USS D-3

For other ships with the same name, see USS Salmon.

D-3 underway off New York City, during the October 1912 Naval Review, Kearsarge is in the background
History
United States
Name	Salmon
Namesake	The salmon
Builder	Fore River Shipbuilding Company, Quincy, Massachusetts
Cost	$380,318.81 (hull and machinery) [1]
Laid down	16 April 1908
Launched	12 March 1910
Sponsored by	Miss Eunice Fitzgerald
Commissioned	8 September 1910
Decommissioned	31 July 1922
Renamed	D-3 (Submarine Torpedo Boat No.19), 17 November 1911
Stricken	31 July 1922
Identification	Hull symbol: SS-19 (15 July 1920) Call sign: NSA
Fate	Sold for scrapping, 31 July 1922
General characteristics [2]
Class & type	D-class submarine
Displacement	288 long tons (293 t) surfaced 337 long tons (342 t) submerged
Length	134 ft 10 in (41.10 m)
Beam	13 ft 11 in (4.24 m)
Draft	12 ft 6 in (3.81 m)
Installed power	600  bhp (450 kW) (gasoline) 330 hp (250 kW) (electric)
Propulsion	2 × Craig Shipbuilding Company gasoline engine 2 × Electro Dynamic electric motors, 2 × 60-Cell batteries 2 × Propeller
Speed	13  kn (24 km/h; 15 mph) surfaced 9.5 kn (17.6 km/h; 10.9 mph) submerged
Range	1,179  nmi (2,184 km; 1,357 mi) at 9.3 knots (17.2 km/h; 10.7 mph) surfaced 24 nmi (44 km; 28 mi) at 8 kn (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) submerged
Test depth	200 feet (61.0 m)
Complement	1 officer 14 enlisted
Armament	4 × 18 inch (450 mm) bow torpedo tubes (4 torpedoes)

USS Salmon/D-3 (SS-19), also known as "Submarine Torpedo Boat No. 19", was a D-class submarine built for the United States Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. It was the first submarine to make an over ocean voyage under its own power. She was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named after the salmon.

Design

The D-class submarines were enlarged versions of the preceding C class, the first American submarines armed with four torpedo tubes. They had a length of 134 ft 10 in (41.10 m) overall, a beam of 13 ft 10 in (4.22 m) and a mean draft of 12 ft 6 in (3.81 m). They displaced 288 long tons (293 t) on the surface and 337 long tons (342 t) submerged. The D-class boats had a crew of 1 officer and 14 enlisted men. They had a diving depth of 200 ft (61 m). ^[3]

For surface running, they were powered by two 300- brake-horsepower (224 kW) gasoline engines, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a 165-horsepower (123 kW) electric motor. They could reach 13  kn (24 km/h; 15 mph) on the surface and 9.5 kn (17.6 km/h; 10.9 mph) underwater. On the surface, the boats had a range of 1,179  nmi (2,184 km; 1,357 mi) at 9.6 kn (17.8 km/h; 11.0 mph) and 24 nmi (44 km; 28 mi) at 8 kn (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) submerged. ^[3]

The boats were armed with four 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes in the bow. They did not carry reloads for them. ^[4]

Construction

USS Salmon being launched in 1910

Salmon was laid down by Fore River Shipbuilding Company, in Quincy, Massachusetts, under a subcontract from Electric Boat Company of Groton, Connecticut. Salmon was launched on 12 March 1910, sponsored by Eunice Fitzgerald, ^[5] the daughter of Boston Mayor John F. Fitzgerald. ^[6]

In July 1910, captained by Electric Boat Company executive, and former naval officer, Gregory C. Davison, she journeyed from Massachusetts to Bermuda, and returned. Travelling about 1,500 nmi (2,800 km; 1,700 mi), it was the first over-sea trip made by a submarine under its own power. ^{[7] [8] [9]}

Service history

Salmon was commissioned on 8 September 1910, and joined the Atlantic Torpedo Fleet at Newport, Rhode Island. She was renamed D-3 on 17 November 1911. The torpedo fleet was active along the East Coast and made a cruise to the Caribbean Sea, from 17 October 1912 – 20 January 1913, after which D-3 remained to serve with the forces operating in Mexican waters following the occupation of Veracruz. She rejoined the flotilla at Norfolk, Virginia, on 16 June 1914, and with them visited Washington, DC, from 17–22 July, before returning to their homeport on 24 July. From 21 September 1917, D-3 served as flagboat of Submarine Division 2 (SubDiv 2). She trained aspiring submariners at Newport and New London, Connecticut, until placed in commission, in reserve on 5 September 1919. ^[5]

Fate

She was placed in ordinary, on 15 July 1921. D-3 was towed into Philadelphia Navy Yard, on 20 March 1922, where she was decommissioned and her name struck from the navy list the same day. She was sold for scrapping on 31 July 1922. ^[5]

References

1. Navy List 1921, p. 764.
2. Priolo.
3. Friedman 1995, p. 306.
4. Gardiner & Gray 1985, p. 127.
5. Cressman 2021.
6. Barre 1910.
7. Salmon 1910, p. 15.
8. Marquis 1915.
9. Day 1910, pp. 121–124.

Bibliography

• "Table 21 - Ships on Navy List June 30, 1919". Congressional Serial Set. U.S. Government Printing Office: 764. 1921. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
• Gary, Priolo. "Salmon / D-3 (SS-19)". Navsource.net. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
• Cressman, Robert J. (12 May 2021). "Salmon I (Submarine No. 19)". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships . Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command . Retrieved 17 September 2025. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
• Friedman, Norman (1995). U.S. Submarines Through 1945: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN   1-55750-263-3.
• Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN   0-85177-245-5.
• "New Boat Christened". The Barre Daily Times. Barre, Vermont. 12 March 1910. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
• "The Submarine Salmon". The Navy. 4. Navy Publishing Company: 15. March 1910. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
• Marquis, Albert Nelson, ed. (1915). Who's who in New England: A Biographical Dictionary of Leading Living Men and Women of the States of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. A.N. Marquis & Company. p.  318.
• Day, Thomas Fleming, ed. (1910). "A Fifteen-Hundred Mile Voyage in a Submarine". The Rudder. 24. Fawcett Publications: 121–124. Retrieved 7 September 2016.

External links

• Photo gallery of USS Salmon at NavSource Naval History