Salmon Class
With a surface speed of 21 knots and 11,000 nautical-mile-range, these were the first American subs that could reliably operate as “fleet” submarines, which meant they could accompany a Naval fleet to distant waters.

All six in this class were transferred to the Pacific as war loomed in 1941, where they mostly supported American forces in the Philippines.
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Salmon Class submarines proved useful for the first 2-1/2 years of World War 2 (while the U.S. was building the more advanced Gato and Balao class submarines.

Sargo Class
With only slight variations in design compared to the Salmon Class, the 10 subs in this class were often grouped together with the 6 in the Salmon Class and referred to as “S” class with 16 subs. All were operating in the Philippines when we entered the war with Japan, so they were ready for service the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Fargo Class subs sank a total of 73 ships during World War Two including one Japanese aircraft carrier. USS Swordfish (SS-193) was the American submarine to sink a Japanese ship.

Tambor Class
Design improvements over the previous class included a more reliable diesel-electric propulsion system and an additional two torpedo tubes.

Like the Salmon and Sargo classes, the Tambors were ready for service at the outset of the war with Japan. Six were in the Central Pacific when Pearl Harbor was attacked. USS Tautog was at the submarine base at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 and not only escaped damage, but assisted in shooting down a Japanese Torpedo bomber. She went on (by one account) to sink more enemy ships than any other American sub during the War. By another account, she came in second for number of ships sunk. The Tambors were in the thick of the fighting for much of the war, with 7 of the 12 being sunk by the enemy.

Gato Class
Once the Navy was confident they had a design that would serve as a reliable “fleet submarine,” they went into mass production and ordered the building of 77 of this design. The concept of a fleet submarine is that it would serve with a main battle fleet, sailing ahead of the fleet to scout enemy ships and take out some if possible before the main fleet engaged in battle. For this mission, a submarine need surface speed to keep up with the Standard type battleships, a range that would take it to distant waters, endurance, and some heavy armament.

Cato class submarines served with distinction during World War 2 and played a major role in knocking out Japanese naval and merchant ships. Twenty of the seventy-seven were lost during the war.

Balao Class
With a new High Tensile Steel and a slightly thicker steel in the hull, the Balao class increased test depth from 300 ft. to 400 ft., providing a tactical advantage when evading enemy ships. The practical depth was improved later with the use of a more effective pump. The Balaos also featured and improved conning tower.

These subs joined the War in mid-1943 and served admirably through the end of the war. Among the most renowned was USS Tang (SS-306) which was credited with sinking a total of 33 ships in her relatively short-lived service. She was ultimately sunk by a circular run of one of her own torpedoes. 78 men went down with the sub. Nine survived to be taken prisoner by the Japanese.

The photo at left shows U.S. airmen being rescued by Tang in 1944. It illustrates the dedication, courage, and teamwork of American sailors during the war and reminds us that the war was not won by military hardware; it was won by the men who risked their lives to serve their nation’s mission. Submarines were used a number of times in rescue missions. We don’t have photos of most of those events. Sadly 78 Tang sailors would perish a few months after this photo was taken.

Tench Class
With minor improvements over the Balao Class, Tench entered the war toward the end. This class had a little more weight and internal layout improvements. A balast tank was repurposed as a fuel tank, extending the range from 11,000 to 16,000 nautical miles.

Ten of the twenty-nine were commissioned in time to enter the war. They did their part in the “near destruction” of the Japanese merchant fleet.