page_title: USS Dolphin (SS-169)
section_title: Inter-war period
hierarchical_section_title: USS Dolphin (SS-169) / Service history / Inter-war period
caption_attribution_description: English: Dolphin (SS-169), at the Underwater Sound School, Hawaii, circa 1940. Note motor boat aft of the sail.
context_page_description: USS Dolphin, a submarine and one of the "V-boats", was the sixth ship of the United States Navy to be named for that aquatic mammal. She also bore the name V-7 and the classifications SF-10 and SC-3 prior to her commissioning. She was launched on 6 March 1932 by the Portsmouth Navy Yard, sponsored by Mrs. E.D. Toland, and commissioned on 1 June 1932 with Lieutenant John B. Griggs, Jr. in command.
context_section_description: Dolphin departed Portsmouth, New Hampshire on 24 October 1932 for San Diego, California, arriving on 3 December to report to Submarine Division 12 (SubDiv 12). She served on the West Coast, taking part in tactical exercises and test torpedo firings until 4 March 1933, when she got underway for the East Coast. She arrived at Portsmouth Navy Yard on 23 March for final trials and acceptance, remaining there until 1 August. Dolphin returned to San Diego on 25 August 1933 to rejoin SubDiv 12.
  In 1933, Dolphin tested an unusual feature for submarines of having a waterproof motor boat, stored in a compartment aft of the sail, which could be brought out when needed. At that time, most navies adhered to the prize rules, which required submarines to board and inspect merchant vessels before they could sink them, as had often been done in World War I, except in periods of unrestricted submarine warfare.
  She cruised on the west coast with occasional voyages to Pearl Harbor, Alaska, and the Panama Canal Zone for exercises and fleet problems. On 1 December 1937, Dolphin departed San Diego for her new homeport, Pearl Harbor, arriving one week later. She continued to operate in fleet problems and training exercises, visiting the West Coast on a cruise from 29 September to 25 October 1940. Located at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, Dolphin took the attacking enemy planes under fire, and then left for a patrol in search of Japanese submarines in the Hawaiian Islands.
caption: Dolphin at the Underwater Sound School, Hawaii, circa 1940. Note motor boat aft of the sail.
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