Here is an even more detailed account from the same sources (posted on US Naval History Buffs by Paul T Garrett):
May 23, 1939 –. USS Squalus (SS-192), a US Sargo-class submarine, later renamed Sailfish began a series of test dives off Portsmouth, New Hampshire following a yard overhaul. After completing 18 dives, she went down again off the Isles of Shoals on the morning of 23 May at 42°53′N 70°37′W. Failure of the main induction valve (the means of letting in fresh air when on the surface) caused the flooding of the aft torpedo room, both engine rooms, and the crew's quarters, drowning 26 men immediately. Quick action by the crew prevented the other compartments from flooding. Squalus bottomed in 243 ft of water.
Squalus was initially located by her sister ship, Sculpin. The two submarines were able to communicate using a telephone marker buoy until the cable parted. Divers from the submarine rescue ship Falcon began rescue operations under the direction of the salvage and rescue expert Lieutenant Commander Charles B. "Swede" Momsen, using the new McCann Rescue Chamber. The Senior Medical Officer for the operations was Dr. Charles Wesley Shilling. Overseen by researcher Albert R. Behnke, the divers used recently developed heliox diving schedules and successfully avoided the cognitive impairment symptoms associated with such deep dives, thereby confirming Behnke's theory of nitrogen narcosis. The divers were able to rescue all 33 survivors on board (32 crew members and a civilian) the sunken submarine. Four enlisted divers, Chief Machinist's Mate William Badders, Chief Boatswain's Mate Orson L. Crandall, Chief Metalsmith James H. McDonald, and Chief Torpedoman John Mihalowski, were awarded the Medal of Honor for their work during the rescue and subsequent salvage. The successful rescue of the Squalus survivors is in marked contrast to the loss of Thetis in Liverpool Bay just a week later.
The navy authorities felt it important to raise her as she incorporated a succession of new design features. With a thorough investigation of why she sank, more confidence could be placed in the new construction, or alteration of existing designs could be undertaken when cheapest and most efficient to do so. Furthermore, given similar previous accidents in Sturgeon and Snapper (indeed, in S-5, as far back as 1920), it was necessary to determine a cause.
The salvage of Squalus was commanded by Rear Admiral Cyrus W. Cole, Commander of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, who supervised salvage officer Lieutenant Floyd A. Tusler from the Construction Corps. Tusler planned to lift the submarine in three stages to prevent it from rising too quickly, out of control, with one end up, in which case there would be a high likelihood of it sinking again. For 50 days, divers worked to pass cables underneath the submarine and attach pontoons for buoyancy. On 13 July 1939, the stern was raised successfully, but when the men attempted to free the bow from the hard blue clay, the vessel began to rise far too quickly, slipping its cables. Ascending vertically, the submarine broke the surface, and 30 feet (10 m) of the bow reached into the air for not more than ten seconds before she sank once again to the bottom. Momsen said of the mishap, "pontoons were smashed, hoses cut and I might add, hearts were broken." After 20 more days of preparation, with a radically redesigned pontoon and cable arrangement, the next lift was successful, as were two further operations. Squalus was towed into Portsmouth on 13 September and decommissioned on 15 November 1939. A total of 628 dives had been made in rescue and salvage operations.
The operational history of Sailfish
Renamed Sailfish on 9 February 1940, she began reconditioning, repair, and overhaul. She was recommissioned on 15 May 1940 with a refit completed in mid-September. Sailfish departed Portsmouth on 16 January 1941 and headed for the Pacific. Transiting the Panama Canal, she arrived at Pearl Harbor in early March, after refueling at San Diego. The submarine then sailed west to Manila where she joined the Asiatic Fleet until the attack on Pearl Harbor.
During the Pacific War, the captain of the renamed ship issued standing orders if any man on the boat said the word "Squalus", he was to be marooned at the next port of call. This led to crew members referring to their ship as "Squailfish". That went over almost as well; a court-martial was threatened for anyone heard using it.
During 12 patrols in the Pacific, USS Sailfish earned the Presidential Unit Citation (for her 10th patrol), American Defense Service Medal, American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with nine battle stars, and World War II Victory Medal
After being decommissioned on 27 October 1945, efforts by the city of Portsmouth and area residents to have the submarine kept intact as a memorial were not successful. An agreement was reached to have her conning tower saved, which was dedicated in November 1946 on Armistice Day, by John L. Sullivan, then Under Secretary of the Navy. The remainder of the submarine was initially scheduled to be a target ship in the atomic bomb tests or sunk by conventional ordnance. However, she was placed on sale in March 1948 and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 30 April 1948. The hulk was sold for scrap to Luria Brothers of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 18 June 1948. Her conning tower still stands at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery as a memorial to her lost crewmen (43°04′55.4″N 70°44′18.7″W).
Post Sources: Naval History and Heritage Command, Navsource, and Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Sailfish_(SS-192)
Image:
(Original Caption) New York: Rescue Sketch. Artist's Conception Of Submarine Rescue.
Here is how an Artist sees the attempt to rescue the 59 men trapped aboard the U.S. submarine Squalus (SS-192) on the bottom of the sea 12 miles off Portsmouth, N.H. (A), the Falcon (ASR-2) submarine tender anchored above the sunken craft (😎, the telephone buoy with which the Squalus established contact with a sister ship. However, the communication line was severed before much information could be given. (C) a diver is shown descending on a platform in an attempt to close the faulty induction valve that caused the accident. If all other means fail crew members will leave their stricken craft and come to the surface, aided by Momsen's lung. A respirator-like device that enables them to breathe during the 240-foot ascent.
