USS S - 37 ( SS - 142 ) USS " S - 37 " ( SS - 142 ) was an " S " - class submarine of the United States Navy . Her keel was laid down on 12 December 1918 by the Union Iron Works in San Francisco , California . She was launched on 20 June 1919 sponsored by Miss Mildred Bulger , and commissioned on 16 July 1923 with Lieutenant Paul R . Glutting in command . Operational service . 1923 . After fitting out at Mare Island , " S - 37 " departed San Francisco Bay at the end of July and joined Submarine Division ( SubDiv ) 17 at San Pedro , California , on 1 August . During that month , September , and into October , she conducted exercises and tests off the southern California coast . On the afternoon of 10 October , while recharging her batteries in the harbor at San Pedro , California , " S - 37 " was rocked by an explosion in the after battery compartment . Two men were killed as dense black smoke and gas fumes filled the flame and arc - lit room . Extensive material damage added to the difficulty of rescue operations , but three men were extracted from the compartment , one of whom died of his injuries before medical help arrived . Two of the rescuers were seriously injured . One of the enlisted men killed in the explosion was Virgil L . Dean of Huntington , West Virginia . Once it was determined no one remained alive in the compartment , the compartment was sealed to cut off the supply of oxygen to the fire . However , by 0500 the next morning , so much pressure had increased in the compartment it forced the main hatch open . The compartment was re - sealed for another five hours , but when it was opened at 1030 , the fire reflashed . The crew shut the hatch again for another hour . At 1130 , the compartment was successfully ventilated and cooled enough to allow the crew to enter safely . Temporary repairs completed on 25 October , and " S - 37 " headed to Mare Island for permanent repairs . On 19 December , she returned to duty at San Pedro , California . 1924 - 1941 . With the new year , 1924 , " S - 37 " moved south and , with her division , participated in Fleet Problems II , III , and IV which involved problems of fleet movements , conducted " en route " to the Gulf of Panama ; Caribbean defenses and transit facilities of the Panama Canal ; and movement from a main base to an advanced base , conducted in the Caribbean Sea . After completing Problem IV , her division remained in the Caribbean until early April when it retransited the Panama Canal to return to the Pacific . Toward the end of the month , she returned to San Pedro , California , and , on 28 April , she continued to Mare Island . There the boats of her division , having been transferred to the Asiatic Fleet , prepared to cross the Pacific . On 17 September , SubDiv 17 , accompanied by submarine tender departed San Francisco . On 26 September , the ships arrived at Pearl Harbor ; and , on 4 November , they reached Manila Bay . They operated out of Cavite for 16 years . During most of that time , the S - boats worked as a division , spending the fall and winter months in the Philippines and deploying to the China coast for spring and summer exercises . During the late thirties , however , hostilities increased in Asia , and the fleet ' s S - boat schedule was altered to include more individual exercises and cruises . The submarines ranged throughout the Philippines and Netherlands East Indies , and they made shorter deployments to the China coast . In 1940 , the latter ended , and the boats intensified their exercises and patrols in the Philippines and participated in joint Army - Navy war games . World War II . 1941 . In 1941 , " S - 37 " remained in the Philippines : in the Luzon area into the spring , in the Visayan Islands and Sulu Archipelago into the summer , and back in the Luzon area during the fall . On 8 December , she was in Manila Bay . With receipt of the news of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor , " S - 37 " ( commanded by James C . Dempsey ) prepared for her first war patrol . On the night of 9 December , she cleared the Corregidor outer minefield ; moved into the Verde Island Passage ; and took station at Puerta Galera , Mindoro where she remained on lookout duty until 17 December . She then returned to Manila , replenished and refueled and , on 19 December , headed back toward the Mindoro coast . On 20 December , she assumed patrol duties in Calavite Passage . On 21 December , she shifted to the Verde Island Passage . On 27 December , she reconnoitered Batangas Bay to investigate the detonation of fuel oil tanks and found only Filipino and American forces destroying the supplies before they could be captured by the Japanese . On 28 December , while the noise of the exploding tanks continued , " S - 37 " investigated reports of Japanese landings in Balayan Bay , then proceeded toward Looc Bay to verify or disprove a similar rumor . Finding both bays empty , she began to make her way south . On 30 December , she was off Panay ; and , on 1 January 1942 , she suffered a fire in the starboard main motor panel . Repairs were made that night ; and , on 2 January and 3 January she patrolled off the entrance to Basilan Strait . There , she sighted a Japanese submarine , but was unable to close the range . January 1942 . On 4 January , she took up patrol duty off Japanese - held Jolo Island . The next day , she developed leaks in the air supply piping to the starboard main motor panel . Makeshift repairs decreased the air leaks , and " S - 37 " remained in the Sulu district on 6 January . On 7 January , she continued south , toward Port Darwin . On 8 January , new orders arrived , and she set a course for Soerabaja , the Dutch naval base on the northeast coast of Java . On 11 January , Japanese forces moved on Tarakan ( Borneo ) and Menado ( Celebes ) . " S - 37 " , then off Stroomenkaap at the western end of Celebes ' northern peninsula , was ordered to make for the Borneo coast . She arrived on 12 January and , for the next three days , remained in the Tarakan area , searching for enemy transports and cargomen , while at the same time eluding enemy destroyer s . On 15 January , she was ordered to leave the area ; and , on 23 January , unable to transmit identification messages , she approached Madoera Strait and surfaced for recognition by Dutch patrol vessels . At 2118 , she arrived in Soerabaja Roads . February 1942 . By the end of the month , Japanese forces in Borneo had moved south into Balikpapan while those forces located in the Celebes moved into Kendari . On 2 February , " S - 37 " departed Soerabaja and headed back to Makassar Strait . By 5 February , she was off Cape William . The next day , she shifted southward to patrol the southern approaches to Makassar City , and , on the evening of 8 February , she sighted a destroyer , which was thought to be an advance guard unit for enemy forces " en route " to that city . At 1800 , the destroyer , allowed to pass unmolested , disappeared to the northwest . Thirteen minutes later , the mast and upper works of three destroyers in column were sighted : distance five miles ( 9250 m ) , estimated speed . A half - hour ' s wait brought no transports or cargomen into view , and " S - 37 " went after the destroyer formation . Moving on the surface , she closed the four destroyers in column , distance . All torpedoes were readied and , at 1946 , she commenced her approach . A minute later , she sighted another , closer formation of four destroyers , distance , plus the dim outlines of three large ships resembling transports , distance three miles ( 5500 m ) , on a northerly course . ( It would turn out there were fifteen transports in convoy . ) At 1951 , " S - 37 " changed course to go after the transports . By 2010 , however , the destroyers to had increased speed to maintain cover for the transports as the formation turned and crossed ahead of the submarine at 4000 yards . By 2030 , " S - 37 " , unable to gain an unimpaired shot at the transports , in an act of rare courage , shifted to attack the destroyers . Between 2036 and 2040 , she closed to point blank range , , and launched one torpedo at each destroyer . Thirty seconds after firing the third torpedo , she observed a hit between the stacks of the third and , as black smoke rose , it buckled in the middle and formed a vee approximately above the bow and stern . ( 2 , 000 tons ) was doomed . ( She was , however , the only ship lost from this force , and the only confirmed ship " S - 37 " sank . ) The fourth destroyer , however , sighted " S - 37 " as the fourth torpedo was fired and turned to starboard . At 2041 , " S - 37 " dived and rigged for depth charging . By 2043 , the three remaining destroyers were overhead , pinging . " S - 37 " ran silent . Between 2050 and 2215 , the searching destroyers dropped depth charge s at 10 - 15 minute intervals . " S - 37 " reached as she evaded . By 2230 , the destroyers had moved out of the area . " S - 37 " reloaded and resumed the hunt . " S - 37 " remained in the area for another eight days during which she sighted several Japanese ships . Her lack of speed precluded several attacks and , on 11 February , faulty mechanisms in her ( comparatively ) ancient Mark X torpedoes caused the " fish " to sink before reaching their target . On 17 February , she passed the Paternoster Islands ; and , on 18 February , she arrived off Lombok Strait . On 19 February , she patrolled in Lombok and Badoeng Strait s ; and , on the morning of 20 February , she received orders to return to Soerabaja . At 0500 , she submerged and began making her way along the Bali coast . At 0615 , she sighted three enemy destroyers through her periscope on a northerly course , three miles ( 5500 m ) off . Astern of the submarine , an obvious oil slick ( the result of her going aground in the Lombok Strait ) extended some in a glassy sea , but she remained undetected . Temporary repairs were soon reducing the oil slick . At 0700 , when another destroyer patrol was sighted , the slick remained obvious but unnoticed . By 0830 , " S - 37 " was avoiding sudden changes in depth which would aggravate the leak . The slick was minimized ; but , at 0915 , a destroyer was heard on the starboard beam . Depth charges were dropped , and their explosions were followed by detonating aerial bombs . " S - 37 " went to . The depth charging and bombing continued until noon , when heavy anti - aircraft fire was heard . The destroyer was distracted ; but , at 1245 , she apparently resumed her search for the submarine . After dropping three more depth charges , the enemy warship continued to ping until after 1400 . At 1415 , " S - 37 " went to periscope depth . The destroyer was off , but the seas had become choppy . No oil slick was visible . " S - 37 " cleared Lombok Strait at 1500 and , 25 hours later , moored at the Soerabaja Navy Yard . Repairs began immediately , but the Japanese were moving on Java . So , too , was the sub command situation ; " S - 37 " lost her skipper to , replaced by James R . Reynolds , and on 26 February , " S - 37 " was ordered out . Equipment and parts in the navy yard shops were recalled , stores from the limited supplies at the base were taken on and , after the return of two air compressor coolers , she got underway on the port main engine , as the ship ' s force completed reassembly of the starboard . Electrical steering failures , breakdowns in the coolers , and a change of orders delayed her departure ; but , on the afternoon of 27 February , she moved out and headed north to patrol between Bawean Island and the western channel into Soerabaja Roads . That night , the Battle of the Java Sea raged over the horizon , and , early on the morning of 28 February , the S - boat closed a Japanese formation of two cruiser s and three destroyers retiring victoriously from the scene . A fight for depth control , however , precluded an attack . At mid - day , she sighted a open boat from Dutch light cruiser , carrying sixty Allied survivors ; although unable to accommodate all of them , she approached to take on casualties . Finding none , " S - 37 " took on the two American sailors among them , transferred provisions , dispatched enciphered messages on the boat ' s location to ABDA headquarters , and resumed her patrol . That afternoon , she again attempted to attack an enemy formation , but was sighted and underwent a combined depth charging and aerial bombing . March 1942 . For the next week , " S - 37 " remained in the area . Depth charge and aerial attacks were frequent , each one aggravating the condition of worn parts and equipment and resulting in mechanical and electrical failures and in leaks through disintegrating manhole and hatch gaskets . On 6 March , she headed for western Australia . Her major leak , through the engine room hatch , had been slowed to one gallon every 20 minutes . " S - 37 " left a misleading oil slick toward Lombok Strait , then moved farther east before turning south . By 11 March , she was clear of the East Indies ; and , on 19 March , she arrived at Fremantle . April – June 1942 . In April , she continued on to Brisbane where she joined Task Force 42 and , after a desperately needed six week overhaul , departed for her fifth war patrol . Clearing Moreton Bay on 22 June , she was in the Bismarck Islands by the end of the month , and , after patrolling in St . George Channel , she moved toward New Hanover . On 7 July , she shifted back to the New Britain coast to patrol in the Lambert Point area . There , on the afternoon of 8 July , she sighted a Japanese merchantman escorted by a submarine chaser . Closing , she fired three torpedoes at 1405 . Three explosions followed , sinking the 2776 - ton Tenzan Maru . " S - 37 " went to and ran silent on a northerly course as the submarine chaser dropped depth charges where the submarine had been . July – November 1942 . On 9 July , " S - 37 " patrolled between Dyaul and New Hanover . On 10 July , she moved into the New Hanover - Massau traffic lanes ; and , on 11 July , she closed the New Ireland coast and continued south . For the next two days , she operated in the Rabaul area , then headed for Cape St . George and Australia . From 14 July , when a fire in the starboard main motor was quickly extinguished , she was plagued by mechanical and electrical failures . On 20 July , she sighted Cape Moreton Light ; and , on 21 July , she moored alongside submarine tender in Brisbane harbor . Between 17 August and 13 September , " S - 37 " conducted her sixth war patrol , a defensive patrol in the Savo Island area in support of the Guadalcanal campaign . On 2 September , she scored her only hit of the patrol when she damaged the last destroyer in a column of four which was steaming to the north of Savo . Four days later , she moved into the Russell Islands , whence she departed the Solomon Islands and headed back to Brisbane . On 19 October , she cleared the latter harbor for the last time , and , four days later , she arrived at Noumea , New Caledonia . After refueling , she served on picket line station in defense of that base . On 5 November , after a fire in her port main motor added to problems of tank trouble , fuel shortage , and mechanical failures , she headed for Pearl Harbor . 1943 - 1945 . From Pearl Harbor , " S - 37 " continued on to San Diego , California , where she underwent an extensive overhaul during the winter of 1943 . She remained at San Diego for the remainder of her career , employed as an antisubmarine warfare training ship through 1944 . Decommissioned on 6 February 1945 , " S - 37 " was stripped , and her hulk was sunk as a target for aerial bombing off Imperial Beach , San Diego , on 20 February 1945 . Her name was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register three days later . " S - 37 " earned five battle star s during World War II .