TheUnited States'S-class submarines, often simply calledS-boats(sometimes"Sugar" boats, after the then contemporary Navy phonetic alphabet for "S"), were the first class of submarines with a significant number built toUnited States Navydesigns. Others of this class were built to contractor designs.
The United States Navy commissioned 51 S-Class submarines from 1920 to 1925. The first S-boat,USSS-1(SS-105), was commissionedin 1920 and the last numerically,USSS-51(SS-162), in 1922. The last of the class actually commissioned wasUSSS-47(SS-158)in 1925. The S class is subdivided into four groups of different designs:
- Group I (S-1class, or "Holland" type): 25 boats,S-1andS-18toS-41, built byBethlehem SteelatFore River Shipyardin Quincy, MassachusettsandUnion Iron WorksinSan Francisco,California, assubcontractorsfor the designer, the Electric Boat Company.
- Group II (S-3class, or "Navy Yard" type): 15 boats,S-3toS-17, built at thePortsmouth Navy YardandLake Torpedo BoatatBridgeport, Connecticut.
- Group III (S-42class, or "2nd Holland" type): 6 boats,S-42toS-47, built at Fore River.
- Group IV (S-48class, or "2nd Navy Yard" type): 4 boats,S-48toS-51, built by Lake.
S-2was a prototype built by Lake, and was not repeated.
S-1, S-2, and S-3 were prototypes built to the same specification: S-1 designed by Electric Boat, S-2 by Lake, and S-3 by the Bureau of Construction and Repair(BuC&R) (laterBureau of Ships).[2]The Lake boat was considered inferior. The Electric Boat and BuC&R designs were put into production as Group I and Group II.
SS-159 to SS-168 (2nd Holland) and SS-173 to SS-176 (2nd Navy Yard) were cancelled and, contrary to later practice, the hull numbers were used for subsequent submarines.[3]Some of the material for these was used byElectric Boatto build thePeruvian Navy's four R-boats.
The first S-boat, S-1, was launched on 26 September 1918, by Bethlehem at Fore River, but not commissioned until 5 June
Design[]
There were three distinctly different prototypes for the S-boats. The Electric Boat (EB) design formed the basis for the Group I and Group IV boats and were essentially enlarged versions of all their previous designs. A single hull design, all of the ballast tanks were contained within the pressure hull. The hull was a rounded spindle shape and the rudder was placed at the very end of the hull, aft of the twin screws.Compared to the previous R-boats, Group I S-boats were 33 feet (10.1m) longer, with 3feet 3inches (1.0m) morebeam, 2feet 3inches (0.7m) moredraft, and 60% greaterdisplacement. This allowed for greater range, larger engines and higher speed, and moretorpedoreloads, though the number of forward torpedo tubeswas still four.
The Lake design S-2 was a modified double hull design, with the ballast tanks wrapped around the inner pressure hull. The stern ended in a flat "shovel" shape which gave the stern needed buoyancy. The rudder was mounted beneath the stern and the pivot structure also supported the stern diving planes. To gain surface buoyancy, the superstructure atop the boat was partially watertight. Sea trials showed that the bow tended to burrow into the waves so Lake added a buoyancy tank to the bow, which gave it a humped appearance. This boat suffered from poor maneuverability and was overly complicated. It proved to be unreliable and was not well liked by its crew. The Navy did not choose it for mass production and no further boats were produced to this design.[6]
Seven of the Group II and all the Group IV boats had an additional stern tube. Group IV was also longer and had less draft. The Electric Boat designs (Groups I and III) were single-hulled, the others were double-hulled. All S-boats had a4 inch (102 mm)/50 caliberdeck gun, a significant increase over the 3 inch gun of previous US submarines. This was due to observations that theGermanU-boatsfrequently used their deck guns, and many U-boats were equipped with 105 mm (4.1 inch) deck guns. Another improvement was the conning tower fairwater. Previous US submarines had small fairwaters to reduce drag and improve submerged speed. Experience gained on North Atlantic patrols during WWI showed that the boats would be spending considerable time on the surface and thus needed better protection for the bridge watchstanders. Examination of captured U-boats after theArmisticealso showed that a larger fairwater with permanent grab rails was preferable when surfaced in the North Atlantic, so S-boats were built or backfitted with an improved and much larger fairwater.[7][8][9]
In 1923,USSS-1(SS-105)experimented with a float plane (an idea the Japanese would later adopt). A cylindrical hangar was installed on the after deck to house a singleMartin MS-1float plane. Tests showed the concept to be unworkable, and the equipment was subsequently removed. The hangar was later reused and rebuilt as the prototype for theMcCann Rescue Chamber, a diving bell for rescuing crewmen from sunken submarines.[10]
Service[edit][]
These boats saw service in World War II in both the Atlantic and thePacific. Smaller and slower than the later fleet submarines produced for war service, and lacking the range forPacific Oceanpatrols (as well as being 20 years old), they were used in reconnaissance and supply roles, as well as for coastal defence. S-boats operated in theAlaska theater during the aftermath of theBattle of the Aleutian Islands, based out ofDutch Harbor. Some also operated out ofAustraliain theSouth-West Pacific Area. They were withdrawn from front-line service by late 1943 as moreGato-classfleet submarinesbecame available, and were relegated toASWtraining. Most of the surviving boats were scrapped in 1946.
In World War II, S-class boats did not use the newerMark 14 torpedo, standard in fleet submarines, due to shorter torpedo tubes, relying on the World War I-vintageMark 10 instead. (Due to production shortages, many fleet boats used Mark 10s, also. Since the Mark 14 suffered from a high failure rate early in the war, this was not necessarily a disadvantage.)
Some S-class boats were transferred to other navies, such as the six transferred to the BritishRoyal Navy. These were mostly used for training in anti-submarine warfare and removed from service by mid-1944.
