This is DOLPHIN (SS-169) in July of 1933, at completion of her final trials and acceptance period at Portsmouth Navy Yard. The boat displays the usual #5 Standard Navy Grey applied to all units prior to World War II.
DOLPHIN was the seventh of the "V-boats", the large submarines intended for a possible Pacific war with Japan. A reduction in size from the preceding NARWHAL and ARGONAUT classes, DOLPHIN was similar in dimensions to the later GATO/BALAO/TENCH wartime classes. Her size was ideal for the long-range patrols later made during the war. A distinctive feature of DOLPHIN is the large deck house extending aft of the conning tower fairwater; originally intended to store boats, it was later rebuilt to store three reload torpedoes in canisters. Loop antennas for long-range radio communication run fore and aft (a common feature for the V-boats as built), and the telescoping antenna mast aft of the periscope shears connects wire antennas to derricks fore and aft as well. A 4"/50-caliber deck gun sits ahead of the fairwater.
DOLPHIN was commissioned after the V-boats were named, and so never went to sea with the "V-7" designation on her fairwater - having instead the "D-1" class number and the hull number "SS-169".
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This is DOLPHIN (SS-169) in January of 1938. The boat has repainted into the overall gloss black favored by the Pacific Fleet submarines at the time. A WCA hydrophone has been added forward, but otherwise the boat is unchanged from its previous appearance.
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This is DOLPHIN (SS-169) in October of 1942 during her third war patrol off the Kurile Islands. She is camouflaged in the overall black of Measure 9.
DOLPHIN was not extensively modified during the war, receiving only basic upgrades in 1942 and 1943. An SJ surface search radar sits on the open bridge, with an SD air search antenna on the old antenna mast. A radio DF loop has been added aft of the fairwater, and the heavy kingposts of the original design have been removed and replaced with only basic masts for supporting antenna rigging lines. Her armament remains unchanged.
DOLPHIN returned from her third war patrol to be relegated to training duties at Pearl Harbor, before being sent to New London, Connecticut, for service as a school boat. DOLPHIN would end the war in New London, training submariners, before being sold for scrap in 1946.
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All DOLPHIN class submarine drawings available here: http://shipbucket.com/drawings/search?c ... =&drawing=
