USS S - 45 ( SS - 156 ) USS " S - 45 " ( SS - 156 ) was a third - group ( " S - 42 " ) " S " - class submarine of the United States Navy . Her keel was laid down on 29 December 1920 by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation in Quincy , Massachusetts . She was launched on 26 June 1923 sponsored by Mrs . Charles Hibbard , and delivered and commissioned on 31 March 1925 with Lieutenant Edwin F . Cochrane in command . Service history . Completing shakedown exercises off the southern New England coast , " S - 45 " departed New London , Connecticut , on 9 June 1925 . Nineteen days later , she joined Submarine Division ( SubDiv ) 19 at Coco Solo , Canal Zone , and commenced type exercises and joint United States Army - United States Navy maneuvers in the Panama Canal area . During the next two years , only Fleet Problems VI and VII took her out of her normal operating area . In May 1927 , the S - boat moved northwest to Mare Island for overhaul , then began operations out of San Diego , California . The following spring , " S - 45 " participated in Fleet Problem VIII , a convoy and antisubmarine search and contact problem conducted en route between San Francisco , California , and Honolulu , Hawaii . During the winter of 1929 , she returned to the Panama Canal Zone for Fleet Problem IX . In December 1930 , " S - 45 " was transferred a third time ; and , on 12 December , she arrived at her new home port , Pearl Harbor , whence she operated , with SubDiv 11 , on a schedule of exercises and fleet problems similar to those followed previously for the next year and one half . In September 1932 , she joined Rotating Reserve Division 14 and , for the next several years alternated active service with Division 11 and reserve status in Division 14 . In March 1936 , the boats of SubDiv 11 were ordered back to Panama . They participated in Fleet Problem XVII en route and arrived at Coco Solo , their new home port , on 22 May . For the next four years , they maintained a schedule similar to previous tours in the Canal Zone . With the new decade , 1940 , and the expansion of hostilities in Europe and Asia , the schedule was varied . Exercises and patrols in the vital canal area were stepped up , and plans were made to overhaul and modernize the old S - boats . On 15 May 1941 , " S - 45 " got underway for Philadelphia , Pennsylvania . There , she received new equipment , exclusive of air - conditioning , and a complete overhaul . By August , she was off the New England coast for simulated war patrol exercises , and , in October , she moved south to Bermuda for patrol and antisubmarine warfare training duties . World War II . First two defensive patrols . After the 7 December attack on Pearl Harbor , " S - 45 " returned to Panama and assumed patrol duties in the approaches to the canal . By 1 February 1942 , she had conducted two defensive patrols , during which her crew became even better acquainted with the defects in the torpedo es she carried and with the limited wartime capabilities of boats of her class . Then , as the Japanese thrust toward Australia continued , the Panama S - boats prepared to assist in defensive efforts in the southwestern Pacific . In March , " S - 45 " and her division , now SubDiv 53 , headed west . In mid - April , they arrived at Brisbane , Queensland ; and , on 12 May , " S - 45 " departed Moreton Bay on her first offensive war patrol . First war patrol . Assigned to the Bougainville - Buka - New Ireland area , she remained on patrol into mid - June , unable to score against Japanese shipping and unable to contact an agent on Cape Sena . On 19 June , she returned to Brisbane , where an overhaul brought the installation of temporary air conditioning and corrected some of the defects in the engines , the radio transmitter , and the bow planes which had hampered her during her recent patrol . On 26 August , she headed back to the Solomon Islands . By the end of the month , she was on station in the Shortland Island area . Numerous targets were sighted ; but , due to frequent squalls and her own limitations , she was unable to press home an attack . Second war patrol . On 5 September , she was ordered to the Trobriand Islands to intercept enemy shipping bound for Milne Bay , but her luck was no better there . On 12 September , " S - 45 " sighted , closed , and attempted to fire a bow shot at a cruiser . As the outer doors were opened , she became heavy forward , and depth control was lost . Periscope depth was soon regained but could not be held . The sound operators lost the target in " S - 45 " ’ s own noises ; and , by the time control was regained , the target had passed firing bearing . The submarine swung to a new track to pursue . Depth control was again lost . Another battle for control of the boat was won but too late for " S - 45 " to score . Third war patrol . " S - 45 " returned to Moreton Bay on 23 September . By 27 October , she was back in the Shortland Island area and , on 2 November , her presence near Fauro Island was detected by the enemy . Explosions were heard , but none was close . The next morning , prior to daylight , she was sighted by a destroyer as she was preparing for a surface shot . The destroyer swung left to ram ; " S - 45 " swung right , submerged , and rigged for depth charging . Within minutes , the explosions , close aboard portside , were felt . Varying her depth and course , the S - boat reached 200 feet ( 60 m ) . Her evasive maneuvering was successful , and she retired south . The destroyer continued to circle on the surface near the initial contact point . By daylight , a second destroyer had joined the first ; and , for the next three hours , the two surface ships were heard , alternately close , then fading out . After 09 : 30 , no further pinging was heard . Little damage had been done , but pressure in the boat was high , a result of blowing and venting tanks . The high pressure , in turn , caused the depth gauge to register low . By 4 November , poor weather had set in ; and , on 6 November , the boat cleared the area , setting course for Suva and the Panama Canal . Arriving at the latter on 6 January 1943 , she underwent voyage repairs , then received orders to Saint Thomas , United States Virgin Islands , for training duty . On arrival , she was ordered back to Coco Solo , whence she continued on to San Diego and a three - month tour with the West Coast Sound School . Overhaul followed , and on 19 November , she got underway for the Aleutian Islands . Fourth war patrol . " S - 45 " arrived at Dutch Harbor on 2 December 1943 . Training and minor repairs occupied the remainder of the month ; and , on 31 December , she departed the eastern Aleutians for Attu . There , she topped off and continued on to the Kuril Islands , encountering strong winds and heavy seas as she moved west . On 12 January 1944 , she lost her antennae in a storm and , on 13 January , she arrived in her patrol area , the Ominato - Paramushiro convoy routes . Hunting was again poor ; and , on 28 January , she returned to Attu . Two days later , while charging batteries , she suffered an explosion in the after battery compartment . By 10 February , the debris had been removed and temporary repairs had been made . The next day , she moved east , arriving at Dutch Harbor on 14 February . From there , she returned to San Diego , completed repairs , then got underway , in June , to cross the Pacific . From mid - July to the end of the year , she conducted training exercises from Manus in the Admiralty Islands ; then moved to Brisbane for repairs preparatory to returning to California . Retirement . " S - 45 " arrived back at San Diego in early April 1945 and resumed operations for the West Coast Sound School . In September , after the formal end of World War II , she moved up to San Francisco where she was decommissioned on 30 October 1945 . Her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 13 November 1945 ; and in December 1946 , her hulk was sold for scrapping to the Salco Iron and Metal Company of San Francisco .