Submarine USS S-1 (SS-105)

Submarine USS S-1 (SS-105) was authorized to be built by the United States Congressional Act of 29 August 1916 which stated in part: "...The President of the United States is hereby authorized to undertake prior to July first, nineteen hundred and nineteen, the construction of....

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"Nine fleet submarines." Fifty-eight coast submarines, of which number three to have a surface displacement of about eight hundred tons each, to cost, exclusive of armor and armament, not to exceed $1,200,000 each, and twenty-seven, which shall be the best and most desirable and useful type of submarine which can be procured at a cost, exclusive of armor and armament, not to exceed $700,000 each, shall be begun as as soon as practical; and the sum of $8,217,000 is hereby appropriated for the construction of said submarines, to be available until expended. Not less than twelve of the submarines herein authorized to be begun as soon as practical shall be built on the Pacific coast: PROVIDED, That the cost of construction on the Pacific coast does not exceed the cost of construction on the Atlantic coast, plus the cost of transportation from the Atlantic to the Pacific."

The keel of USS S-1 (SS-105) was laid down on 11 December 1917 by the Fore River Shipbuilding Company...under a subcontract from the Electric Boat Company of New York, New York...at Quincy, Massachusetts. The submarine was christened by Mrs. Emory S. Land and launched on 26 October 1918. Commissioning took place on 5 June 1920 with Lieutenant Commander Thomas G. Berrien in command.

When commissioned, the S-1 Class coastal and harbor defense submarine was 219'3" in length overall; had an extreme beam of 20'8"; had a normal surface displacement of 854 tons, and, when in that condition, had a mean draft of 15'11". Submerged displacement was 1,062 tons. The submarine was of riveted construction. The designed compliment was four officers and thirty-four enlisted men. The boat could operate safely to depths of 200 feet. The submarine was armed with four 21-inch torpedo tubes installed in the bow. Twelve torpedoes were carried. One 4-inch/50 caliber deck gun was installed. The full load of diesel oil carried was 41,921 gallons, which fueled two 1,200 designed brake horsepower Model 8-EB-15NR diesel engines manufactured by the New London Ship and Engine Company at Groton, Connecticut... which could drive the boat, via a diesel direct drive propulsion system, at 14 1/2 knots on the surface in relatively calm seas. Power for submerged propulsion was provided by a Model 49-UL 120-cell mainstorage battery rated at 1,460 KiloWatt Hours, divided into two sixty-cell batteries, manufactured by the Electric Storage Battery Company (EXIDE) at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...which powered two 500 designed brake horsepower main propulsion electric motors manufactured by the Electro Dynamic Company at Bayonne, New Jersey...which turned propeller shafts...which turned propellers...which could drive the submarine at 11 knots for a short period of time when operating beneath the surface of the sea. Slower submerged speeds resulted in greater endurances before the batteries needed to be recharged by the engines and generators.

USS S-1 (SS-105), first of the "S" Class submarines, was a "Holland-type." The United States Navy had awarded contracts for three of the S-boats under the same general specifications but of different design types. USS S-2 (SS-106) was known as a "Lake-type," and USS S-3 (SS-107) was known as a "Government-type" submarine.

USS S-1 began her service operations during July of 1920 with a cruise to Bermuda while attached to Submarine Division 2 (SubDiv 2), with subsequent operations out of the United States Naval Submarine Base at New London/Groton, Connecticut...cruising the New England coast until 1923.

On 2 January 1923, USS S-1 shifted to Submarine Division Zero, a division created for experimental work, and, with two groups under Submarine Division 11, joined other fleet units and conducted winter maneuvers in the Caribbean. As a single ship division (SubDiv Zero), she returned to New London/Groton in the spring of 1923 to continue experimental duty.

As a result of studies conducted by the Navy, following the Armistice of World War I, into the possibility of submarine-borne observation and scouting aircraft; USS S-1 became the experimental platform for this project, late in 1923. The submarine was altered by having a steel capsule mounted aft of the conning tower; a cylindrical pod which could house a small collapsible seaplane, the Martin MS-1. After surfacing, this plane could be rolled out, quickly assembled, and launched by ballasting the submarine until the after deck was awash. These experiments were carried out into 1926, using the Martin-built plane, constructed of wood and fabric, and the all-metal Cox-Klein versions, XS-1 and XS-2. The first full cycle of surfacing, assembly, launching, retrieving, disassembly, and submergence took place on 28 July 1926 on the Thames River between New London and Groton, Connecticut.

Following the aircraft experiments, USS S-1 served as flagship for Submarine Division 2 until July of 1927...when she was transferred to Submarine Division 4. While attached to this division, the S-boat made operational cruises to the Panama Canal Zone in 1928, 1929, and 1930...during the spring months. The submarine visited ports at Cristobal and Coco Solo in the Panama Canal Zone, Cartagena in Columbia, Kingston in Jamaica, and Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, during these cruises, and spent the remaining months of those years operating along the New England coast...out of the Connecticut submarine base.

January of 1931 found USS S-1 at Pearl Harbor in the Territory of Hawaii. The S-boat remained there into 1937; first, attached to Submarine Division 7, Submarine Squadron 4; then, from July of 1932 to July of 1933, the submarine was attached to Rotating Reserve Submarine Division 14. The submersible was returned to Submarine Division 7 in August of 1933...and remained with that division until she departed Pearl Harbor, in May of 1937, for the Philadelphia Navy Yard at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

USS S-1 arrived at the City of Brotherly Love on 22 July 1937 and commenced overhaul for deactivation. The S-boat was decommissioned on 20 October 1937 and placed in the Reserve Fleet at the Philadelphia Navy Yard.

On 16 October 1940, USS S-1 (SS-105) was recommissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. The S-boat then made two cruises to Bermuda training submariners...and returned to Philadelphia from the second cruise on 7 December 1941...the day the Japanese attacked civilian and military targets in the Territory of Hawaii; thus plunging the United States into the Second World War as an active participant on the side of the Allies.

At the Philadelphia Navy Yard, USS S-1 prepared for transfer to the United Kingdom under the terms of "Lend-Lease."

USS S-1 (SS-105) was decommissioned and turned over to Great Britain's Royal Navy on 20 April 1942. The S-boat was struck from the Navy List on 24 June 1942.

The S-boat served in the Royal Navy as "HMS P. 552." The submarine was returned to United Staes custody on 16 October 1944 at Durban, Natal, Union of South Africa. The submersible was stripped of vital parts and machinery...and the hull was sold on 20 July 1945 to a shipbreaker. The vessel was scrapped at Durban on 14 September 1945.

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