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The ''Sargo''-class submarines were among the first US submarines to be sent into action after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, starting war patrols the day after the attack, having been deployed to the Philippines in late 1941. Basically similar to the previous , they were built between 1937 and 1939. With a top speed of 21 knots, a range of (allowing patrols in Japanese home waters), and a reliable propulsion plant, along with the ''Salmon''s they were an important step in the development of a true fleet submarine. In some references, the ''Salmon''s and ''Sargo''s are called the "New S Class", 1st and 2nd Groups.〔Silverstone, pp. 190-193〕 The ''Sargo''-class submarine had the distinction of being the first US Navy vessel to sink a Japanese ship in World War II. ==Design== In most features the ''Sargo''s were a repeat of the ''Salmon''s, except for the return to full diesel-electric drive for the last four boats and the adoption of the improved ''Sargo'' battery design. The first six ''Sargo''s were driven by a composite direct-drive and diesel-electric plant (two engines in each mode) in the same manner as the ''Salmon''s. In this arrangement, two main engines in the forward engine room drove generators. In the after engine room, two side-by-side engines were clutched to reduction gears which sat forward of the engines, with vibration-isolating hydraulic clutches. Two high-speed electric motors, driven by the generating engines or batteries, were also connected to each reduction gear.〔Friedman, p. 203〕 The Bureau of Steam Engineering (BuEng) and the General Board desired a full diesel-electric plant, but there were some dissenting opinions, notably Admiral Thomas C. Hart, the only experienced submariner on the General Board, who pointed out that a full diesel-electric system could be disabled by flooding.〔Friedman, p. 204〕 Technical problems went against the use of two large direct-drive diesels in place of the four-engine composite plant. No engine of suitable power to reach the desired 21-knot speed existed in the US, and the current vibration-isolating hydraulic clutches were not capable of transmitting enough power. It was also not practical to gear two engines to each shaft.〔Friedman, p. 204〕 So a full diesel-electric plant was adopted for the last four ''Sargo''s, and remained standard for all subsequent conventionally-powered US submarines. Four of the class (''Sargo'', ''Saury'', ''Spearfish'', and ''Seadragon'') were equipped with the troublesome Hooven-Owens-Rentschler (HOR) double-acting diesels. An attempt to produce more power from a smaller engine than other contemporary designs, the double-acting system proved unreliable in service. During World War II, all had their engines replaced with GM-Winton 16-278A engines, probably during their overhauls in early 1943.〔Friedman, pp. 263, 360-361〕 BuEng had designed a new lead-acid battery to resist battle damage, known as the ''Sargo'' battery because it was first installed on and was based on a suggestion by her commissioning commanding officer, Lieutenant E. E. Yeomans.〔Friedman, p. 265〕 Instead of a single hard rubber case, it had two concentric hard rubber cases with a layer of soft rubber between them. This was to prevent sulfuric acid leakage in the event one case cracked during depth-charging.〔(The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia, ''Sargo''-class article )〕 This remained the standard battery design until replaced with Sargo II and GUPPY batteries in submarines upgraded under the Greater Underwater Propulsion Power Program after World War II. Each battery's capacity was slightly increased by installing 126 cells instead of 120; this also raised the nominal voltage from 250 volts to 270 volts, which has been standard in US usage ever since, including the backup batteries of nuclear submarines. The original Mark 21 3-inch (76 mm)/50 caliber deck gun proved to be too light in service. It lacked sufficient punch to finish off crippled or small targets quickly enough to suit the crews. It was replaced by the Mark 9 4-inch (102 mm)/50 caliber gun in 1943-44, in most cases removed from an S-boat being transferred to training duty.〔Alden, p.93.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Sargo-class submarine」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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