USS S - 28 ( SS - 133 ) USS " S - 28 " ( SS - 133 ) was a " S " - class submarine of the United States Navy . A diesel submarine that served during World War II during which it accounted for the sinking of one Japan ese ship . Later during an exercise , she was lost at sea with all hands . Her keel was laid down on 16 April 1919 by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation in Quincy , Massachusetts . She was launched on 20 September 1922 , sponsored by Mrs . William R . Monroe , and commissioned on 13 December 1923 , Lieutenant Kemp C . Christian in command . Inter - war period . Following shakedown exercises off the southern New England coast , " S - 28 " moved south in March 1924 to join Submarine Division 11 ( SubDiv 11 ) , in the final exercises of that year ' s winter maneuvers in the Caribbean Sea . In April , she returned to New London , Connecticut , with her division and commenced local exercises which occupied the remainder of the year . With the winter of 1925 , she moved south again ; transited the Panama Canal , and , after the conclusion of Fleet Problem V , conducted in the vicinity of Guadalupe Island , she arrived in the Hawaiian Islands for a month ' s stay . In June , she moved east , to San Diego , California , where her division replaced another which had been transferred to the Asiatic Fleet . Into 1931 , the submarine operated primarily off southern California deploying for fleet problem s in the Panama Canal area in 1926 and 1929 ; for summer maneuvers near Hawaii in 1927 and 1930 , and for regularly scheduled overhaul periods at Mare Island Navy Yard throughout the period . She departed the west coast for Hawaii in mid - February 1931 , and on 23 February arrived at Pearl Harbor , whence she operated for the next eight and one - half years . In mid - 1939 , she was transferred back to San Diego , California , where she was based until after the United States entered World War II . World War II . On 7 December 1941 , " S - 28 " — then a unit of SubDiv 41 — was undergoing overhaul at Mare Island . On 22 January 1942 , the work was completed , and she returned to San Diego , where she resumed her prewar training activities for the Underwater Sound Training School . She continued that duty into the spring , then was ordered north to the Aleutian Islands to augment its defenses . On 20 May , " S - 28 " — with other submarines of her division — departed San Diego . Five days later , they stopped off at Port Angeles , Washington , then continued on toward the newly established submarine base at Dutch Harbor , Alaska . On 29 May , however , as preparations were made to minimize a two - pronged Japanese thrust against Midway Island and the Aleutians , the S - boats were directed to proceed to their stations , bypassing Dutch Harbor . 1st war patrol . During a quickly extinguished fire in her port main motor on the morning of 1 June , " S - 28 " suffered minor damage . That evening , she parted company with her sister ships and their escort , and , the next day , she entered her assigned area and commenced patrolling the approaches to Cold Bay on the tip of the Alaskan Peninsula . On 3 June , the Japanese bombed Dutch Harbor to open the war in the Aleutians , and , within the week , they had occupied Kiska and Attu . On 12 June , " S - 28 " arrived at Dutch Harbor , refueled , took on provisions , and headed west to resume her war patrol . On 15 June , she crossed the International Date Line , and on 17 June — after a two - day storm — she sighted Kiska and set a course to intercept enemy shipping between there and Attu . On 18 June , she fired on her first enemy target — a destroyer — and was in turn attacked . Eight hours later , sounds of the destroyer ' s search faded out to the south . " S - 28 " had survived her first encounter with Japanese antisubmarine warfare tactics . 2nd war patrol . Poor weather soon returned , and storms raged during 80 % of her remaining time on station . On 28 June , she moored in Dutch Harbor and commenced refit . On 15 July , she got underway and again headed for the Kiska area . On 18 July , she reconnoitered Semisopochnoi , then moved on to Segula . Finding no signs of Japanese activity , she continued westward . On 20 July , she was ordered to take station on an circle from Sirius Point prior to sunrise on 22 July , at which time the enemy ' s facilities on Kiska were to be bombarded . The bombardment was delayed , and " S - 28 " remained on that more distant station until 30 July , when she was ordered back into the Kiska area . On 18 August , having been unable to close any of the targets sighted during the latter part of her patrol , she returned to Dutch Harbor . 3rd war patrol . On her third war patrol — 16 September - 10 October — " S - 28 " returned to the Kiska area . She operated to the north of the island until 25 October ; then , with the discovery of the enemy ' s development of Gertrude Cove on Vega Bay , she shifted to the island ' s southern shore . On the night of 6 – 7 October , she turned toward Unalaska ; and , on the morning of 10 October , as she prepared to fire on an unidentified vessel , a ground in her fire control circuits caused an accidental firing from the No . 1 tube . That afternoon , " S - 28 " arrived back in Dutch Harbor , whence she headed for home . She reached San Diego on 23 October , and provided training services for the West Coast Sound School and for the Amphibious Forces Training Group from 26 October - 13 November . Then , during an overhaul , she received a fathometer , a Kleinschmidt distilling unit , and SJ radar . On 9 December , she again sailed north . On 16 December , she reported by radio to Task Group 8 . 5 ( TG 8 . 5 ) ; and on 21 December she returned to Dutch Harbor . 4th war patrol . Six days later , " S - 28 " departed on her fourth war patrol . On 3 January 1943 , she crossed the International Date Line , and on 5 January she entered her assigned area in the northern Kuril Islands . Moving down the Paramushiro coast , she patrolled in Onekotan Strait ; then headed north again , and on 20 January passed Shumushu , whence she set a course for the Aleutians . 5th war patrol . During her fifth war patrol — from 6 – 28 February — " S - 28 " remained in the western Aleutians , patrolling across the Attu - Buldir - Sirius Point route and along the coast of Attu , particularly off Holtz Bay , Chichagof Harbor , and Sarana Bay . Poor weather and lack of speed , however , impeded her hunting . On her return to Dutch Harbor , " S - 28 " was ordered south , and on 4 March she got underway for Esquimalt , British Columbia , where — from 15 March - 15 April — she conducted sound tests and antisubmarine warfare exercises with Canadian Navy and Air Force units . She then continued on to the Puget Sound Navy Yard for overhaul and superstructure modification work . On 27 June , she started back to Alaska , and on 13 July she departed Dutch Harbor to return to the northern Kuril Islands for her sixth war patrol . 6th war patrol . Again , she patrolled off Paramushiro and in the straits to the north and south of that island . Again , she was hindered by the weather , obsolete design , and by mechanical failures . On 14 August , she headed east , and on 16 August she moored in Massacre Bay , Attu and commenced refit . 7th war patrol . The late arrival of needed spares from Dutch Harbor delayed her readiness for sea , but on 8 September , " S - 28 " departed the western Aleutians to return to the northern Kuril Islands . On 13 September , she entered her patrol area . On 15 September , severe smoking and sparking from her port main motor necessitated 14 hours of repair work . On 16 September , she transited Mushiru Kaikyo ; and , on the afternoon of 19 September , she closed an unescorted freighter off the island of Araito . Her torpedo es missed their mark . The " freighter " turned and within minutes had delivered the first two depth charge s of a 10 - minute attack . The Japanese ship searched the area for an hour , then departed . " S - 28 " reloaded and continued her patrol . At 19 : 16 , she contacted a second unescorted enemy vessel . At 19 : 43 , she fired a spread of four torpedoes . At 19 : 44 , two of the four exploded . The target took on a 30° list and began to go down by the bow . At 19 : 46 , the converted gunboat " Katsura Maru Number Two " sank , bow first , her stern vertical in the air . Five loud underwater explosion s followed her disappearance . " S - 28 " went deep and rigged for a depth charging which did not materialize . Into October , " S - 28 " hunted just north of Araito and off the coast of Kamchatka . On 5 October , she moved through Onekotan Strait and continued her patrol on the Pacific side of the Kuril Islands . On 10 October , however , a crewman developed severe appendicitis , and she turned toward Attu one day ahead of schedule . Loss . On 13 October , " S28 " moored at Attu . The next day , she departed for Dutch Harbor , whence , in November , she headed south to Hawaii . She arrived at Pearl Harbor at mid - month , and — after overhaul — commenced training duty . For the next seven months , she remained in Hawaiian waters , providing training services . Then , on 3 July 1944 , she began training operations off Oahu with the United States Coast Guard cutter . The anti - submarine warfare exercises continued into the evening of 4 July . At 17 : 30 , the day ' s concluding exercise began . Contact between the two became sporadic and , at 18 : 20 , the last , brief contact with " S - 28 " was made and lost . All attempts to establish communications failed . Assistance arrived from Pearl Harbor , but a thorough search of the area failed to locate the submarine . Two days later , a slick of diesel fuel appeared in the area where she had been operating , but the extreme depth exceeded the range of available equipment . A Court of Inquiry was unable to determine the cause of the loss of " S - 28 " . Awards . " S - 28 " was awarded one battle star for her services in World War II .