USS S-28 (SS-133) was an S-18-class submarine, also referred to as an S-1-class or "Holland"-type, of the United States Navy. She served in World War II, during which sank one Japanese ship. She was lost at sea, with all hands, in July 1944. Her wreck was discovered in 2017 at a depth of off the coast of Oahu.
Design The S-18-class had a length of overall, a beam of , and a mean draft of . They displaced on the surface and submerged. All S-class submarines had a crew of 4 officers and 34 enlisted men, when first commissioned. They had a diving depth of .
For surface running, the S-18-class were powered by two NELSECO diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a Ridgway Dynamo & Engine Company electric motor. They could reach on the surface and underwater.
The boats were armed with four torpedo tubes in the bow. They carried eight reloads, for a total of twelve torpedoes. The S-18-class submarines were also armed with a single /50 caliber deck gun.
Construction S-28s keel was laid down on 16 April 1919, by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation's Fore River Shipyard, in Quincy, Massachusetts. She was launched on 20 September 1922, sponsored by Mrs. Katherine B. Monroe, and commissioned on 13 December 1923.
Service history 1924 S-28 worked up in the waters off New England, in January and early February 1924. She stood out from New London, Connecticut, on 15 February, and proceeded down the Thames River in company with her sister ship en route to Naval Station, Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. While in the Caribbean, she called at St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, Port of Spain, Trinidad, Culebra, Puerto Rico, and Coco Solo, Canal Zone. In addition to her numerous port visits, she fired her first three torpedoes during Battle Practice “A” held in Chiriqui Lagoon, on 15 April. She headed northward on 24 April.
Six days after she departed the Caribbean, S-28 moored alongside the submarine tender , outboard of and , at 97th Street, New York City. On 10 May 1924, she got underway and stood down the Hudson River. She entered the Thames River, and moored on the north side of Pier C, New London, two days later. Assigned to Submarine Division (SubDiv) 11, she stood out to sea for short-range gunnery practice on 15–16 May, along with the rest of her division. While her crew scored five hits out of sixteen shots fired, her officers failed to score a single hit with their three shots. At the conclusion of gunnery practice, she returned to New London, and moored at Pier D.
S-28 remained in New England for the next several months. On 24 November 1924, she stood out of New London, in accordance with Commander, Cruiser Force Operation Order No. 21-24. Two days later on 26 November, she moored alongside the dock at the US Naval Academy, where she remained for the next five days. On 1 December, she continued her move southward, when she cast off from the Academy pier, en route to Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Florida, where she arrived a few days later.
Fleet Problem V During the winter of 1924–1925, S-28 transited the Panama Canal, and participated in Fleet Problem V, from 23 February–12 March 1925. After the conclusion of the large-scale exercises, the submarine steamed to Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii. While conducting local operations off Lahaina Roads, Maui, on 18 May, she stopped, and with 25 sailors on deck, began to trim down by the bow to examine her propellers. She suffered a loss of depth control and submerged to . She quickly blew her main ballast tanks and surfaced three minutes later. There were no casualties.
1925 S-28 departed the Hawaiian Islands, en route to Portland, Oregon, on 1 June 1925. She anchored in Astoria, alongside S-24 and . In addition to conducting multiple training exercises in the harbor and the Willamette River, on 14 June, she welcomed members of the public. She concluded her visit and stood out for San Francisco, California, on 21 June, and reached her destination on 23 June. Soon thereafter, she proceeded to Mare Island, and moored at the navy yard, alongside S-26. Shipfitters began the submarine's overhaul at approximately on 7 July, and she remained in yard hands for the next several months, eventually returning to San Diego, in early January 1926.
Fleet Problem VI Assigned to the Submarine Detachment, "Blue Fleet", S-28 got underway for her participation in Fleet Problem VI, on 1 February 1926. En route to Balboa, CZ, four days later, the boat experienced a fire in the motor room bilge that forced her to come to a halt at 07:20, on 5 February. The blaze failed to cause any significant damage and the submarine resumed course at 07:42. She reached her assigned area and began the fleet problem at 06:00, on 11 February. Later the same evening, at 18:45, S-28 began maneuvering into position for a surface attack on an unknown number of the "Black Fleet" light cruisers, and simulated firing a four-torpedo spread at the warships ten minutes later. She would not detect the enemy fleet again until 13 February, the final day of the problem. At 05:25, on that day, she submerged and fired two practice torpedoes at some enemy cruisers. Less than three hours later, the submarine again sighted enemy cruisers off her port bow. Unable to dive because of a fully discharged battery, she changed course to 065°, at 08:10, and simulated firing four torpedoes.
Shortly after the simulated attack, S-28 proceeded ahead on course 105°T, at 08:23. At 10:03, she shut down both engines and proceeded on electric motors as she collected data on the pressure and drag introduced by a hole in her superstructure on the port side aft. She completed the data collection and steamed ahead on both engines at 10:14.
As she steamed to the east-northeast at 13:06, S-28 sighted a group of four "Black Fleet" cruisers and a destroyer off her port bow. As the latter vessel closed, the submarine dove at 13:24, and began maneuvering into a firing position. She came to course 045°, and fired four practice torpedoes at 13:33.
After the conclusion of the exercises at 22:00, on 13 February 1926, S-28 remained with the fleet and moored at Pier 18, in Balboa, on 15 February. While there, the submarine took on provisions, after which she resumed training. At 00:50, on 26 February, she landed a raiding party on Taboga Island, Panama, and the raiders rendezvoused with their boat in Taboga harbor, nearly eight hours later at 08:40. The apparently successful completion of the landing marked the end of S-28s training period with the fleet. After brief port visits to Balboa and Panama City, she exited the canal en route to San Diego, on 13 March.
1926–1928 On 10 May 1926, S-28 entered the marine railway, at the US Destroyer Base, San Diego. From 1200–1600, yard workers painted the underside of the boat's hull with one coat of anti-corrosive and one coat anti-fouling paint. She remained on the marine railway overnight to allow the paint to dry. She gradually reentered the water from 07:57–08:18, the next morning and cleared the marine railway under her own power a little over ten minutes later.
S-28 stood out of San Diego, on 11 June 1926, and set course for Mare Island. Guided by a harbor pilot and the district harbor tug , she entered Berth B, at the Navy Yard, on 13 June. Two days later, she entered Dry Dock No. 2, for a brief, but extensive, overhaul. Over the next four days, yard workers removed and repaired her No. 3 periscope, replaced a section of hull plating located near her starboard side stern post, and replaced her /50 caliber gun. She exited dry dock, on 17 June.
After a brief port visit to San Francisco, the boat steamed northward in company with SubDiv 11, less S-25 and , and made port visits in Astoria, Everett, Seattle, and Port Angeles. On 16 August, Commander SubDiv 11 broke his broad pennant on S-28. She stood out to sea in company with the Battle Fleet. The Secretary of the Navy, Curtis D. Wilbur, and Admiral Samuel S. Robison, Commander in Chief, U.S. Fleet, embarked in . Early on 21 August, she moored port side of Pier No. 29, in San Francisco. The submarine spent the remainder of the year conducting training and other local operations in the waters off California.
On 18 February 1927, S-28 got underway and proceeded from San Diego, to Mare Island Navy Yard, in accordance with ComSubDiv 11 Operations Order 2-27. Approximately three hours later, she entered Berth C-1, and began a lengthy maintenance and overhaul period. S-28 cast off from the Mare Island seawall, on 11 July 1927, a week shy of six months after her arrival. After a brief port visit to San Francisco, the submarine proceeded to Pearl Harbor, in company with the boats assigned to Submarine Divisions Eleven and Nineteen, the submarine tender , and the ex-minesweeper, serving as a submarine tender, , on 13 July. She remained in the Hawaiian Islands conducting training exercises until late August.
S-28 returned to San Diego, and moored alongside , on 9 September 1927. She got underway again and steamed north up the coast of California, on 21 September. The submarine reached her destination and anchored in San Pedro, the next afternoon. The boat's port visit lasted less than a day. She got underway on 23 September, en route back to San Diego. During the remainder of the year, S-28 conducted additional training exercises off the coast of South Coronado Island, Mexico.
On 30 March 1928, S-28 got underway on course 318°T, in company with S-27. Several hours later, on 1 April, the boats submerged and conducted a training exercise until 05:35. Approximately 30 minutes later the submarines parted, and S-27 proceeded independently en route to Mare Island Navy Yard. A little over two weeks later, on 16 April, she entered Dry Dock No. 1, and began overhaul. With her overhaul complete she stood out for San Diego, in company with S-27, on 30 June. After a brief shakedown, S-28 moored at Broadway Pier, in San Diego, on 2 July. She remained in San Diego, conducting local operations, for the next three months.
On 1 October 1928, S-28 cast off from alongside , and stood out from San Diego Harbor, on a training cruise at 1055. Several hours later at 14:25, she began a series of battle practice drills. At 18:48, the submarine secured from her second torpedo battle practice of the day and anchored off South Coronado Island, in company with destroyers and , and S-27. She conducted three additional practice runs the next day. The submarine finally conducted a live fire torpedo practice at 09:48, on 3 October 1928. Unfortunately, the torpedo passed abeam of its intended target. After recovering the torpedo, S-28 returned to San Diego harbor, and moored port side to Argonne, at 1340.
S-28 stood out of San Diego, at 08:30, on 10 October 1928, en route to South Coronado Island. From 13:10–13:30, she conducted a torpedo firing exercise, scoring four hits. The submarine recovered all four “fish” at 14:26, and arrived at her destination approximately an hour and a half later. She conducted multiple sound tests over the next two days before returning to San Diego, and mooring port side to Holland, at 11:30, on 13 October. Two weeks later, on 29 October, S-28 got underway once again at 11:40, en route to the Mare Island Navy Yard, for repairs to her starboard main motor. She moored in the yard on 1 November. With the repairs completed, the submarine stood out of Mare Island, en route to San Diego, ten days later. She departed her homeport for exercises twice more that month and ended the year with tactical exercises in the Coronado Islands.
Fleet Problem IX