Date in year · 1939 · The 1930s

May 23, 1939

On May 23, 1939, the U.S. Navy submarine USS Squalus sinks off the coast of New Hampshire during a test dive, causing the death of 24 sailors and two civilian technicians. The remaining 32 sailors and one civilian naval architect are rescued the following day. Clay Shaw, Ali Khamenei, Karel Gott would arrive in the same year.

Events

1

Births

0

Deaths

0

Year

1939

1930s

Featured · May 23, 1939

The U.S. Navy submarine USS Squalus sinks off the coast of New Hampshire during a test dive, causing the death of 24 sailors and two civilian technicians. The remaining 32 sailors and one civilian naval architect are rescued the following day.

The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and is designated as the navy of the United States in the Constitution. 5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft carrier fleet, with eleven in service, one undergoing trials, two new carriers under construction, and six other carriers planned as of 2024.

Browse all of May 23

Around 1939

The year in brief

1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1939th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 939th year of the 2nd millennium, the 39th year of the 20th century, and the 10th and last year of the 1930s decade.

Read the full year of 1939 →

What happened

On May 23, 1939

  1. 1939 The U.S. Navy submarine USS Squalus sinks off the coast of New Hampshire during a test dive, causing the death of 24 sailors and two civilian technicians. The remaining 32 sailors and one civilian naval architect are rescued the following day.

    Maritime service branch of the U.S. military

    The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and is designated as the navy of the United States in the Constitution. 5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft carrier fleet, with eleven in service, one undergoing trials, two new carriers under construction, and six other carriers planned as of 2024.

Elsewhere that year

Other moments from 1939

The class of 1939

Others born in 1939

Clay Shaw 1939– American accountant, judge, and politician (died 2013)
Ali Khamenei 1939– Supreme Leader of Iran (died 2026)
Karel Gott 1939– Czech singer-songwriter and actor (died 2019)
George Edgar Slusser 1939– American scholar and author (died 2014)
Louis Andriessen 1939– Dutch pianist and composer (died 2021)
Yuli Turovsky 1939– Russian-Canadian cellist, conductor and educator (died 2013)

Step through

Nearby

The year 1939 1939 retrospective Every may 23 The calendar date One year earlier 1938

Keep going

More to explore

The full year 1939 Every may 23, through history May 23 One year earlier 1938