USS S-29

USS S-29 (SS-134), was a first-group (S-1 or "Holland") S-class submarine of the United States Navy. During World War II, she also served in the Royal Navy as HMS P556.

USS S-29 in December 1936.
History
United States
Name	USS S-29
Builder	Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, in Quincy, Massachusetts
Laid down	17 April 1919
Launched	9 November 1922
Sponsored by	Mrs. Ronan C. Grady
Commissioned	22 May 1924
Decommissioned	5 June 1942
Stricken	26 January 1946
Fate	Transferred to the Royal Navy, 5 June 1942 Returned, 26 January 1946 Sold for scrap, 24 January 1947 Scrapped in 1986–1987
United Kingdom
Name	HMS P556
Acquired	5 June 1942
Fate	Returned to the U.S. Navy 26 January 1946
General characteristics
Class and type	S-class submarine
Displacement	854 long tons (868 t) surfaced 1,062 long tons (1,079 t) submerged
Length	219 ft 3 in (66.83 m)
Beam	20 ft 8 in (6.30 m)
Draft	15 ft 11 in (4.85 m)
Speed	14.5 knots (16.7 mph; 26.9 km/h) surfaced 11 knots (13 mph; 20 km/h) submerged
Complement	42 officers and men
Armament	1 × 4 in (102 mm)/50 deck gun 4 × 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes

Construction and commissioning

S-29′s keel was laid down on 17 April 1919 by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation's Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts. She was launched on 9 November 1922, sponsored by Mrs. Ronan C. Grady, and commissioned on 22 May 1924.

Service history

U.S. Navy

After duties in the northeastern United States operating from New London, Connecticut, in 1924, S-29 visited Hawaii from 27 April to 30 May 1925. Operating therrafter mainly from Mare Island, San Diego, and San Pedro, California until 1931, S-29 also served in the Panama Canal area from February to March 1926, visited Hawaii in the summers of 1927 and 1928, served in the Panama Canal area during February 1929, and again visited Hawaii during the summer of 1930.

Departing Mare Island on 14 February 1931, S-29 arrived at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on 23 February 1931. S-29 then operated at Pearl Harbor until 16 June 1939, when she departed bound for New London, which she reached on 23 August 1939. She then had duty in the northeastern United States and at Key West, Florida, from December 1940 to May 1941

After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 brought the United States into World War II, S-29 moved to the Panama Canal area in late December 1941. In March 1942 she headed back to New London, where she arruived on 1 April 1942. She decommissioned there on 5 June 1942.

Royal Navy

Main article: HMS P556

On the day of her decommissioning, S-29 was transferred the United Kingdom. In the Royal Navy she became HMS P556. While in British service she suffered a battery explosion at Weymouth. The Royal Navy returned her to the U.S. Navy on 26 January 1946.

Disposal

The U.S. Navy struck S-29 from the Naval Vessel Register in 1946 and sold her in the United Kingdom to H. G. Pound on 24 January 1947 for scrapping. In 1982, however, her hulk, minus its conning tower, was still visible at the Pounds scrapyard near Portsmouth. She finally was scrapped in Spain between 1986 and 1987.

References

• After the Battle, issue no. 37, Plaistow Press, London, UK, 1982
• Photo gallery of S-29 at NavSource.org
•  This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.