The waters of Pearl Harbor are haunted by the souls of many sailors and the warships they left behind. Tourists flock here annually by the thousands to view the sunken hulk of the battleship USS Arizona and pay tribute to its fallen crew. But few realize that the ghosts of the submarine USS F-4 still hover nearby, on eternal patrol in a 50-foot trench off Pearl Harbor's submarine base.
It was 85 years ago today -- March 25, 1915 -- that the United States lost its first submarine after a sudden mishap caused the F-4 to sink in 300 feet of water less than two miles from Honolulu Harbor. Though the entire crew of 21 sailors drowned, the incident inspired heroic rescue attempts and an unprecedented salvage operation that lasted five months.
Image from Bowfin Submarine Museum & Park
The USS F-4, seen here before it went down 85 years ago,
was the United States' first tragic submarine sinking.
A STORY RARELY TOLD
The heartbreaking story of the USS F-4 immediately made front-page news in Honolulu and across the United States at the time, eclipsing even news of the war in Europe for months. The submarine was relatively new and unique, and at that time, only 17 of the underwater war machines had been lost worldwide. This was an unfortunate first for the United States.
Since the F-4's salvage and subsequent resinking, only a smattering of newspaper articles, magazine narratives and Navy reports exist that document what really happened on that day in 1915. Many of these records are stored at either the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum & Park at Pearl Harbor or with the archives of Commander Submarine Forces Pacific. The Honolulu Star-Bulletin followed the F-4's story closely as well. These records weave the tragic tale.
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