Allied Warships

Sculpin (SS-191)

Submarine of the Sargo class

USS Sculping during the war

Navy	The US Navy
Type	Submarine
Class	Sargo
Pennant	191
Built by	Portsmouth Navy Yard (Kittery, Maine, U.S.A.)
Ordered
Laid down	7 Sep 1937
Launched	27 Jul 1938
Commissioned	16 Jan 1939
Lost	19 Nov 1943
Loss position	10° 00'N, 152° 50'E

History	USS Sculpin (Cdr. Fred Connaway, USN) was heavily damaged by the Japanese destroyer Yamagumo (offsite link) about 150 miles north of Truk, Caroline Islands in position 10º00'N, 152º50'E. The submarine is forced to surface and is eventually scuttled by her own crew. Capt. J.P. Cromwell, the embarked submarine squadron commander in Sculpin, familiar with secret details of upcoming operations, decides to go down with the ship rather than risk capture and inevitable interrogation. For his decision to accept certain death, Cromwell is posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

Commands listed for USS Sculpin (191)

Please note that we're still working on this section
and that we only list Commanding Officers for the duration of the Second World War.

	Commander	From	To
1	Lt.Cdr. Warren Dudley Wilkin, USN	16 Jan 1939	Feb 1941
2	Lt. John Owen Reilly Coll, USN	Feb 1941	1 Apr 1941
3	Lt. Lucius Henry Chappell, USN	1 Apr 1941	20 Oct 1943
4	T/Cdr. Fred Connaway, USN	20 Oct 1943	19 Nov 1943 (+)

You can help improve our commands section
Click here to Submit events/comments/updates for this vessel.
Please use this if you spot mistakes or want to improve this ships page.

Notable events involving Sculpin include:

23 May 1939
During her shakedown cruise USS Sculpin was diverted to help search for the missing sister boat USS Squalus (SS 192). Squalus had sunk due to mechanical failure on 23 May 1939. Sculpin found the sunken submarine and aided the submarine rescue ship Falcon as she rescued all 33 surviving men from the non-flooded areas of the Squalus. 26 men drowned in flooded aft section the sinking. (1)

8 Dec 1941
USS Sculpin (Lt.Cdr. L.H. Chappell) left Manila for her first war patrol. She was ordered to patrol north of Luzon.

22 Jan 1942
USS Sculpin (Lt.Cdr. L.H. Chappell) ended her first war patrol at Surabaya, Java, Netherlands East Indies.

30 Jan 1942
USS Sculpin (Lt.Cdr. L.H. Chappell) leaves Surabaya for her second war patrol.

4 Feb 1942
USS Sculpin (Lt.Cdr. L.H. Chappell) torpedoed and damaged the Japanese destroyer Suzukaze (offsite link) off Staring Bay, south of Kendari, Celebes in position 04°00'S, 123°00'E.

17 Feb 1942
USS Sculpin (Lt.Cdr. L.H. Chappell) is damaged by depth charges.

28 Feb 1942
USS Sculpin (Lt.Cdr. L.H. Chappell) ended her second war patrol at Exmouth Bay, Australia. After making repairs she continued on to Fremantle.

13 Mar 1942
USS Sculpin (Lt.Cdr. L.H. Chappell) leaves Fremantle for her 3th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol off the Moluccas.

27 Apr 1942
USS Sculpin (Lt.Cdr. L.H. Chappell) ended her 3th war patrol at Fremantle.

29 May 1942
USS Sculpin (Lt.Cdr. L.H. Chappell) leaves Fremantle for her 4th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the South China Sea.

29 May 1942
The destroyers HMAS Stuart (Cdr. S.H.K. Spurgeon, DSO, RAN) and HMAS Voyager (Lt.Cdr. R.C. Robison DSC, RAN) conducted A/S exercises off Fremantle with the submarine USS Sculpin (Lt.Cdr. L.H. Chappell).

On completion of the exercises the destroyers set course for Geraldton. (2)

17 Jul 1942
USS Sculpin (Lt.Cdr. L.H. Chappell) ended her 4th war patrol at Fremantle.

8 Sep 1942
USS Sculpin (Lt.Cdr. L.H. Chappell) departed from Brisbane, Australia for her 5th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the Bismarck Sea.

28 Sep 1942
USS Sculpin (Lt.Cdr. L.H. Chappell) torpedoed and damaged the Japanese seaplane carrier Nisshin east of Kokoda Island off New Britain in position 03°47'S, 151°36'E. Sculpin is damaged by depth charges but is able to continue her patrol.

7 Oct 1942
USS Sculpin (Lt.Cdr. L.H. Chappell) torpedoed and sank the Japanese troop transport Naminoue Maru (4731 GRT) off Rabaul in position 03°14'S, 150°01'E.

14 Oct 1942
USS Sculpin (Lt.Cdr. L.H. Chappell) torpedoed and sank the Japanese transport ship Sumiyoshi Maru (1921 GRT) about 75 nautical miles south-west of Kavieng, New Ireland in position 03°51'S, 151°21'E.

26 Oct 1942
USS Sculpin (Lt.Cdr. L.H. Chappell) ended her 5th war patrol at Brisbane.

18 Nov 1942
USS Sculpin (Lt.Cdr. L.H. Chappell) departed from Brisbane for her 6th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol off Truk in the Caroline Islands.

8 Jan 1943
USS Sculpin (Lt.Cdr. L.H. Chappell) ended her 6th war patrol at Pearl Harbor. She was ordered to the Bethlehem Steel Company shipyard in San Francisco, California for an overhaul.

24 May 1943
With her overhaul completed USS Sculpin (Lt.Cdr. L.H. Chappell) leaves Pearl Harbor for her 7th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in Japanese home waters off the coast of Honshu.

19 Jun 1943
USS Sculpin (Lt.Cdr. L.H. Chappell) sank the Japanese guard boat Miyasho Maru No.1 (79 GRT) and sailing vessel Sagami Maru (135 GRT) with gunfire off Inubozaki, Japan in position 37°11'N, 142°30'E.

4 Jul 1943
USS Sculpin (Lt.Cdr. L.H. Chappell) ended her 7th war patrol at Midway.

25 Jul 1943
USS Sculpin (Lt.Cdr. L.H. Chappell) left Midway for her 8th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol of Formosa.

9 Aug 1943
USS Sculpin (Lt.Cdr. L.H. Chappell) torpedoed and sank the Japanese passenger / cargo ship Sekko Maru (3183 GRT) east of northern Formosa in position 24°55'N, 122°00'E.

17 Sep 1943
USS Sculpin (Lt.Cdr. L.H. Chappell) ended her 8th war patrol at Midway.

5 Nov 1943
USS Sculpin (Cdr. F. Connaway) left Pearl Harbor for her 9th war patrol. She and two other submarines were ordered to patrol north of Truk, to intercept and attack Japanese forces leaving Truk to oppose the forthcoming invasion of Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands. As Commanding Officer of this wolf pack Sculpin carried Capt. J.P. Cromwell aboard.