The Submarine That Washed Ashore on Nauset Beach: The Incredible Story of the USS S-19

Cape Cod has seen its fair share of maritime mishaps, but few are as legendary as the day a U.S. Navy submarine found itself stranded on Nauset Beach. On January 13, 1925, the USS S-19, a 219-foot-long submarine with a crew of 40, ran aground near Orleans, creating a spectacle that would be talked about for decades.

A Wrong Turn into History

The USS S-19, a U.S. Navy S-class submarine, had set out from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, bound for New London, Connecticut. However, the journey took an unexpected and disastrous turn. Battling strong currents, dense fog, and relentless waves, the vessel drifted wildly off course, ending up far from its intended path. By the early morning hours of January 13, the submarine was stranded near Nauset Beach, a sitting duck for the elements.

For the crew of 40 aboard, the situation was dire. Attempts to free the vessel on their own proved futile, and soon the Coast Guard was called to the rescue.

The Evening Star, Washington, D.C., Friday, January 16, 1925.

The Alaska daily empire. January 29, 1925.

A Rescue for the Ages

The Nauset Coast Guard Station and Cahoon Hollow Lifesaving Station quickly sprang into action, launching a lifeboat to reach the stranded sub. But the ocean had other plans. The first rescue attempt ended in disaster when the lifeboat capsized in the unforgiving surf. A second rescue boat met a similar fate, smashing to pieces against the waves. Miraculously, none of the rescuers lost their lives, but the submarine remained trapped, her crew still stranded on board.

It wasn’t until January 15 that the Coast Guard was able to safely evacuate the crew. The commander, Lieutenant C.F. Martin, and six men stayed behind, hoping to aid in the salvage effort.

The Omaha morning bee. January 14, 1925

 

The Bismarck tribune. January 22, 1925

The Battle to Free the S-19

Removing a stranded submarine from a sandy beach is no easy task, and the salvage operation that followed became an ordeal of its own. Navy tugs, Coast Guard cutters, and private wrecking crews spent weeks wrestling with the stubborn sub. At first, attempts to tow the submarine failed—the unique shape of the vessel made it especially difficult to break free from the sand’s grip.

To make the submarine easier to move, the crew pumped out 40,000 gallons of oil, emptied water tanks, removed torpedos, and detached the keel. Salvage crews then secured massive towing lines to the submarine and anchored salvage tugs offshore. The process dragged on for over two months. At one point, the submarine tilted to a harrowing 90-degree angle, spilling battery acid into its compartments and causing short circuits.

Finally, on March 18, after weeks of relentless effort, the USS S-19 was successfully floated and towed to Provincetown for inspection before heading to Boston for repairs. The entire operation cost around $200,000—a hefty sum, but a small price compared to the $4 million it took to build the submarine.

New Britain Herald. January 16, 1925.

 

Who was to blame?

After the USS S-19 ran aground on Nauset Beach, an investigation was launched to determine how the submarine had veered so far off course. The blame largely fell on the vessel’s navigation officer, who was accused of miscalculating the sub’s position amidst the dense fog and rough seas. As was customary in such cases, a court-martial was convened to assess whether negligence had played a role in the grounding. However, after reviewing the evidence—including the treacherous weather conditions and the inherent navigational challenges of early 20th-century submarines—the court ultimately acquitted the officer of any wrongdoing. The incident served as a stark reminder of the dangers faced by submariners and led to further refinements in navigational training and safety protocols within the U.S. Navy.

New Britain Daily Herald, Monday, February 2, 1925.

The Washington times. [volume], March 24, 1925

The Evening Star, Washington, D.C., July 11, 1925

 

The Submarine’s Final Journey

After its Cape Cod misadventure, the USS S-19 was repaired in New London. After passing standards test, the submarine was sent to Pearl Harbor. She continued to serve in the U.S. Navy before being decommissioned in 1934. Rather than being scrapped, she was scuttled in deep waters off the coast of Hawaii in December 1938. Today, her rusting hull rests somewhere beneath the Pacific, a far cry from the sandy shores of Nauset Beach.

A Story That Lives On

The legend of the USS S-19 didn’t just end in the depths of the Pacific—it also lives on in fiction. The submarine was featured in Taylor Anderson’s Destroyermen series, where it took on an alternate history of time travel and adventure. Though the real S-19 never slipped through a portal to another world, her incredible stranding on Cape Cod still feels like a story ripped from the pages of a novel. The S-19 was featured in the third book in the series that is titled Maelstrom.

The Tale Lives On

The sight of a massive submarine beached on Cape Cod is an image that has stuck with locals and historians alike. The USS S-19’s misadventure serves as a reminder of the Cape’s deep connection to maritime history and the unpredictable power of the Atlantic Ocean. Almost a century later, this incredible event remains one of the most fascinating stories in Cape Cod’s rich seafaring legacy.