| The 2006 USS
Orion (AS-18) reunion will be held in Branson/Springfield, Mo., the
week of September 10.
For more information contact orionvets@comcast.net |
|
|
| This is a personal web site
maintained by Dave Peckinpaugh who served aboard the USS Orion in the late
Fifties. Its purpose is to provide a timeline history of the USS Orion
(AS-18) relative to world and national events. Any editorial comments are
my own and do not reflect the policies of the U.S. Navy or the USS Orion
(AS-18) Veterans Historical Organization. I welcome any information that
will help fill in the blanks.
In some cases links are provided to other web sites that provide more information. If you find any broken links please inform me at orionvets@aol.com Cold War incidents involving submarines are described and documented in the book Blind Man's Bluff: The Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage by Sherry Sontag and Christopher Drew, Copyright 1998, Public Affairs, New York. |
| USS
Orion (AS-18)
Authorized |
1940
On This Date |
Elsewhere
"Sitzkrieg" ends in Europe |
| 4 April | U.S. Fleet departs West Coast for maneuvers in Hawaiian Islands area. | |
| 9 April | Germany invades Norway | |
| Construction authorized | 1 May | |
| 7 May | President orders Pacific Fleet to remain in Hawaiian waters indefinitely | |
| 10 May | Churchill replaces Chamberlain as Prime Minister | |
| 12 May | Germany invades France | |
| 15 May | Nylon stockings go on sale in the U.S. for the first time | |
| 26 May | Evacuation of Dunkirk begins | |
| 10 June | Norway surrenders. Italy declares war on Allies | |
| 14 June | Paris
falls.
President Roosevelt signs Naval Expansion Act |
|
| 10 July | Battle of Britain begins | |
| 20 August | Leon Trotsky assassinated in Mexico | |
| 15 September | British airmen, using new radar system, shoot down 185 German planes | |
| 27 September | Japan signs Tripartite Pact with Germany and Italy | |
| 7 November | "Galloping Gertie," Tacoma Narrows Bridge, collapses | |
| 11-12 November | British naval aircraft attack Italian fleet at Taranto | |
| 14 November | German bombing raid devastates Coventry | |
| 24 November | Germans seal off Jewish ghetto in Warsaw | |
| 8 December | Luftwaffe ravages London in 24-hour raid | |
| 9 December | British attack Italians at Sidi Barrani in Egypt | |
| 29 December | London suffers its most devastating air raid |
| Some Top Songs in 1940 | |||||||||
|
| USS
Orion
Construction begins |
1941
On This Date |
Elsewhere
U.S. goes to war |
| 11 March | Roosevelt signs Lend-Lease Act | |
| 13 April | Soviet Union signs nonaggression pact with Japan | |
| 22 March | The Grand Coulee Dam went into operation | |
| 17 April | Yugoslavia surrenders to Germans | |
| 10 May | Rudolf Hess lands in Scotland | |
| 24 May | Bismarck sinks HMS Hood in Denmark Strait | |
| 27 May | Bismarck sunk by British Navy in North Atlantic | |
| 1 June | Crete falls to Germans | |
| 22 June | Germany invades USSR | |
| Keel Laid
at Moore Dry Dock Co.
Oakland, Calif. |
31 July | Japan apologizes for bombing the river gunboat Tutuila (PR-4) on 30 July at Chunking |
| 8 September | Siege of Leningrad begins | |
| 27 September | First Liberty Ship, SS Patrick Henry, is launched | |
| 17 October | USS Kearny (DD-432) attacked by German submarine | |
| 31 October | USS Reuben James (DD-245) is first U.S. warship to be sunk by enemy action in WW II | |
| 7 December | Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor | |
| 8 December | U.S. declares war on Japan | |
| 10 December | USS Sealion (SS-195) scuttled in Manila Bay | |
| 11 December | Germany and Italy declare war on the United States | |
| 30 December | Admiral
C. W. Nimitz assumes command
of the Pacific Fleet |
| Popular Songs of 1941 | |||||||||
|
| USS
Orion (AS-18)
Launched |
1942
On This Date |
Elsewhere
Nazis come up with "Final Solution" West Coast Japanese-Americans relocated |
| 7 January | Siege of Bataan begins in the Philippines | |
| 20 January | USS S-36 (SS-141) destroyed after grounding in Makassar Strait, Indonesia. Entire crew rescued | |
| 21 January | Rommel begins counter-offensive in Libya | |
| 9 February | French liner Normandie catches fire in New York | |
| 15 February | Singapore falls to Japanese | |
| 19 February | President Roosevelt signs internment order for Japanese-Americans | |
| 20 February | "Butch" O'Hare becomes first Navy flying ace | |
| 23 February | Japanese subs shell oil refinery near Santa Barbara | |
| 3 March | USS Perch (SS-176) lost near Soerabia, Java. 60 survivors taken prisoner, 52 survived the war | |
| 7 March | USS Shark (SS-174) reported lost with all hands | |
| 21 March | Flying Tigers become part of U.S. Army Air Force | |
| 26 March | First Jews sent to Auschwitz | |
| 10 April | Bataan
Death March begins.
USS Canopus (AS-9) scuttled off Manila Bay |
|
| 13 April | German U-boat sunk off North Carolina | |
| 18 April | Doolittle Raid launched from USS Hornet (CV-8) | |
| 4-8 May | Battle of the Coral Sea | |
| 6 May | Corregidor surrenders | |
| 30 May | RAF launches 1,000-plane raid on Cologne | |
| 4-6 June | Battle of Midway | |
| 19 June | USS S-27 (SS-132) lost after grounding off Amchitka Island. Entire crew rescued | |
| 22 June | Congress recognizes Pledge of Allegiance | |
| Launched. Sponsor: Mrs. Ross L. Culp | 24 June | |
| 5 July | German U-boats begin attacks on Convoy PQ-17. Sink 24 of 35 ships over next few days | |
| 7 August | Marines land on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands | |
| 8 August | German saboteurs executed in Washington | |
| 9 August | Battle of Savo Island | |
| 16 August | USS
Grunion (SS-216) lost with all hands near Kistka, Alaska.
USS S-39 (SS-144) destroyed after grounding on reef near Rossel Island. Entire crew rescued |
|
| 19 August | Dieppe Raid crushed | |
| 23 August | Battle of Stalingrad begins | |
| 24 August | Battle of the Eastern Solomons | |
| 11-12 October | Battle of Cape Esperance | |
| 15 October | Fremantle-Perth submarine base established | |
| 26 October | Battle of Santa Cruz Islands | |
| 3 November | Battle of El Alamein ends | |
| 12 November | Liberty Ship SS Robert E. Peary is launched. Constructed in 4 days, 15 hours and 26 minutes | |
| 12-15 November | Naval Battle of Guadalcanal | |
| 19 November | Soviets launch counter-attack at Stalingrad | |
| 21 November | Alcan Highway completed | |
| 26 November | Roosevelt orders nationwide gas rationing | |
| 28 November | Coconut Grove fire in Boston kills 492 | |
| 30 November | Battle of Tassafaronga |
| Popular Songs of 1942 | |||||||||
|
| USS
Orion
Commissioning and shakedown |
1943
On This Date |
Elsewhere
Our submarines carry the war to Japan |
| 10 January | USS Argonaut (SS-166) lost with all hands off Rabaul | |
| 14 January | Casablanca Conference begins | |
| 2 February | Germans surrender at Stalingrad | |
| 9 February | Guadalcanal declared secure | |
| 16 February | USS Amberjack (SS-219) lost with all hands off Rabaul | |
| 2-5 March | Battle of the Bismarck Sea | |
| 5 March | USS Grampus (SS-207) lost with all hands in Blackett Strait | |
| 10 March | Rommel leaves North Africa | |
| 15 March | USS Triton (SS-201) lost with all hands | |
| 3 April | USS Pickerel (SS-177) lost with all hands off Honshu | |
| 19 April | Warsaw Ghetto Uprising begins | |
| 22 April | USS Grenadier (SS-210) lost near Penang. 61 survivors taken prisoner, 57 survived the war | |
| 11 May | U.S. forces land on Attu in the Aleutians | |
| 13 May | Battle for North Africa ends | |
| 16 May | Warsaw Ghetto Uprising ends | |
| 1 June | Germans shoot down civilian passenger plane flying between Lisbon and London carrying actor Leslie Howard. All aboard are killed | |
| 1 July | USS Runner (SS-275) lost with all hands between Midway Island and Hokkaido | |
| 6 July | Battle of Kula Gulf | |
| 10 July | Allies land in Sicily | |
| 13 July | Battle
of Kolombangara.
Battle of Kursk ends with Russian victory |
|
| 25 July | Mussolini place under arrest | |
| 17 August | In Sicily, Patton wins race to Messina | |
| 1 September | USS Pompano (SS-181) lost with all hands off Honshu | |
| 8 September | Italy surrenders | |
| 9 September | USS Grayling (SS-209) lost with all hands in or near Tablas Strait, Philippines | |
| 13 September | Germans free Mussolini from prison | |
| Towed from Moore Dry Dock Co. to Hunter's Point to install propellers | 21 September | |
| 28 September | USS Cisco (SS-290) lost with all hands in Sulu Sea | |
| Commissioning
at Hunter's Point, San Francisco
Captain C. S. Isrig assumes Command |
30 September | |
| 6 October | Battle of Vella Lavella | |
| 7 October | USS S-44 (SS-155) lost off Northern Kuriles. 2 survivors taken prisoner, both survived the war | |
| Completes taking on fuel, ammunition and stores | 11 October | USS Wahoo (SS-238) lost with all hands in or near La Perouse Strait |
| Compensates her magnetic compass | 12 October | USS Dorado (SS-248) lost with all hands in Atlantic |
| Underway for photographs | 13 October | Italy declares war on Germany |
| Departs San Francisco. Fires her entire battery while enroute to San Diego | 15 October | |
| Arrives San Diego, reports to Commander Training, Pacific Fleet | 17 October | |
| Begins trial runs (shakedown) | 18 October | |
| Underway from San Diego | 28 October | |
| Arrives at Mare Island to take on fuel and stores, send men to schools, and prepare for a long Southwest Pacific cruise | 30 October | |
| 1 November | Marines land on Bougainville, Solomon Islands | |
| 2 November | Battle of Empress Augusta Bay | |
| 16 November | USS Corvina (SS-226) lost with all hands near Truk | |
| Partial load of torpedoes taken aboard | 17 November | |
| 19 November | USS Sculpin (SS-191) lost near Truk. 42 survivors taken prisoner, 21 survived the war | |
| 20 November | Marines land on Tarawa, Gilbert Islands | |
| Underway from San Francisco. Passes under the Golden Gate Bridge at 1552 | 21 November | |
| 25 November | Battle of Cape St. George | |
| 28 November | Big Three meet in Teheran | |
| Arrives Pearl Harbor, T.H. | 29 November | |
| Receives first submarine, USS Gar (SS-206) alongside for two days of repair | 1 December | USS Capelin (SS-289) lost with all hands off Celebes or in the Molukka Passage |
| Departs for Australia | 10 December | |
| Crosses Equator at Longitude 166 West | 14 December | |
| Crosses the International Dateline | 18 December | |
| Arrives, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Ties up at New Farm Wharf, takes on more torpedoes | 24 December | |
| Departs Brisbane | 28 December |
| Popular Songs of 1943 | |||||||||
|
| USS
Orion
Fremantle/Perth and Mios Woendi |
1944
On This Date |
Events
Elsewhere
Allies invade France |
| Arrives Fremantle, Western Australia. Moors starboard side to Berth 6, North Wharf, and begins her mission of maintaining submarines in the Southwest Pacific | 5 January | |
| Transfers electric torpedoes and shop equipment to the Submarine Base torpedo shop | 7 January | Air Force announces first jet fighter |
| Some of the steam torpedoes are transferred to the USS Pelias (AS-14). USS Ray (SS-271) comes alongside for refit | 12 January | |
| 16 January | Eisenhower appointed Supreme Commander of Operation Overlord | |
| 1 February | USS Scorpion (SS-278) lost with all hands in East China Sea | |
| 26 February | USS Grayback (SS-208) lost with all hands | |
| 29 February | USS Trout (SS-202) lost with all hands in the Philippine Basin | |
| Orion ordered to leave Fremantle PDQ because a Japanese war fleet was heading toward the west coast of Australia and may have been heading for Fremantle. Left some of the crew on liberty in Perth. | 8 March | |
| En route to Albany, Western Australia | 8-10 March | |
| En route from Albany back to Fremantle in company with HMS Adelaide, USS Pelias, and USS Chanticleer (ASR-7) | 14-16 March | |
| 26 March | USS Tullibee (SS-284) lost just north of Palau. One survivor taken prisoner, he survived the war | |
| 12 May | USS Gudgeon (SS-211) lost with all hands off Saipan | |
| 19 May | Allies break through at Monte Cassino | |
| 27 May | Allies invade Biak Island off north coast of New Guinea | |
| 1 June | USS Herring (SS-233) lost with all hands off Matsuwa Island in the Kuriles | |
| 4 June | USS S-28 (SS-133) lost with all hands after it foundered off Hawaii | |
| 6 June | Allies invade Normandy | |
| 14 June | USS Golet (SS-361) lost with all hands | |
| 15 June | Marines
invade Saipan in the Marianas.
German V-1 "Buzz Bombs" hit London |
|
| 22 June | G.I. Bill signed into law | |
| 27 June | Allies take Cherbourg | |
| 6 July | Circus fire in Hartford, Conn., kills 168, injures over 600 | |
| 8 July | USS Growler (SS-215) lost with all hands in the South China Sea | |
| Commander G. L. Shane relieves Capt. Isrig | 10 July | |
| 19 July | Plot to kill Hitler fails | |
| 26 July | USS Robalo (SS-273) lost with all hands off Palawan | |
| 1 August | Warsaw revolt begins | |
| Departs Fremantle in company with USS Corpus Christi (PF-44) and USS Isabel (PY-10) | 6 August | |
| 13 August | USS Flier (SS-250) lost in Balabac Strait. Eight survivors taken prisoner, all survived the war | |
| Arrives Brisbane to take on stores, fuel and torpedoes | 14 August | |
| Departs Brisbane | 19 August | |
| 24 August | USS Harder (SS-257) lost with all hands near Bataan | |
| 25 August | Paris is liberated by Free French troops | |
| Arrives Schouten Islands, Mios Woendi anchorage, near Biak, to establish Advance Submarine Base Able | 26 August | |
| Smoker aboard Orion. Among honored guests are officers and crews of USS Darter (SS-227) and USS Dace (SS-247) | 27 September | |
| 1 October | USS Escolar (SS-294) lost with all hands | |
| 3 October | USS Seawolf (SS-197) lost with all hands just north of Morotai | |
| 20 October | Leyte landing, MacArthur returns to Philippines | |
| 23-26 October | Battle of Leyte Gulf | |
| 24 October | USS
Shark (SS-314) lost with all hands between Hainan and Bashi Channel.
USS Darter destroyed after grounding on Bombay Shoal off Palawan. Entire crew rescued by USS Dace |
|
| 25 October | USS Tang (SS-306) lost in the Formosa Strait. Nine survivors taken prisoner, all survived the war | |
| 7 November | USS
Albacore (SS-218) lost with all hands between Hokkaido and Honshu.
Roosevelt defeats Thomas Dewey to win 4th term |
|
| 16 November | USS Scamp (SS-277) lost with all hands near Tokyo Bay | |
| Relieved by USS Griffin (AS-13) | 9 December | |
| Departs Mios Woendi to return to Hawaii for overhaul | 10 December | |
| 16 December | Battle
of the Bulge begins.
Glenn Miller disappears over English Channel |
|
| Crosses International Dateline | 17 December | Typhoon strikes Task Force 38 in the Philippine Sea |
| Crosses Equator | 19 December | |
| Arrives Pearl Harbor for installation of Mark 37 gun director, Mark VI and Mark XXII fire control radar and new surface search radar. With the first tour done, she was being upgraded for the second tour -- invasion of Japan. Air conditioning installed in Optical Shop and Sick Bay. Many of the plankowners were moved, some went to fleet schools, etc. | 24
December
to 8 April |
|
| Popular Songs of 1944 | |||||||||
|
| USS
Orion
Duty at Saipan, then back to the States |
1945
On This Date |
Events
Elsewhere
World War II ends |
| 3 January | Allies land on west coast of Burma | |
| 9 January | U.S. forces invade Luzon in the Philippines | |
| 20 January | FDR inaugurated for fourth term | |
| 21 January | Battle of the Bulge ends | |
| 30 January | Burma Road cleared | |
| 4 February | USS Barbel (SS-316) lost with all hands in southern entrance to the Palawan Passage | |
| 11 February | Yalta Conference ends | |
| 15 February | USS Swordfish (SS-193) lost with all hands off Kyushu | |
| 16 February | U.S. Paratroopers land on Corregidor | |
| 19 February | Marines land on Iwo Jima | |
| 23 February | Marines raise U.S. flag on Mount Suribachi | |
| 1 March | USS Kete (SS-369) lost with all hands | |
| 10 March | Fire bomb raid on Tokyo | |
| 25 March | Germany's largest submarine, U-234, leaves Kiel to deliver a Me-262 jet fighter, drawings of the V-2 rocket and a half-ton of uranium to Japan | |
| 26 March | Battle for Iwo Jima ends | |
| 28 March | USS Trigger (SS-237) lost with all hands | |
| 1 April | Invasion of Okinawa | |
| Departs Pearl in company with USS Yokes (APD-69) to return to active duty | 8 April | USS Snook (SS-279) lost with all hands near Hainan Island |
| Crosses International Date Line | 12 April
13 April (West) |
President Roosevelt Dies. Harry S Truman becomes president. |
| Arrives Eniwetok Atoll, Caroline Islands. Makes voyage repairs to USS Sargo (SS-188) | 16 April | |
| Departs Eniwetok | 17 April | |
| 18 April | Correspondent Ernie Pyle killed on Ie Shima (Okinawa) | |
| Arrives Guam, Marianas Islands. Anchors in Apra Harbor to unload special stores and spare parts. | 20 April | |
| Sails from Guam in company with USS SC-1362 | 22 April | |
| Arrives Saipan, Marianas Islands. | 23 April | |
| Relieves USS Fulton (AS-11) and takes up duties of CTG 17.7 and as SOPA (Admin) for Tanapag Harbor, Saipan | 24 April | |
| 25 April | American and Soviet troops meet at the Elbe River | |
| 28 April | Mussolini and mistress shot, hung up for public view | |
| 30 April | Hitler commits suicide | |
| 4 May | Japanese balloon bomb kills 6 in Oregon | |
| 8 May | V-E Day. Germany signs unconditional surrender | |
| 16 May | U-234 surrenders at Portsmouth, N.H. | |
| Captain E. R. Hannon relieves Capt. Shane | 27 May | |
| 30 May | USS Lagarto (SS-371) lost with all hands off Malay coast | |
| 18 June | USS Bonefish (SS-223) lost with all hands in Toyama Wan, near Suzu Misaki, off the west coast of Honshu | |
| 22 June | Battle for Okinawa ends | |
| 26 June | 51 nations sign U.N. Charter | |
| 16 July | First A-bomb detonated near Alamagordo, N.M. | |
| 17 July | Potsdam Conference opens | |
| 28 July | B-25 bomber
smashes into Empire State Building.
Senate ratifies U.N. Charter |
|
| 29 July | Japanese sub torpedoes and sinks USS Indianapolis (CA-35) near Leyte Gulf | |
| 2 August | Potsdam Conference ends | |
| 6 August | USS
Bullhead (SS-332) lost with all hands in west end of Lombok Strait
Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima |
|
| 8 August | Soviet Union declares war on Japan | |
| 9 August | Second A-bomb dropped on
Nagasaki
Soviet troops invade Manchuria |
|
| 14
August
15 August (West) |
At 2300, G.C.T., President Truman announced that the Japanese had surrendered unconditionally to our terms. | |
| 25 August | John Birch, missionary to China and army intelligence specialist, killed by Chinese Communists, considered by many to be the first casualty of the Cold War | |
| 30 August | MacArthur arrives in Japan to com |