IHW: Pigboats - The Boats Themselves

The S-Boats
These boats were built from 1918 to 1925 as improvements to the WWI subs. 51 of this class were built, and though most served as training boats, several were found on the front lines when the war started. They were small and cramped, had no AC and poor ventilation, and were old by WWII, but they had a fair range, were decent seagoing craft, and served well in the beginning of the war, They could not fire the new Mark 14 torpedo, which was an un-mixed blessing. As the new Gato class subs came in, the S-boats were retired to training fleet.
1 X 4 inch deck gun, 1 X Light AA
Suggested Traits:
Rust-bucket, Veteran, Cramped, Tiny, Ancient, Hot, Grubby, Weathered, Brutal, Experienced, Well-Travelled, Sweat-soaked, Tattered

The Argonaut Class
The Argonaut - the single exemplar of this class - was designed as a minelaying sub, though by the time the war came, it was converted into a transport submarine. Built in 1928, she was a massive boat, and with her minelaying tubes removed, had a great deal of interior space. The Argonaut was slow and clumsy, particularly in the dive, but she was a rugged boat, and her massive deck guns came in handy for night shore bombardments. She - along with the Narwhal Class Nautilus - carried the 2nd Marine Raider battalion to Makin Island in the Gilberts in 1942
2 X 6 inch deck guns, 2 X Light AA
Suggested Traits:
Enormous, Cavernous, Hulking, Brutal, Sluggish, Powerful, Capacious, Hard-hitting, Ancient, Slow Diving

The Narwhal Class
Built in 1930, the two-member Narwhal Class boats were almost as large as the Argonaut, but faster, and generally more capable as classic submarines. Like the Argonaut, they had big deck guns, and served as transport subs. They were generally used in clandestine missions, but still managed to rack up 13 enemy sinkings between them.
2 X 6 inch deck guns, 2 X Light AA
Suggested Traits
Huge, Capacious, Powerful, Long-legged, Hard-hitting, Clumsy, Rugged, Old, Reliable, Slow Diving

The Porpoise Class
The 10 boats of the Porpoise Class were the first so-called ‘fleet” submarines for the US Navy. They were fairly big boats, with excellent range and good speed - fast enough to keep up with the fleet. These boats were designed to operate in advance of the fleet as scouts rather than commerce raiders. They were built between 1933 and 1937. The large size enabled a much more livable environment for the crew, which helped immensely on long deployments.
1 X 3 inch deck gun, 4 X Light AA
Suggested Traits:
Rugged, Long-legged, Fast, Weatherly, Strong, Slow Diver, Powerful, Veteran, Comfortable, Survivor

Sargo/Salmon Class
These two classes, 16 of which were built from 1936 to 1939, were really the same design, built in two lots. A bit bigger than the Porpoise Class, they had more torpedo tubes, and were faster. As an evolution of the Porpoise Class, they shared many of their elder sisters’ traits, but unlike the Porpoises, they had a direct diesel drive, rather than the diesel-electric drive of the earlier class.
1 X 3 inch deck gun, 4 X Light AA
Suggested Traits:
Rugged, Long-legged, Fast, Weatherly, Strong, Slow Diver, Hard-Hitting, Veteran, Comfortable, Cranky

Tambor Class
The best of the pre-war boats, the Tambors - 12 boats built between 1939 and 1941 - finalized the changes which were perfected in the Gato and Balao classes. Like the Sargos, Tambors had a direct diesel drive on the surface, and ten torpedo tubes, 6 forward and 4 aft, in the iconic USN configuration immortalized in the Gatos. The Tambors were only slightly larger than the Sargos, and were consequently a bit more cramped with the new tubes. Tautog, with 26 kills, was the highest ranking US boat in the war.
1 x 3 inch deck gun, 4 X Light AA
Suggested Traits:
Rugged, Long-legged, Fast, Weatherly, Strong, Slow Diver, Crushing, Modern, Cramped, Scrappy

Gato Class
The Gato Class is the iconic American submarine, 77 being built from 1941-1943. The Gato class was vitually identical to the Tambors, with five feet of extra length allowing a bulkhead between the two halves of the engine room for extra flooding protection. They had a deeper test dive rating only because the Navy decided it was being too conservative. New was a negative tank, kept flooded while on the surface, to help speed the diving speed. This plus extra limber holes to help flood the outer hull cut the diving speed in half.
1 X 3 inch deck gun, 4 X Light AA
Suggested Traits
Rugged, Long-legged, Fast, Weatherly, Strong, Fair Diver, Crushing, Modern, Cramped, Scrappy

Balao Class
Almost identical to the Gato Class, the only big difference was a thicker hull, lowering the test depth. 122 Balaos were built from 1942 to 1945.
1 X 5 inch deck gun, 1 X Medium AA, 1 X Heavy AA
Suggested Traits
Rugged, Long-legged, Fast, Weatherly, Strong, Deep Diver, Crushing, Modern, Cramped, Scrappy