USS S - 35 ( SS - 140 ) USS " S - 35 " ( SS - 140 ) was an " S " - class submarine of the United States Navy . Her keel was laid down on 14 June 1918 by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation in San Francisco , California . She was launched on 27 February 1919 sponsored by Miss Louise C . Bailey , and commissioned on 17 August 1922 with Lieutenant T . E . Short in command . Service history . Engaged in trials as improved engines were developed for her class , " S - 35 " was ordered to New London , Connecticut , in September , for alterations by the prime contractor , the Electric Boat Company . Decommissioned and delivered to that company on 25 October , she was accepted and recommissioned on 7 May 1923 . Exercises along the East Coast and in the Caribbean Sea followed and , in early August , she arrived at San Diego , California , her home port until 1925 . Then transferred to the Asiatic Fleet , she departed from San Francisco , California , in mid - April and arrived at the Submarine Base , Cavite , Philippine Islands , on 12 July . " S - 35 " operated in Philippine waters , conducting patrols and participating in type , division , and fleet exercises until the spring of 1926 . Then she sailed , with her division , for the China coast . Through the summer and into the fall , she conducted similar operations out of Tsingtao ; and , in November she returned to the Philippines where , after overhaul , she resumed local operations . She maintained a similar schedule of winter operations in the Philippines and summer deployments in Chinese waters through 1931 . On 2 May 1932 , she moved east , instead of north , and at the end of the month , arrived at Pearl Harbor where she joined the Pacific Fleet and commenced a schedule of exercises , overhauls , and fleet problems which took her into the 1940s . In 1934 , she won the Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award for the highest merit in battle torpedo practice of submarines . In April 1941 , she was transferred to San Diego , California , and , for the remaining months of peace , she provided services for the West Coast Sound School . After the attack on Pearl Harbor , " S - 35 " added defensive patrol work to her duties ; and , in January 1942 , she moved north to Mare Island for limited modernization and overhaul . In late March , she continued northward and , in early April , arrived at the newly established submarine base at Dutch Harbor . First War Patrol . On 12 April , she cleared Dutch Harbor and moved toward the Kuril Islands for her first war patrol . On 21 and 22 April , snow and fog covered her approach to Paramushiro and Onekotan Strait . On 23 April , she sighted and was sighted by , a large enemy submarine on the surface . Both submarines submerged . Explosions were felt in " S - 35 " . The blasts forced her down further than expected , but she regained control at 220 feet , returned to her intended depth ; and maneuvered out of the immediate area . The weather cleared on 24 April , and Paramushiro was sighted for the first time . Two days later , however , the S - boat was en route to her secondary station north of Attu . On arrival on 27 April , a ship ' s cook was discovered to have mumps and a course was set for Dutch Harbor . Isolation was impossible , and half the crew had not had the disease . Three days later , " S - 35 " returned to her Unalaska base . The crew received medical attention , the boat was scrubbed down and refitted ; and requests for modern equipment , including sonar and radar , were made . Second War Patrol . Toward the end of May , the submarine was ready for sea ; and , on 28 April , she moved west in response to intelligence reports of a Japanese invasion force bound for the western Aleutian Islands . On station by 30 April , she patrolled on the surface with no contacts , through 2 June . On the morning of 3 June , word of the bombing of Dutch Harbor was received . Aerial contacts , both friendly and enemy became frequent ; but the submarine was not attacked . On 11 June , she was ordered back to Dutch Harbor to replenish ; thence , she was routed to the western part of the archipelago for offensive operations near Kiska which had been taken by the Japanese . On 14 June , she approached the island and patrolled between there and Segula until 23 June . She then participated in the search for sister ship , which had run aground on Amchitka Island ; returned to her patrol area late on 25 June ; and , on 29 June , returned to Dutch Harbor . The thick fog which had shielded the Japanese force as it crossed the Bering Sea had remained over the Aleutians during her patrol , impairing visibility and hindering her offensive efforts . Third War Patrol . On 14 July , " S - 35 " got underway again and , through the end of the month , patrolled the Japanese supply lanes to Kiska . She then headed back toward Dutch Harbor , but was diverted north and west of the island to provide weather reporting services to the force scheduled to bombard Kiska on 7 August . After the raid , she returned to Dutch Harbor , thence proceeded to San Diego , where for six weeks she underwent overhaul and provided services to the sound school . Fourth War Patrol . On 20 October , she returned to Unalaska ; and , on 26 October , she cleared the harbor for her fourth war patrol . From then until her return on 22 November , she battled heavy seas , storms , and problems arising from her inadequate and outmoded equipment as she hunted the Paramushiro - Attu - Kiska convoy routes . On 25 November , she returned to Dutch Harbor . Fifth War Patrol . Cold weather added icing to the climatic hazards of the northern Pacific Ocean ; but , on 11 December , " S - 35 " headed out of Dutch Harbor again . On 15 December , she commenced operations to intercept enemy traffic to Attu and Kiska ; but , on 17 December , a case of acute appendicitis forced her to Adak , Alaska , where she was to transfer the sick man to seaplane tender for treatment . On 18 December , she approached the rendezvous point but was sighted by enemy planes . On the morning of 19 December , she completed the transfer ; then resumed patrol east of Kiska . On the afternoon of 21 December , she ran into a storm while surfaced off Amchitka ; and , by early evening , waves were smashing over the bridge and cascading into the control room . The conning tower hatch was ordered shut . Almost simultaneously , another huge wave crashed over the bridge , flinging the captain , Lieutenant H . S . Monroe , into the hatch . Injured , Monroe retired to his quarters , only to be roused a short time later , about 18 : 30 , by cries of " fire " in the control room . Electric arcs and blue flames spewed out of the main power cables coming from the forward battery . Smoke filled the room ; and water , which had caused the fire by soaking cables and causing a short , rose in the control room bilges . The fire was extinguished in the control room but immediately broke out in the forward battery . Fire extinguishers had no effect . The forward two compartments were abandoned and the battery was secured . Fire again broke out in the control room ; and , as in the forward battery , extinguishers were of little help . Smoke filled the control room . The engines were stopped . The room was abandoned and sealed . Short circuits spread . Electrical equipment was disabled . A hole was burned in the top of the Number Two main ballast tank and lines from two air banks were severed . At about 18 : 55 , unsuccessful attempts to reenter the control room , using escape lungs , were made . Shortly thereafter , two volunteers , using oxygen charged lungs , entered the room ; flooded the magazines ; partially blew the Number Three main ballast tank to gain more freeboard ; and shut the auxiliary induction to seal the forward battery . The fight to save the submarine continued . The engines were started again ; a fire extinguisher watch was set over the section of cable still arcing ; and a bucket brigade was organized to assist in keeping down the water level . By 20 : 00 , all extinguishers had been emptied . But " S - 35 " , under manual control , was moving east . The morning of 21 December brought new fires . Twice , at 07 : 00 and at 11 : 00 , eruptions forced the crew to the bridge . But the same flares apparently contributed to the fire ' s burning itself out . After the second , the forward battery was sufficiently discharged and the cables sufficiently ruptured to prevent further fire in the control room . Smoke from the forward battery compartment , however , continued to be a problem until she entered Kuluk Bay and the battery was disconnected . Arriving at noon on 24 December , the boat was ventilated ; medical help was obtained ; four men were hospitalized ; and mattresses , bedding , and clothing were dried . On 29 December , " S - 35 " made her way , under escort , into Dutch Harbor . Usable equipment was removed for installation in other S - boats , and , on 14 January 1943 she began the long trip to the Puget Sound Navy Yard for repairs . Arriving at Bremerton , Washington on 29 January , repairs took her into the spring . From 20 – 31 May , she conducted post repair trials ; and , on 3 June , she moved north again . For heroism and devotion to duty in saving the submarine and her crew Lieutenant Commander Stone and Chief Electrician ' s Mate Frederick H . Barbero were awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for non - combat heroism . Sixth War Patrol . Arriving at Dutch Harbor on 11 June , she once more made her way west on 17 June . Despite numerous material casualties , which slowed her to an average speed of a little more than 5 knots , she continued toward the Kuril Islands and arrived in her patrol area on 25 June . On 26 June , she transited Onekotan Strait ; and , on 27 June , she sighted her first target of the patrol , a large Japanese freighter . The target , however , soon outdistanced the World War I - design submarine and disappeared into the ever - present fog . Material defects continued to cause problems . Her starboard engine soon went out of commission ; and , as repair work was started , a freighter and a destroyer were sighted approaching on a course which would bring them over her position . A half hour later , the two enemy ships passed overhead , one to port , the other to starboard . Repair work was then resumed . By dawn of 29 June , the engine was again operable ; and , on 30 June , " S - 35 " shifted north to Araido , thence proceeded to the Kamchatka Peninsula , whence she moved back down the coast and covered Shimushu Strait , Paramushiro Strait , and Araido Strait . On 1 July , she found a clear area in the fog and sighted a fishing tender awaiting the return of its trawlers . At 18 : 02 , she fired two torpedo es at ten - second intervals ; watched the first hit ; and saw the second porpoising haphazardly through the water toward the target . At 18 : 06 , she fired a third torpedo and watched the target explode and list heavily to starboard . By 18 : 21 , the 5430 - ton " Banshu Maru Number Seven " had disappeared , but others remained in the area where she had been . " S - 35 " reloaded and turned to firing position ; but , by 18 : 25 , the new targets had receded into the fog . Five minutes later , fast screws were heard ; and the submarine began evasive tactics and cleared the area . On 2 July , " S - 35 " received orders to shift to the convoy routes leading to southern Paramushiro . Arriving on 4 July , she remained through 16 July . Clear weather arrived with dawn of the last day , and , that afternoon , the submarine sighted a destroyer patrolling in concert , apparently , with a flying boat . As the flying boat disappeared toward its base , " S - 35 " prepared to attack . At 15 : 41 , she began her approach on the destroyer . At about 15 : 42 , the destroyer sighted her . She went deep . For the remainder of the day and well into the night , the two adversaries maneuvered for position : " S - 35 " evading depth charge s and attempting to gain a favorable firing position ; the destroyer keeping the submarine on evasive tactics and attempting to pinpoint her location and deliver a decisive depth charge . Success went to neither side . On the morning of 17 July , " S - 35 " cleared the area and headed back toward the Aleutians . On 21 July , she arrived at Attu ; and , on 25 July , she moored in Dutch Harbor . During the patrol , she had had only five clear days ; four had been partially clear , the remainder had been foggy with poor to very poor visibility . Seventh War Patrol . On 6 August , " S - 35 " began her seventh war patrol . Standing out of Dutch Harbor , she made for Attu , topped off in Massacre Bay ; then proceeded to her patrol area . On 11 August , she sighted a ship , but was unable to close . On 19 August , cracks developed in the port engine crankshaft and couplings ; and she turned back for Dutch Harbor . Overhaul followed her return ; and on 26 November , she was again ready to hunt in the Kurils . Underway that day , she arrived on station on 8 December , and for the next ten days , encountered heavy seas , snow , and " mild icing " as she searched waters off Onekotan and in the Sōya - Araido and Omintao - Mushashi - Kashiwabara shipping lanes . On 19 December , she shifted north ; reconnoitered the Kamchatka peninsula ; then , headed home . En route , engineering defects again became critical , and almost 20 hours were spent in repairs . On 25 December , she arrived at Attu ; and , on 30 December , she entered Dutch Harbor to complete her last war patrol . Retirement . Fleet submarine s now replaced the World War I - designed types . The Aleutian S - boat s , as with those operating in other areas , were reassigned to training duty or designated for inactivation . " S - 35 " was assigned to Pearl Harbor where she arrived in mid - February 1944 and immediately commenced training operations . In the spring , she was ordered to the Marshall Islands . Through the summer , she provided training services out of Majuro and Eniwetok , then returned to Pearl Harbor . In January 1945 , she proceeded to San Diego for inspection and repairs , and , in February , she returned to Oahu for use as a damage control school ship . Decommissioned on 19 March 1945 , she served as a school ship and then as a target ship . Her hulk was sunk by torpedo fire on 4 April 1946 . " S - 35 " was awarded one battle star for her service during World War II .