SEADRAGON. Shrapnel and splinters punctured her tanks and pierced her conning tower, killing Ensign Sam Hunter, the first World War II casualty for the SubForce – and wounding five others. The heat of the explosion scorched her hull and blistered her black paint.

Fires and explosions raged along the wharf. A nearby torpedo shop went up and flames reached toward a lighter, loaded with torpedoes, alongside USS SEALION and USS SEADRAGON. The Submarine Rescue Vessel USS PIGEON (ASR-6) however, disregarded the danger and moved in to tow SEADRAGON out into the channel, whence the submarine continued into Manila Bay under her own power.

Temporary repairs were accomplished by Submarine Tender USS CANOPUS (AS-9) and PIGEON and, on the night of 15 December, she embarked members of the Asiatic Fleet Staff. At 0000 hours 16 December 1941, she headed out of Manila Bay.

Escorted by destroyer USS BULMER (DD-222), SEADRAGON moved south via Surigao and Makassar Strait to Soerabaja where she disembarked passengers, received further repairs (exclusive of a paint job) and prepared for her first war patrol.

On 30 December, she departed the Dutch naval base and set a course for the South China Sea to intercept Japanese shipping off the coast of Indochina. On 8 January 1942, she was in the sea lanes to Cam Rahn Bay. Two days later, she sighted a destroyer, fired two torpedoes which missed, then watched as the destroyer continued on its course without attempting to attack the submarine. USS SEADRAGON remained in the area. Shortly before noon, a convoy was heard. Half an hour later, it was sighted and the submarine began closing the last ship in the column. Shortly after 1300 hours, she fired – missed, and again tried to close to firing position. Within an hour however, the convoy was safely into Cam Rahn Bay. USS SEADRAGON retired eastward.

After dark, while on the surface, she sighted a destroyer and tried to slip away undetected, but the destroyer spotlighted her. SEADRAGON went deep and worked her way eastward through two depth charge attacks.

She spent the morning of the 12th evading Japanese patrol planes. In the afternoon, she closes a six-ship convoy but as she came to periscope depth for a final check, she was spotted from the air. Three salvoes of bombs dropped close aboard, but SEADRAGON went deep and again made her way eastward – this time to investigate the cause of the plane sightings. She surfaced after 1800 hours. No oil or air leaks were spotted, but her black paint was coming off the entire hull. Red lead undercoating showed from the waterline to the side plating and in spots, on the bow planes and propeller guards. In shallow tropical waters, her original black paint was easily spotted against a light colored background. With red showing, she stood our regardless of the color of the seabed. From then on, SEADRAGON ran at 140 feet between periscope exposures except in areas known to be patrolled by air. She then went down to 200 feet.

On the 14th, she patrolled in the Cape Varella area and on the 15th, she shifted southward and on the 16th, she stood off Hon Lon to wait for a convoy. At 1115 hours, after a periscope observation, she was again spotted and bombed from the air. She returned to Cape Varella where the depth of the water permitted a closer patrol to the shoreline.

During the next six days, she sighted several targets but had no luck with her torpedoes. Early on the 23rd, she sighted a four-ship convoy, which she stalked until daylight, then attacked. At 0806 hours, she fired at the lead ship and scored with a hit on the port quarter. She then fired two at the next ship and missed. The third and fourth ships ran off to the southeast and west respectively. The second ship moved in toward the first then, listing to port and down by the stern, accompanied it as it ran for the beach. USS SEADRAGON surfaced and went after the third ship, but the appearance of an enemy plane forced her to break off the attack.

The submarine remained off the Indochina coast for another four days, then set a course back to Luzon. On the 29th, she began patrolling along the coast from Subic Bay to Lingayen Gulf. On 1 February, she took up station off San Fernando and early on the morning of the 2nd, conducted a night submerged attack on a five-ship convoy. The fourth in line went down, depriving the Japanese occupation force of a number of the reinforcement troops and equipment she carried.

After this sinking, USS SEADRAGON patrolled southward. On the 4th, she arrived off Luzon Point and that night, she moved into Manila Bay to take on cargo and passengers at Corregidor. Mooring at 2203, she completed loading torpedoes, radio equipment and submarine spare parts at 0300 on the 5th. Shortly thereafter, she moved out, resting on the bottom until after dark, then surfaced to take on passengers. At 1946, she got underway for the Netherlands East Indies.

She arrived at Soerabaja on 13 February 1042. On the 21st, she left for Tjilitjap, whence she was ordered on to Australia. She reached Fremantle on 4 March and two weeks later, again headed for the Indochina coast for her second war patrol. At the end of one month, she was diverted to Cebu to take on food and fuel for Corregidor. On the evening of 8 April, she arrived off that besieged base. At 2053 she moored alongside and transferred fuel and offloaded 7 tons of food, then took on 21 passengers and, at 2129, she got underway to resume her patrol.

She remained in the waters off southwest Luzon and recommenced her patrol off the entrance to Subic Bay. On the 11th, she sighted several targets but was able to attack only one, a patrolling destroyer. At 1720, she fired three torpedoes. Twenty-nine seconds, the first torpedo exploded halfway to the target. The second torpedo broached and circled abeam of the target. The destroyer avoided the third torpedo. SEADRAGON changed course and went to 200 feet to avoid the circling torpedo and the expected depth charging. None of the depth charges were close, but a second destroyer soon joined the first, spotted the submarine as she came up for a periscope observation, and turned on her. SEADRAGON again went deep, then cleared the area.

On the 12th, the submarine started south. On the 20th, she cleared Lombok Strait and on the 26th, returned to Fremantle.

On her third patrol, 11 June to 2 August 1942, SEADRAGON returned to the South China Sea. Arriving in her assigned area on 27 June, she patrolled along the Singapore-Hong Kong routes to the end of the month, then shifted to the Cape Varella area.

On the morning of 4 July, she fired a torpedo at the leader of a three-ship formation. The torpedo missed ahead, and all three ships changed course toward SEADRAGON with the leader proceeding down the torpedo track, firing her bow gun. Depth charges were dropped indiscriminately. Ten minutes later, the three had turned toward shore. SEADRAGON then shifted southward to intercept enemy traffic off Hon Lon Light.

A few hours later, she sighted two freighters and fired tubes 1 and 2 at the lead ship. Her No. 1 tube did not fire, and her No. 2 torpedo missed astern. Two more torpedoes were fired at the ships, but both missed. Enemy planes arrived on the scene soon afterward and for over two hours, aerial depth charges in salvoes of two and three were dropped. Despite water depth of 75 fathoms, submarines were visible at any depth over the light colored bottom.

SEADRAGON survived the close bombing and continued her patrol. During the next week, she attempted to close several ships, but was unable to attain attack positions. On the night of the 11th, her losing streak ended. Just prior to midnight, she sighted smoke and opened out to the westward to overtake the target. At 0156 on the 12th, she began her approach and fourteen minutes later, she fired three torpedoes. Two hits, but the third missed astern. The merchantman began settling. By 0219, she had been abandoned. SEADRAGON submerged and resumed her patrol eight miles northeast of Cape Varella.

On the morning of the 13th, SEADRAGON torpedoed and sank her second victim of the patrol. The target was hit approximately fifty feet abaft the beam and settled immediately. SEADRAGON moved out of the area and hunted along the Haina Varelle routes for a few days. On the 16th, she was back off Cape Varella and soon after 1030 hours, she fired on a four-ship convoy. Five minutes later, the torpedo exploded on the beach. The four ships turned toward SEADRAGON and commenced firing their guns. SEADRAGON fired two more torpedoes and went deep. A few minutes later, she came to periscope depth – only three ships remained on the surface. One had been sunk.

On 20 July, SEADRAGON departed the South China Sea and made her way south to Australia. On 26 August, she departed her Australian base for her fourth war patrol and again set her course for Indochina. On 10 September, she moved through Apo East Pass. On the 11th, her progress into the South China Sea was delayed by an emergency appendectomy performed successfully by the pharmacist’s mate. On the 12th, she arrived on station and commenced patrolling the steamer lanes west of Macclesfield Bank. At dusk on the 16th, she headed for Cape Varella.

Not until the 22nd however, while off Cam Rahn Bay, was she able to gain a firing position on a suitable target. On that morning, she fired four torpedoes at a cruiser escorted by two destroyers. No explosions were heard, but her torpedoes were seen, and the enemy ships turned on SEADRAGON and delivered a “well executed depth charge attack”.

A week later, on the night of the 29th, the submarine tracked a five-ship convoy and at 0122 on the 30th, conducted a surface torpedo attack which damaged one ship. She then ran eastward to attain a position ahead of the convoy but was spotlighted by an escort which had shifted stations. SEADRAGON went deep and the escort dropped six depth charges, then rejoined the convoy. The submarine resurfaced and attempted to make up for lost time. Three hours later, she had overheated her main motor cables and was forced to give up the chase.

On the evening of 3 October, SEADRAGON departed the South China Sea and, five days later, commenced patrolling the approaches to Balikpapan. On the 10th, she attained a position for a stern shot. The cargoman disappeared 47 seconds after the first explosion. On the 11th, the submarine patrolled off Capes William and Mandar. On the 12th, she was off Makassar City. On the 14th, she transited Lombok Strait and on the 20th, returned to Fremantle.

Refit was started by Submarine Tender USS HOLLAND (AS-3) at Fremantle and completed by tenders USS GRIFFIN (AS-13) and USS FULTON (AS-11) at Brisbane. On 23 November, she departed the latter and headed for the Bismarck Archipelago for her fifth war patrol. On the 29th she entered her area and commenced patrolling the Rabaul-Shortland routes. On 1 December, she closed the New Britain coast to intercept Buna traffic and during the next 10 days, conducted several unsuccessful approaches on enemy formations. On the morning of the 11th, she sighted a freighter with one escort, rounding Cape St. George, and fired tow torpedoes at the merchantman. One hit under the main mast, damaging but not sinking the target. The escort delivered a depth charge attack, then took the damaged vessel under tow for Rabaul. Enemy planes prohibited SEADRAGON from delivering the ‘coup d’ grace’.

On the 21st, SEADRAGON sighted an enemy submarine, made her approach, and fired three torpedoes at the target. The first missed ahead. The second exploded about 18 seconds after firing. The third torpedo hit the enemy submarine and I-4 sank with her bow vertical. The second torpedo explosion however, had damaged SEADRAGON. The force of the explosion had knocked down the personnel in the forward torpedo room. The torpedo in No. 1 tube, outer door of which was open, was forced against the tail buffer. The countereffect forced the torpedo forward, shearing off the guide stud and tripping the starting lever. The outer door could not be closed. Depth control was lost. The torpedo was fired & depth control was regained as the torpedo exploded on her port quarter.

On the 25th, SEADRAGON damaged another cargoman and on the 26th, departed the area for Pearl Harbor where she arrived on 7 January 1943. From Pearl Harbor, SEADRAGON continued on to the west coast. Between 16 January and 8 April, she underwent overhaul at Mare Island, receiving new batteries and changing the position of her 3-inch mount from aft to a forward position. In mid-April, she sailed west again and on 9 May, she departed Pearl Harbor for her 6th war patrol.

Of the 15th, SEADRAGON crossed the 180th Meridian and moved toward Micronesia. On the 19th, she commenced patrolling in the Carolines. On the 20th, she surprised and was in turn surprised by, sighting a surfaced submarine on a parallel course. The other submarine submerged immediately. On the 22nd, she took up station off the Truk Islands and for the next eleven days, patrolled the sea lanes to the major enemy anchorages enclosed by Dublon, Fefan and Uman Islands. On 4 June, she departed Truk and moved eastward to reconnoiter Ponape, thence heading into the Marshalls to patrol the sea lanes converging on Kwajalein. There, the enemy’s omnipresent surface and aerial escorts prohibited hunting, but on the 13th, SEADRAGON was able to damage a freighter. Four days later, she cleared the area and on the 21st, she arrived at Midway then on to Pearl Harbor for repairs to her steering gear.

From 18 July to 30 August, SEADRAGON conducted her 7th war patrol. Of the forty-four days, thirty-one were spent on station near Wake and in the Marshalls where increased enemy air activity again hindered hunting and limited SEADRAGON’s score to five freighters damaged. In mid-August, she reconnoitered Wotje and, at the end of the month, she returned to Pearl Harbor.

On her 8th war patrol, 24 September - 5 November, SEADRAGON again returned to the Marshalls and spent thirty-one days hunting in the sea lanes to Kwajalein. Again Japanese anti-submarine measures hindered hunting and, of the five ship contacts made, only two could be developed and only one attack was made. On 13 October, she damaged an enemy transport.

SEADRAGON’s ninth war patrol, 14 December 1943 to 5 February 1944, took her back to the Carolines where she hunted enemy shipping in the Truk-Saipan route & damaged two, possibly three, cargomen.

Refit brought the replacement of SEADRAGON’s 3-inch deck gun with a 4-inch gun, and on 1 April, she cleared Pearl Harbor for the Japanese home islands for her 10th war patrol. On the 5th, she crossed the International Date Line. On the 15th, she entered Japanese waters. On the 16th, she moved past O Shima and that night, commenced patrolling off the Bungo Strait and Kii Channel entrances to the Inland Sea. On the morning of the 23rd, she sighted four freighters, escorted by three patrol boats, moving toward Shiono Misaki. She closed the convoy and fired on the third ship, which was the heaviest laden, then she went deep and rigged for depth charges. The patrol boats moved toward SEADRAGON as the target sank and, during the next two hours, delivered a forty depth charge attack. Later that day, the submarine conducted an unsuccessful attack on a naval auxiliary and, on the 26th, she moved out into the Tokyo-Manila shipping lanes where she damaged a freighter on the 27th.

On 28 April, she commenced patrolling the Nagoya-Saipan route. In May, she took station off the entrance to Sugura Wan and on the 3rd, shifted to the Tokyo-Guam-Saipan-Truk sea lanes. Two days later, she hunted enemy traffic at the entrance to Sagami Wan. On the 17th, she caught an armed trawler in a surface attack and set it afire with salvos from her 4 inch deck gun, then closed the target to take off the uniformed enemy crew. The surviving crew members refused to surrender, and SEADRAGON continued eastward. On the 21st, she crossed the 180th Meridian and stopped at Midway, then underway for Pearl Harbor, arriving on the 25th.

Re-engineered at Mare Island during the summer, SEADRAGON returned to Pearl Harbor on 7 September and departed on her 11th war patrol, a coordinated patrol with USS SHARK (SS 314) and USS BLACKFISH (SS 221) on the 23rd. She arrived at Saipan to top off fuel on 3 October. On the 4th, SHARK and BLACKFISH continued on to the wolfpack’s assigned area in the northern China Sea. SEADRAGON, delayed by the need for repairs, did not depart until the 5th. On the 9th, she arrived off Batan Island, established contact with SHARK and BLACKFISH, and took position in a scouting line in the pack’s assigned area.

On the night of 21 October and the morning of the 22nd, the group went after an enemy warship formation lead by a carrier. At 0615 on 24 October, SHARK reported a contact and SEADRAGON headed for the scene. At 0730, the contact was sighted through the high periscope, but it proved too distant. At 0920, SEADRAGON sighted three enemy merchantmen in a loose column with a torpedo boat, destroyer and an airplane as escorts. At 1055, she fired four torpedoes at the lead freighter.

The first torpedo broached and ran erratic, alerting the escort, which started for SEADRAGON. The submarine rigged for depth charging. Soon thereafter, two torpedo explosions were heard and at 1101, the first of eight depth charges was dropped. At 1154, SEADRAGON went to periscope depth. The escort was milling around, picking up survivors four miles astern. The remaining merchantmen were ahead of the submarine and making only 2 or 3 knots. As SEADRAGON prepared to fire again, the destroyer rejoined the formation. At 1114, SEADRAGON fired four more torpedoes. Three hits were observed. Her second target of the day sank in less than two minutes.

SEADRAGON went deep. Fifteen depth charges followed. At 1310, the submarine returned to periscope depth. The deck of the sole remaining freighter was crowded. The freighter was smoking heavily and moving slowly. The escort circled the freighter. At 1404, SEADRAGON fired. The first torpedo tore off the freighter’s bow. The rest of the ship went under quickly. At 1405, the first of 25 depth charges was dropped.

Postwar examinations of Japanese records identified the sunken ships as a cargo ship and two passenger-cargomen.

At 1858, SEADRAGON tried unsuccessfully to raise SHARK. No luck – USS SHARK had been sunk after attacking the contact of her 0615 transmission.

On 26 October, SEADRAGON headed toward Luzon. On the 27th and 28th, she searched for downed aviators and on the 29th, she was ordered to return to Midway.

Arriving at her destination on 8 November, she commenced refit and on 3 December, she headed west for her 12th war patrol. The patrol took her back into Japanese waters where she hunted enemy shipping and searched for downed aviators into January 1945. On the 10th, she moved into the Bonins, where she continued those two roles. On 19 January, she set a southerly course and on the 22nd, she arrived at Guam to complete her last war patrol.

The next day, SEADRAGON continued on to Pearl Harbor and, after refit, returned to California to provide training services to naval air units. In May, she was transferred back to the Atlantic Fleet and for the final months of the war, provided training services at Guantanamo Bay and Key West. In September, she moved north to New London then to Boston where she was decommissioned on 15 November 1945. Less than four months later, on 8 February 1946, she was recommissioned to assist in the inactivation and preservation of submarines, including U-Boats, at Hingham, Mass. On 29 Oct. 1946, she was again decommissioned and berthed as a unit of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet where she remained until struck from the Navy List on 30 April 1948.

Skippers were:
W. E. Ferrall, war patrols 1 through 7;
R. L. Rutter, war patrols 8 through 11;
J. H. Ashley, war patrols 12 through 13.

SEADRAGON was awarded 11 Battle Stars.

On 2 July 1948, USS SEADRAGON was delivered to Luria Brothers in Philadelphia to be broken up for scrap.

A tough combatant, USS SWORDFISH accounted for the loss of 11 merchant ships and one destroyer totaling 47,928 tons.

WAR PATROLS of USS SEADRAGON
WP#	FROM	TO	DURATION	SINKINGS
1	CV Transit	SJ	uncertain	None
2	SJ S. China S.	SJ	45 days	see note A
3	SJ Transit	FA	11 days	None
4	FA Luzon	FA	29 days	None
5	FA S. China S.	FA	52 days	see note B
6	FA S. China S.	FA	55 days	see note C
7	BA Solomons	PH	45 days	see note D
8	PH Truk	MI	43 days	None
9	PH Marshalls	PH	43 days	None
10	PH Marshalls	PH	42 days	None
11	PH Carolines	PH	53 days	None
12	PH Empire	PH	55 days	see note E
13	PH Empire	MI	76 days	see note F

A – On 2 Feb 1942, sank the 6,441 ton freighter TAMAGAWA MARU at 17º 32’N x 120º 22’N.

B – On 12 July 1942, sank the 6,171 ton freighter NICHIZAN MARU at 13º 47’N x 109º 33’E.
On 13 July, sank the 4,163 ton auxiliary SHINYO MARU at 13º 05’N x 109º 29’E.
On 16 July 1942, sank the 5,303 ton freighter HAKODATE MARU at 12º 55’N x 109º 29’E.

C – On 10 October 1942, sank the 1,579 ton freighter SHIGURE MARU at 01º 07’S x 117º 19’E.

D – On 21 December 1942, sank the 1,970 ton submarine I-4 at 05º 02’S x 152º 33’E.

E – On 23 April 1944, sank the 6,886 ton freighter TAIJU MARU at 33º 35’N x 135º 45’E.

F – On 24 October 1944, sank the 4,642 ton freighter DAITEN MARU at 20º 23’N x 118º 47’E.
On 24 October 1944, sank the 7,369 ton transport KOKURYU MARU at 19º 34’N x 118º 32’E.

On 24 October 1944, sank the 1,843 ton transport EIKO MARU at 20º 35’N x 118º 32’E.

Sneak Craft: German Biber Mini-Submarines
Sneak Craft: U-5075 Hund Mini-Sub
Sneak Craft: U-Boat Accessories 1944