Submarine Harder (SS-257)

Harder

Country	United States
Ship Class	Gato-class Submarine
Hull Number	SS-257
Builder	Electric Boat Company
Laid Down	1 Dec 1941
Launched	19 Aug 1942
Commissioned	2 Dec 1942
Sunk	24 Aug 1944
Displacement	1,549 tons standard; 2,463 tons submerged
Length	312 feet
Beam	27 feet
Draft	17 feet
Machinery	Four Hooven-Owens-Rentschler diesel engines (5,400shp), four Allis-Chalmers electric motors (2,740shp), two 126-cell Sargo batteries, two propellers
Bunkerage	97,140gal fuel oil
Speed	21 knots
Range	11,000nm at 10 knots surfaced, 48 hours at 2 knots submerged
Crew	60
Armament	6x533mm forward torpedo tubes, 4x533mm aft torpedo tubes, 24 torpedoes, 1x76mm 50cal gun, 2x .50cal machine guns, 2x .30cal machine guns
Submerged Speed	9 knots

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseCommissioned in Dec 1942, Commander Samuel Dealey took USS Harder out of Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for the submarine's first war patrol in Jun 1943. All six of her war patrols would be deemed successful, and Commander Dealey would be known for his aggressiveness in seeking out Japanese shipping, sinking several Japanese destroyers (including Minazuki, Hayanami, Tanikaze, and others) in addition to a number of merchant ships. Her most successful war patrol was her fifth, during which she sank or heavily damaged four destroyers. On 24 Aug 1944, while attacking two Japanese destroyers off Dasol Bay, Luzon, Philippine Islands together with wolfpack mate USS Hake, Harder was depth charged and sunk by coastal defense ships CD-22 and PB-102, the latter of which was the former USS Stewart captured by the Japanese at Surabaya, Java, Dutch East Indies in 1942.

ww2dbaseSource: Wikipedia

Last Major Revision: Apr 2014

Submarine Harder (SS-257) Interactive Map

Photographs

Electric Boat workers preparing submarine Harder for launching, Groton, Connecticut, United States, 19 Aug 1942

A sailor in his bunk aboard USS Harder, date unknown

See all 17 photographs of Submarine Harder (SS-257)

Harder Operational Timeline

1 Dec 1941	The keel of submarine Harder was laid down by the Electric Boat Company at Groton, Connecticut, United States.
19 Aug 1942	Submarine Harder was launched at Groton, Connecticut, United States, sponsored by Miss Helen M. Shaforth.
2 Dec 1942	USS Harder was commissioned into service with Commander Samuel Dealey in command.
7 Jun 1943	USS Harder departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her first war patrol.
22 Jun 1943	USS Harder attacked a Japanese convoy off Japan, damaging seaplane transport Sagara Maru with 3 of 4 torpedoes.
23 Jun 1943	USS Harder attacked a Japanese transport south of Japan, hitting her with 1 of 4 torpedoes.
24 Jun 1943	USS Harder damaged a Japanese transport off Japan, hitting her with 1 of 7 torpedoes.
25 Jun 1943	USS Harder sank a Japanese transport and damaged another off Japan, hitting each with 1 torpedo, expending 7 torpedoes in this attack.
29 Jun 1943	USS Harder sank a Japanese transport and damaged an oiler off Japan, hitting them with 2 of 2 torpedoes.
7 Jul 1943	USS Harder arrived at Midway Atoll, ending her first war patrol.
24 Aug 1943	USS Harder departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her second war patrol.
9 Sep 1943	USS Harder sank cargo ship Koyo Maru off Japan, hitting her with 1 of 3 torpedoes.
11 Sep 1943	USS Harder attacked a Japanese convoy south of Japan, sinking cargo ship Yoko Maru, hitting her with 1 of 3 torpedoes.
13 Sep 1943	USS Harder attacked a Japanese convoy off Japan (both torpedoes missed) and was detected by Japanese aircraft, which led to a two-hour depth charge attack.
15 Sep 1943	USS Harder attacked a Japanese patrol craft in the Izu Islands, Japan; both torpedoes missed.
19 Sep 1943	USS Harder sank cargo ship Kachisan Maru off Japan, hitting her with 1 of 3 torpedoes.
22 Sep 1943	USS Harder attacked a Japanese oiler off Japan; all 3 torpedoes missed.
23 Sep 1943	USS Harder sank freighter Kowa Maru and tanker Daishin Maru off Nagoya Bay, Japan, hitting each with one torpedo; six torpedoes were expended in this attack.
28 Sep 1943	USS Harder attacked a Japanese transport off Japan; both torpedoes missed. Later in the day, she set sail for the Hawaiian Islands.
29 Sep 1943	USS Harder damaged a Japanese armed trawler off Japan with her deck gun.
4 Oct 1943	USS Harder arrived at Midway Atoll.
8 Oct 1943	USS Harder arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her second war patrol.
30 Oct 1943	USS Harder departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her third war patrol, this time as a member of a wolfpack.
12 Nov 1943	USS Harder sank damaged a Japanese armed trawler (hitting her with 1 of 3 torpedoes) and then sank it with gunfire in the Pacific Ocean.
19 Nov 1943	USS Harder detected a convoy of three Japanese transports in the Pacific Ocean and called in two wolfpack mates via radio. She would sink transport Udo Maru, sink transport Hokko Maru, and damage transport Nikko Maru (which would only sink on the next day from rough seas); of the 17 torpedoes fired, 9 scored hits.
30 Nov 1943	USS Harder arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her third war patrol.
12 Dec 1943	USS Harder arrived at Mare Island Navy Yard in Vallejo, California, United States for a scheduled overhaul.
19 Feb 1944	USS Harder completed its scheduled overhaul at Mare Island Navy Yard in Vallejo, California, United States.
27 Feb 1944	USS Harder arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii.
16 Mar 1944	USS Harder departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her fourth war patrol.
1 Apr 1944	The crew of USS Harder rescued a downed aviator on a small island west of Woleai, Caroline Islands.
13 Apr 1944	USS Harder was spotted by a Japanese aircraft north of the western Caroline Islands, and destroyer Ikazuchi sortied to attack. Harder sank Ikazuchi in return, hitting her with 2 of 4 torpedoes.
17 Apr 1944	USS Harder sank Matsue Maru and damaged an armed escort, firing four torpedoes and scoring one hit on each ship.
20 Apr 1944	USS Harder bombarded Woleai, Caroline Islands under the cover of a rain squall.
3 May 1944	USS Harder arrived at Fremantle, Australia, ending her fourth war patrol.
26 May 1944	USS Harder departed Fremantle, Australia for her fifth war patrol.
6 Jun 1944	USS Harder attempted to attack a Japanese convoy in the Sibutu Passage between Tawi-Tawi of Philippine Islands and Borneo, but was in turn targeted by two destroyers. Submerging and sailing away from the convoy, Harder fired three torpedoes out of her stern torpedo tubes, hitting destroyer Minazuki twice, sinking her. She fired another spread of torpedoes at the second destroyer shortly after; all six torpedoes missed.
7 Jun 1944	USS Harder was detected by a Japanese aircraft in the Celebes Sea, which called in destroyer Hayanami to attack. Harder fired three torpedoes at Hayanami, two of which hit, sinking her.
8 Jun 1944	USS Harder boarded six British coast watcher on the coast of North Borneo.
9 Jun 1944	USS Harder attacked two Japanese destroyers between Tawi-Tawi and Jolo in the Philippine islands with 4 torpedoes, sinking Tanikaze with 2 hits and sinking another with 1 hit; 4 torpedoes were expended in this attack.
10 Jun 1944	USS Harder detected a Japanese fleet in the Celebes Sea consisted of three battleships, four cruisers, and a number of destroyers, but was in turn spotted by a Japanese aircraft. As destroyers approached her position, she moved forward and fired three torpedoes before diving, hitting one destroyer with 2 hits. She survived a two-hour depth charge attack.
11 Jun 1944	While USS Harder reconnoitered the Tawi-Tawi anchorage in southern Philippine Islands, she detected Japanese cruisers and destroyers. She did not attack; instead, she sailed out to open sea to report the finding.
21 Jun 1944	USS Harder arrived at Darwin, Australia and took on additional torpedoes.
3 Jul 1944	USS Harder arrived at Darwin, Australia, ending her fifth war patrol.
5 Aug 1944	USS Harder departed Fremantle, Australia for her sixth war patrol.
21 Aug 1944	USS Harder assisted her wolfpack in the attack of a Japanese convoy off Palawan Bay, Mindoro, Philippine Islands.
22 Aug 1944	USS Harder assisted in the sinking of Japanese frigates Matsuwa and Hiburi off Bataan, Luzon, Philippine Islands.
24 Aug 1944	USS Harder and USS Hake detected Japanese ships just off Dasol Bay on the western coast of the Philippines at 0630 hours, but Lieutenant Commander Frank Haylor of USS Hake mis-identified the ships as Thai ships, thus did not pursue. The Japanese escorts, escort ship Type D No. 22 and Patrol Boat No. 102 detected the two periscopes, and Type D No. 22 moved in to attack. USS Harder fired three torpedoes at Type D No. 22, with all of them missing. At 0728 hours, Type D No. 22 located USS Harder with her Type 3 sonar, and fired five salvos of depth charges at the approximate location. USS Harder was sunk with all hands lost. USS Hake escaped the engagement. At 1948 hours, Patrol Boat No. 102, Type D No. 22, and Niyo Maru arrived at Manila, Philippines.

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Visitor Submitted Comments

1. richard turner says:
18 Sep 2014 10:51:07 PM

oes anyone know the depth of the ocean where the U. S. submarine Harder sank off the Phillipines on August 24, 1944?

David Stubblebine says:
19 Sep 2014 08:48:23 PM

The precise resting place of USS Harder is not known. Post-war estimates based on debriefings place the approximate location at 15.833333N, 119.166667E. This location is nearly right on top of the Manila Trench which in this area is about 14,000 feet deep (4,267m). One submarine website estimates Harder’s resting place at 15.837281N, 119.780852E which is right in the mouth of Dasol Bay and about 80 feet deep (24m).

3. Bill w says:
29 Jan 2021 04:48:13 PM

I wonder why the lost 52 project does not go looking for the Harder. You would think it should be pretty easy to find. The general area is known just off dasol bay. The hake made a periscope observation and the *** were in sight of land they must have recorded the sight you would think.

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