All the Photos of the Darter Wreck, 1944-1998

The following are all photos of the wreck of the USS DARTER from the air or from sea level that can be found, dated and in chronological order.

Watercolor of the DACE rescuing the crew of DARTER in the early morning hours of October 24, 1944. Undated artist's impression by Gerald Levey.

Taken by a low-flying reconnaissance aircraft shortly after its grounding. October 1944. The holes in the sides from hits by the USS DACE's deck gun are visible.

View from bow of USS DACE the next day. October 24, 1944.

A view of the DARTER grounded on the reef. As we can see her full outline of the hull is out of water.  More damage on the sides are visible from torpedo hits and the DACE's deck guns.

View of the ruined conning tower while standing on the deck.

Standing on the bow of the wrecked Darter. The paint is damaged on the deck plates from the fire which tore through the sub.

The deck and conning tower of the DARTER "After taking 50 shells" empty mount in foreground could be for an anti-aircraft gun.

Low-flying aerial photo of the DARTER aground in 1944.

This is a photo from the Navy archives that Hugh had to wait 10 years to get a copy of. His framed print hung on the wall in his radio room for many years. I think this was his favorite picture and he liked to look at it as a reminder of what he had been through.

Another aerial photograph taken after 1945. The wreck was used for target practice in bombing runs and it broke into sections. An interesting note, the inner structure of the sub is visible.

The rusted hulk of the DARTER being explored by submariners in 1965. A nuclear submarine that patrolled in the Phillippines used to pull alongside the DARTER wreck and let people walk around inside the hull. At the time it was intact enough to climb around in.

Last known photo of the DARTER, taken in 1998.  Parts of this ship were still there when my grandpa was alive.  I wonder if he knew about it.  This photo was taken three years after his death.