Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 9-24-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

— 33 Kozak. “Mystery Whereabouts of WWII Sub USS 0-9 Solved,” Sea Tech., April 1998.

— 33 US Dept. Navy. “Casualties: US Navy…Marine Corps Personnel Killed and Injured…”

— 33 Yorczyk (NOAA). “Remote-Sensing Survey for the…Submarine USS 0-9,” Sep 2004.

Narrative Information

National Undersea Research Center: “In the fall of 2004, NURC-NA&GL partnered with NOAA’s Office of Exploration (OE) to investigate the wreckage of the U.S. Submarine 0-9 (USS 0-9).

The USS O-9, was built in 1918, served until 1931 when she was retired in Philadelphia, PA. She was returned to service as a training sub following a rebuild in Groton, CT I but sank while on her first deep test dive off of New Hampshire in 1941. She was found by retired submariner Glenn Reem and side scan sonar experts Gary Kozak and Marty Klein in 1997 during a side scan search of the area. The 2004 expedition conducted additional side scan sonar surveys of the wreck and surrounding area and provided the first ever video and digital still documentation of the condition of wreck and its identity as the submarine USS O-9. OE supported the ship time on the University of Connecticut’s R/V Connecticut, while NURC-NA&GL provided its Hela remotely operated vehicle (ROV), side scan sonar system and technicians to conduct this expedition.” (National Undersea Research Center, North Atlantic & Great Lakes. “The USS 0-9…”)

U.S. Navy: “USS O-9 (SS-70) lost during deep submergence test off New London, CT. 33 drowned. 19 Jun. 1941.” (US Dept. Navy. “Casualties: US Navy…Marine Corps Personnel Killed and Injured…”)

Yorczyk: “One of 16 O-class submarines, O-9 (hull number later designated as SS-70) was launched on January 27, 1918 at the Fore River Shipbuilding Co., in Quincy, Massachusetts. After several months patrolling the eastern seaboard, O-9 sailed for Britain to begin war patrols, but World War I ended November 11, 1918, before O-9 arrived in European waters. After post-war service, which included training operations and patrols guarding the Panama Canal, O-9 was decommissioned in 1931.

“With a new world war impending, O-9 was re-commissioned on April 14, 1941 to help train the Navy’s growing number of submariners. Two months later the crew of the USS O-9 was on a training mission and while conducting a deep submergence test, O-9, an old boat built for another war, failed to surface. All efforts to contact the sub were unsuccessful. By evening, telltale debris and an oil slick confirmed the worst. Just why the submarine sank taking the lives of all hands is still unknown. O-9 was operating in the same area in which two years previously the submarine USS Squalus (SS-192) was lost, but 33 crewmen were saved through a remarkable undersea rescue. Because O-9 was in more than 400 feet of water, twice the depth where Squalus sank, rescue was not a realistic option. Several ships searched in a vain attempt at rescue and Navy divers heroically dove to record depths in hopes of at locating the sub, but had to call off the operation because of the great risk.

“The precise location of O-9’s final resting also remained unknown, until September 20, 1997. Glen Reem, a retired U.S. Navy Captain, scuba diver, and nautical researcher, assisted by Klein Associates Inc., the maker of side-scan sonar equipment, led a search for O-9 and found it. Sonar images revealed O-9 lying on its side on the ocean floor. Aft of the conning tower, the submarine appeared to be crushed but the forward portion seemed to be intact.” (Yorczyk (NOAA). “Remote-Sensing Survey for the…Submarine USS 0-9,” Sep 2004.)

Sources

Kozak, Garry. “Mystery Whereabouts of WWII Sub USS 0-9 Solved,” Sea Technology, April 1998. Accessed at: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa5367/is_199804/ai_n21421156/

United States Department of the Navy, Naval Historical Center. See “Casualties: US Navy and Marine Corps Personnel Killed and Injured in Selected Accidents and Other Incidents Not Directly the Result of Enemy Action.” Washington, DC: Washington Navy Yard. Accessed at: http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/NHC/accidents.htm

Yorczyk, Rick. “Remote-Sensing Survey for the Remains of the Submarine USS 0-9 (SS-70).” NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration, Sep 2004. Accessed 9-24-2024 at: http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/projects/04uss09/welcome.html

1941 — June 19, USS 0-9 (SS-70) sub sinks on 1st deep dive test off Isle of Shoals, NH– 33