Quote:
|
Originally Posted by DaveyJ576
You have stumbled across a rare photo! I missed this one myself! The advanced age and limited capabilities of the S-boats relegated them mostly to training and secondary patrol duties after 1943. Because of this, they received a much lower priority for receiving advanced gear like the SJ-1. Most of the S-boats didn't receive any radar at all until 1943! This is what leads me to believe that this photo was taken later in the war, probably late '44 or early '45. By that time, enough of the SJ-1 sets would have been available to warrant their installation in the S-boats. S-42 received her last major overhaul in Brisbane in October, 1944 and this is when this radar set may have been installed, but it is possible that she got it as early as March '44 in Pearl Harbor.
|
Thanks, Dave.
My detective work says that it would have been sometime in late 1943-early 1944. Given that the caption says the photo was taken at Dutch Harbor, I came to that date range based on the following info we do know:
- The presence of the 3"/50 gun: the patrol report covering its last 1943 patrol (ending in early October) mentions that the 4"/50 was still installed.
- The conning tower configuration was first used on the above-mentioned September-October 1943 patrol.
Additionally, we can extract the following info:
- The boat to the left is an S-18 class boat, probably S-35.
- The boat to the right of S-42 is a mystery. It looks to have a 3"/50 gun in addition to SJ-1. My guess is it's either S-30 or S-41.
Whatever the case, it's a very fascinating photo and the only one I've seen of S boats fitted with SJ-1 radar.
