The USS Argonaut was a massive, experimental minelayer that became a tragic wartime transport.

Countries & Cities · Published 15 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Commissioned in 1928, the USS Argonaut was the largest non-nuclear submarine ever built by the United States. Originally designed as a specialized minelayer, this behemoth struggled with mechanical failures and sluggish handling before being converted into a troop transport, ultimately meeting a devastating end in the Pacific during 1943.

Laid down in 1925 as V-4, the Argonaut was a unique experiment in American naval engineering. Exempt from the 1922 Washington Naval Treaty, she was designed as a long-range strategic scout and minelayer. Her construction at the Portsmouth Navy Yard was notable for being the first U.S. submarine to incorporate welding, though she remained a hybrid of riveted and welded sections. At the time of her completion, she was the largest submarine in the U.S. Navy, a title she held for 30 years.

The submarine’s career was plagued by propulsion issues. Her original MAN-designed diesel engines were notoriously unreliable, frequently suffering from crankcase explosions and failing to meet power requirements. These mechanical woes, combined with her slow diving speed and unwieldy handling, made her a difficult vessel to operate. Despite these flaws, she served as a testbed for new technologies, including a doubled battery capacity and, later, the installation of a Torpedo Data Computer. In 1931, she even appeared in Hollywood films like Seas Beneath, disguised as a German U-boat.

Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Argonaut was refitted at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, where her minelaying gear was removed to facilitate her conversion into a troop transport. She famously carried Marine Raiders to Makin Island in August 1942. Her final patrol occurred in January 1943 near Rabaul. While attacking a Japanese convoy, she was discovered by destroyers, depth-charged, and sunk. The loss of 102 crew members remains the highest death toll for an American submarine in wartime. Today, her legacy persists through the bell she donated before her final mission, which still rings at the Submarine Memorial Chapel in Pearl Harbor.

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