Submarine USS S-49 (SS-160)

USS S-49 (SS-160) was laid down on 22 October 1920 by the Lake Torpedo Boat Company at Bridgeport, Connecticut. Mrs. Joseph E. Austin christened the submarine...which was launched on 23 April 1921. The S-boat was commissioned at Bridgeport, Connecticut, on 5 June 1922 with Lieutenant Ingram C. Sowell in command.

When commissioned, the S-48 Class submarine was 240' in length overall; had an extreme beam of 21'10"; had a normal surface displacement of 903 tons, and, when on the surface in that condition, had a mean draft of 13'6". The submarine displaced 1,230 tons when submerged. The designed compliment was 4 officers and 34 enlisted men. The S-boat was equipped with two periscopes. She had a double hull in the center portion of the boat; a single hull at each end of the ship. This S-boat could completely submerge in one minute to periscope depth. Maximum operating (test) depth was 200'. The submarine was armed with five 21-inch torpedo tubes (four in the bow and one in the stern). Fourteen torpedoes were carried. One 4-inch/50-caliber gun was mounted on the main deck...forward of the conning tower fairwater. Stowage was provided for 44,350 gallons of diesel oil...by utilizing some of the ballast tanks as fuel oil tanks. This gave the boat a maximum operating radius of 8,000 miles at ten knots when transiting on the surface. The normal fuel oil load was 23,411 gallons. Two 6-M-85 six-cylinder 900 brake horsepower (at 410 rotations per minute) diesel engines, that had a total output of 1,800 horsepower, that were made by the Busch-Sulzer Brothers Diesel Engine Company at Saint Louis, Missouri, could drive the boat at 14.4 knots when operating on the surface. Submerged propusion electrical power was provided by the 120 cell main storage battery...which was manufactured by the Gould Storage Battery Company at Trenton ("Trenton makes, the world takes"), New Jersey, which powered two 750 B.H.P. electric motors, with a total output of 1,500 designed brake horsepower, that were manufactured by the Ridgway Dynamo and Electric Company at Ridgway, Pennsylvania...which turned propeller shafts...which turned propellers...which drove the submarine at 11 knots, for a short period of time, when submerged. This submarine was one of four "4th Group" S-boats constructed. The 4th Group S-boats were the largest of the fifty-one S-boats contracted to be built for the United States Navy. These S-boats had six water-tight compartments to enhance internal integrity.

Following commissioning at Bridgeport, Connecticut, USS S-49 remained, there, through July of 1922, and, in August of 1922, moved east to the United States Naval Submarine Base New London, Groton, Connecticut...where the boat joined Submarine Division Zero - composed of units engaged in submarine research and development. Later reassigned to Submarine Division Four, and, then, to Submarine Division Two, the submarine continued experimental work...including aerial visibility tests and torpedo development; and also participated in regularly scheduled exercises, primarily in the New London areas...into 1926. At the end of January of that year, the S-boat proceeded to the Portsmouth Navy Yard at Kittery, Maine, for a regular overhaul.

On 2 April 1926, the submarine returned to her base at Groton, but, eighteen days later, her operating schedule was interrupted.

At about 0750, on Tuesday, 20 April 1926, USS S-49's engines were started. Seven minutes later, just as a pilot cell cover was removed to test the specific gravity of the electrolyte, the forward battery exploded. The hydrogen gas explosion destroyed the cells in the forward half of the main storage battery...and forced up the deck over the battery well. Ten men were injured. Two others were gassed during subsequent rescue operations. Four of the twelve died of their injuries.

The battery compartment was sealed and kept shut, until mid-afternoon, when the outboard battery vent was opened. During the night, the submarine took on a slight list to port and air pressure was used to keep water out. At about 0515 on the 21st, a second explosion occurred in the battery room when wash from vessels departing for torpedo practice rocked USS S-49. The compartment was resealed for another few hours, after which the work of clearing the wreckage was begun.

Following repairs, USS S-49 resumed operations off the New England coast; and, during January of 1927, moved south with USS S-50, for exercises and tests off Key West, the Dry Tortugas, and in Tampa Bay, Florida. On 12 March, USS S-49 returned to the United States Naval Submarine Base New London, Groton, Connecticut...whence she completed a run to the Portsmouth Navy Yard at Kittery, Maine; and, then, back to Connecticut...then transited to the Philadelphia Navy Yard at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with USS S-50, for inactivation. Arriving on 31 March, USS S-49 was decommissioned on 2 August 1927 and berthed with other reserve ships in the Back Channel of the Philadelphia Navy Yard...until struck from the Navy List on 21 March 1931...in accordance with the London Treaty. USS S-49 was sold to the Boston Iron and Metal Company at Baltimore, Maryland, on 25 May 1931.

Reduced to a hulk (read "demilitarized") by that company in 1936, but not scrapped, the S-boat was sold to an organization that operated the submarine as an "attraction." The submarine visited many ports in the United States and was "inspected" by interested people who toured through that submarine when she was open to visitors.

During the Second World War, the former USS S-49 (SS-160) was reacquired by the United States Navy "as equipment" for use in experimental work at the United States Naval Mine Warfare Test Station at Solomons, Maryland...now known as the United States Naval Air Station, Paruxent River, Maryland...Solomons Facility.

Shortly after being towed to Solomons from Baltimore (where the Navy had reacquired the submarine), the former USS S-49 (SS-160) foundered off Point Patience in the Patuxent River on 16 December 1942 and sank in 102 feet of water at: Position: Latitude 38 Degrees 19' 53.2" North Longitude 76 Degrees 29' 17.2" West or, on a bearing of 318.5 Degrees True, distant 525 yards, from the southern tip of Point Patience. The S-boat has remained on the bottom at that position to the present day...and is visited, on occasion, by Navy and recreational divers.

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