Fitted out at
Mare Island,
S-38 joined Submarine Division 17 (SubDiv 17) at
San Pedro, California, on 24 May and immediately began preparations for a cruise to the
Aleutian Islands. On 9 June, she moved north with
submarine tenders , , and three other
S-boats. On 21 June, they reached
Dutch Harbor, whence the boats conducted evaluation tests and exercises for the next three and a half weeks. On 16 July, the force put into
Anchorage, Alaska. On 17 July, while performing routine maintenance on
S-38's motors, a crewman removed a valve cover, creating an opening to sea below the boat's waterline, flooding the motor room. The submarine was alongside her tender, , and no personnel were injured. She was easily raised, but the motors were crippled. Temporary repairs took until 23 July, when the boat was taken in tow by
Ortolan.
Asiatic Fleet S-38 reached Mare Island on 1 August, remained there for repairs and alterations until April 1924, then returned to San Pedro, whence she conducted local exercises into the summer. In August, she prepared for duty with the
Asiatic Fleet, and, in mid-September she headed west across the Pacific. She stood into
Manila Bay on 4 November 1924 and, for the next 17 years, operated out of
Cavite, with annual summer deployments to the
China coast. Division operations occupied Asiatic Fleet submarines during most of the period; but, as
civil war intensified on the mainland, submarine schedules became more varied. Annual deployments and regular exercises of the boats as a division were shortened in length, while exercises and patrols of individual boats were increased in number, duration, and range. During these operations, the submarines cruised off the
Philippines, along the
Indo-China coast, and into the
Netherlands East Indies.
World War II In June 1940,
S-38 completed her last cruise to China; and, from then into the fall of 1941, she conducted exercises, including joint Army-Navy war games, and practice war patrols in the waters off
Luzon and neighboring islands. On 8 December 1941 (7 December east of the
International Date Line), the
attack on Pearl Harbor brought the
United States into
World War II, and
S-38 departed Manila Bay on her first war patrol.
1941 Initially assigned to patrol in
Verde Island Passage, she shifted to the west coast of
Mindoro on 9 December. On 11 December,
S-38 mistakenly torpedoed and sank
Norwegian freighter
Hydra II west of Mindoro's Cape Calavite. On 12 December, she moved into the
Cape Calavite area and, on the night of 19/20 December, set a course toward the Luzon coast. The following night, she put into
Camens Cove; repaired damage caused by an explosion of pressure built up in the port engine lube oil cooler; and, with dawn on 21 December, resumed her patrol. Receiving orders to penetrate shallow, hazard-filled
Lingayen Gulf and attack hostile shipping, From 08:04 to 09:30, the S-boat ran silent, using evasive tactics. At 09:30, she grounded on the muddy bottom; she remained there most of the day, survivors from destroyer , sunk the day before at the
Battle of the Java Sea; and, on 1 March, transferred the British sailors to a surface ship in
Madoera Strait. She then resumed her hunt for Japanese shipping which had put the enemy ashore at
Batavia,
Indramajoe, and
Rembang, the latter the last large oil center in the Netherlands East Indies and only from Soerabaja. On the morning of 2 March,
S-38 fired four torpedoes at a Japanese
light cruiser and two at a destroyer, believing he damaged the cruiser, perhaps sank it. In fact, the torpedoes had missed light cruiser . S-38 then waited on the bottom as destroyers searched for her. In mid-afternoon, she moved out of the immediate area. That evening, she unsuccessfully attacked another enemy warship and, although damaged, survived another hunt by hiding beneath a
halocline. On 3 March, she was ordered to western
Australia.
S-38 transited the whirlpool and rapids area at the lower end of
Lombok Strait on 5 March. On 13 March she arrived at
Fremantle; and, at the end of the month, proceeded to
Brisbane to join other Asiatic Fleet S-boats in forming the nucleus of TF 42 and to prepare for operations in the
New Guinea-
Bismarck Archipelago-
Solomon Islands area. During March and April, enemy air raids against
Port Moresby intensified in preparation to move into
Papua from northeast New Guinea. On 28 April,
S-38 cleared
Moreton Bay and headed north to patrol the Papuan coast. In mid-May, she shifted to
Jomard Passage, where she remained, unable to communicate with Brisbane, until the night of 18 May. She then set a course for the
Queensland coast. On 20 May, she passed debris believed to be a result of the
Battle of the Coral Sea, and that night she successfully transmitted a message to Brisbane. On 24 May, she returned to Moreton Bay. A month-long repair and test period followed during which cells damaged in the battery explosion on her first war patrol were finally replaced. On 24 June, she again stood down the
Brisbane River, cleared Moreton Bay, and entered the
Coral Sea bound for the Solomons. On 29 June, she entered her assigned patrol area and headed for the passage between the
Russell Islands and
Guadalcanal. On 30 June, she was standing down
Lunga Roads, and, on 1 July, she arrived off
Tulagi where she closed her first target of the patrol. Detected as she prepared to fire, she evaded a depth-charging destroyer and gradually gained sea room. The depth charging, however, aggravated problems of old age and corrosion. Depth control became difficult as leaks developed in an auxiliary tank and in the motor room bilges. The leaks in the latter worsened as she moved out of the immediate area and resulted in a stream of air bubbles which led to aerial detection two hours after she had left the destroyer behind. Thereafter, mechanical problems multiplied; and
S-38, unable to remain effective on her station, set a course for Brisbane, arriving on 7 July. For the better part of the next 20 days,
S-38 underwent intensive, round-the-clock repairs at the
Queensland Government Dry Dock, and, on 28 July, she again headed out across the Coral Sea. On 4 August, she entered her assigned area,
New Britain-
New Ireland, and commenced patrolling along the
Rabaul-New Guinea traffic lanes. By 6 August, she had moved eastward along the New Britain coast, crossed the shipping lanes at the southern entrance to
St. George's Channel, and closed the coast of New Ireland. On 7 August, she shifted her search for Japanese shipping further seaward and within hours sighted several targets; but distance, lack of speed and maneuverability, and mechanical breakdowns precluded successful attacks. This was later the main Japanese attack force for the
Battle of Savo Island. On 8 August, however, approximately eight miles south of
Cape St. George, she sighted a transport escorted by a destroyer and approaching so as to pass close ahead. At 23:09,
S-38 rigged for depth charging and prepared to fire. At 23:24, she fired two torpedoes at the transport. Less than a minute later, both exploded on target. The
Meiyo Maru went dead in the water.
S-38 commenced evasive tactics. At 23:30, the destroyer dropped its first depth charge. At 23:32,
Meiyo Maru began breaking up (the second of just two ships confirmed sunk by
S-38) and, at 23:39,
S-38 headed south. The sunken transport's escort continued searching but, by 01:45 on 9 August,
S-38 had moved out of the area and all sounds of the search had faded behind her. On the night of 9/10 August, the S-boat returned to the traffic lanes eight miles (15 km) off the southwest coast of New Ireland, where she continued her hunting until 12 August. She then moved westward returning to the southeastern coast of New Britain to attempt to intercept traffic between Rabaul and New Guinea. On 15 August, she headed for Australia and reached Brisbane a week later. Fleet submarines were now ranging the Pacific, and the S-boats were being ordered back to the United States for modernization overhauls. On 21 September,
S-38, carrying only four torpedoes to avoid depleting the supply at Brisbane, departed Australia for the United States. Ordered to reconnoiter several of the
Gilbert Islands en route, she fueled and took on lube oil and provisions at
Nouméa on 25 and 26 September, then moved toward the Gilberts. On 30 September, she altered her course and headed for
Anuda in the
Santa Cruz Islands where she transferred an acute
appendicitis case to a Navy
PBY Catalina on 1 October; then resumed her original mission. On 5 October, she was in the Gilberts and two days later was off
Tarawa where she attempted to sink a tanker as it emerged from the lagoon. The "fish", however, exploded on the reef and
S-38 was forced to clear the area as the Japanese sent both aerial and surface antisubmarine forces into the action. By midnight, the submarine was patrolling the
Makin-Tarawa traffic lane, and, on 10 October, she completed her reconnaissance mission at Makin and headed for
Pearl Harbor.
1943–1944 From Hawaii,
S-38 went to
San Diego, California, arriving on 6 November. Overhaul followed. Her engines, motors, and all auxiliary equipment were removed and completely overhauled; the superstructure was modified to reduce her silhouette, air conditioning and new radar, sound, and radio equipment were installed, and a four-inch (102 mm)/fifty caliber gun replaced her three-inch. On 13 April 1943, she completed overhaul; and, on 15 April, she sailed west. The next day,
S-38 began suffering mechanical breakdowns again, and, on 29 April, she arrived at Pearl Harbor. Repairs took her into June. Tests followed and, on 26 June, she again moved west to the
Marshall Islands where she conducted her last war patrol which, although scoreless and plagued by mechanical failures, was successful in gaining photographs of Japanese activity on future target islands. On 22 July,
S-38 set a course for the
New Hebrides; and, on 27 July, she arrived at
Espiritu Santo to commence antisubmarine warfare training duties. With only two interruptions, she remained in the New Hebrides-
New Caledonia area on that duty into the summer of 1944. At 10:17 on 16 August 1944, a U.S. Navy
TBM Avenger torpedo bomber from the
escort carrier mistook
S-38 for a Japanese submarine about ahead of the
White Plains task unit while
S-38 was conducting
antisubmarine warfare exercises near Espiritu Santo with two
SBD Dauntless dive bombers and the
yard patrol boat . The TBM dropped two
depth charges as
S-38 crash-dived. The first depth charge detonated close aboard as
S-38 passed , causing
S-38 to lose all power temporarily.
S-38 claimed that the second exploded as she resurfaced, while the TBM pilot reported that it did not detonate. On 27 August 1944,
S-38 departed Espiritu Santo for
California; and, on 7 September, she arrived at San Diego. The following month, she was ordered inactivated. ==Fate==