Cuttlefish SS 171 running on the surface with a nice bone in her teeth. She could possibly be making a flank bell for the camera. Resolution is pretty bad so most detail is lost. A couple of people can be seen on the bridge. Any idea of location is unknown. We do know that the time is after the C 2 was removed and hull numbers were added to the hull. Mid 1930's?

USS Cuttlefish Crew form up for a formal photo circa late 1939 or early 1940.

The Lieutenant Commander seated directly above the ships' life Ring is Martin P Hottel the submarines' Commanding Officer. To Hottel's right (photo left) is who is believed to be Lieutenant Millener W. Thomas the Subs Executive Officer. On the right of the seated Officers is Lieutenant junior grade Leslie Kelly Taylor. Taylor joined the crew in July 1939 and left the sub in Feb 1942.

The man second from right, standing, is a second Class Electrician with one Hash Mark (meaning he has over 4 years of service completed). On his right sleeve he has a circle with cross hairs in it and a star above that. This all means he was part of the gun team and was a Gun Pointer First Class at this job. This would have been a Battle Stations position. At the bottom of this sleeve are his Qualified in Submarines Insignia. You can see this same thing on otherrs in the crew who have this part of their sleeve visible.

On the far right in the back row with hand holding on to an overhead wire is one of the subs two Mess Attendants; James Henry Washington MAtt/1C. Washington joined the crew in 1938 and left the sub in 1941. In this time frame of blatant segregation it is rare to see a crew member of color included in in such a photo. As WW II progressed submarine crews were more inclusive as all the men were sharing the same combat experiences and proved their worth to each other.

On October 5, 1941 the USS Cuttlefish cleared Pearl Harbor for an overhaul at Mare Island Navy Yard. She was there when the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor was launched.

After overhaul she returned to Hawaii. Her first war patrol commenced on January 29, 1942. On the 13th of February Cuttlefish was off Marcus Island, gaining valuable information from her reconnaissance, and after patrolling in the Bonin Islands, returned to Midway on March 24, 1942.

She refitted at Midway and at Pearl Harbor, and on May 2nd she cleared Midway after topping off with fuel for her second war patrol. Between May 18 and 24, she reconnoitered Saipan and the northern islands of the Marianas group.

On May 19 she attacked a patrol ship, and while maneuvering for a second attack, was detected. She was forced deep to endure 4 hours of severe depth charging, more of which came her way on May 24 when she challenged three enemy destroyers. The next day an alert enemy plane caught her on the surface and dropped two bombs as she went under, both of them misses. Her riveted hull was taking a beating.

As it became obvious that the Japanese Fleet was out in strength, Cuttlefish was ordered to patrol about 700 miles west of Midway, remaining on station during the Battle of Midway of June 4 to 6, 1942. She returned to Pearl Harbor June 15th.

Her third war patrol, for which she sailed on July 29, 1942, patrolling off the Japanese homeland, she attacked a destroyer on August 18th, and received a punishing depth charge attack. Three days later she launched a spread of torpedoes, three of which hit a freighter and one of which hit an escort. Explosions were seen, but the sinking could not be confirmed. On September 5, 1942 she attacked a tanker which, it is believed, she sunk.

Returning to Pearl Harbor September 20, 1942, Cuttlefish was ordered to New London, where she was to serve the Submarine School as a training ship from December 1942 until October 1945.

This photo has a date as being taken on or about June 8, 1943, which was a Tuesday that year. The submarine must have been in port as the type of activity seen here speaks of men in off hours, probably after the evening meal and not at sea and most likely moored at the Submarine Base, New London.

The man in the foreground is shining his shoes. You don't do that during the "work day". The man on the bunk and the man with the coffee cup are talking. The sailor in the top bunk is reading a Zane Grey western novel called Wildfire. Western books were very popular with sailors and were still taken to sea in the 60's and 70's. Who knows they may still go to sea in the modern Navy. The readers shoes are sitting on the deck at the photos left.

There is no clear evidence but the photo looks to be taken in the after Battery and looking aft. The door leading into what is most likely the Crews Head or Bathroom. The Oval water tight door then should probably lead into the engine room.

On the right edge of the photo is a Bunk Bag hanging from the triced up bunk. This bag was used to stow various items of clothing or towels or just about anything the sailor wanted to have at the ready. Personal storage space was at a premium so any extra space you could make for yourself was welcomed. This bag is made from cloth with a zipper. Modern bags are made from synthetic materials.

Behind the seated man on the right is a locker cabinet up against the bulkhead. There is probably a series of small lockers for men to use for personal items and clothing. The compartment was riddled with many of these small lockers all along the outer bulkheads between the bunks. The stack of bunks on the right is actually double sided with an identical stack of bunks on the opposite side and then more bunks that mirror the bunks on the left in the photo. In all, this compartment would have between 36 to 40 bunks for crew.

Air conditioning outlets and duct work are seen at the top of the photo. By this time in the war all the older boats that were built without air conditioning, mainly the O, R and S class submarines, had been retro fitted. Air conditioning eliminated most of the condensation and humidity in submarines that contributed to electrical shorts and grounds. The one big problem submarines had suffered since the beginning. A side benefit was the crews morale was higher and people more comfortable aboard the vessel. The Cuttlefish was the first submarine to have such a system installed in 1935.

This close up of the man reading shows the cover of the novel clearly, Wildfire by Zane Grey, which was published in 1917, during the last World War. It was still favorite reading by servicemen 25 years later in the midst of another war. It was still being read at sea 50 years later. A classic of Western themed writing genre.

This close up of the right edge of the photo is of a Bunk Bag hanging from the triced up bunk. This bag was used to stow various items of clothing or towels or just about anything the sailor wanted to have at the ready. Personal storage space was at a premium so any extra space you could make for yourself was welcomed. This bag is made from cloth with a zipper. Modern bags are made from synthetic materials.

USS Cuttlefish decommissioning covers. These are unused with no addresses or stamps or cancellation stamps. The Cuttlefish was decommissioned on October 24, 1945. The top one is done with gold embossing ink and has a noticible bumpiness to the ink. The bottom one had minor relief to the blue ink. Both envelopes have an actual miniature photo attached to the face of the envelope. The photos are small versions of the photo just above this one.