USS L-3

Last updated
USS L-3 1915 h51126.jpg
L-3 off Provincetown, Massachusetts, September 1915
History
US flag 48 stars.svgUnited States
NameUSS L-3
Builder Fore River Shipbuilding Company, Quincy, Massachusetts
Laid down18 April 1914
Launched15 March 1915
Commissioned22 April 1916
Decommissioned11 June 1923
Stricken18 December 1930
FateSold for scrap, 28 November 1933
General characteristics
Class and type L-class submarine
Displacement
  • 450 long tons (457 t) surfaced
  • 548 long tons (557 t) submerged
Length168 ft 6 in (51.36 m)
Beam17 ft 5 in (5.31 m)
Draft13 ft 7 in (4.14 m)
Installed power
  • 900  bhp (670 kW) (diesel)
  • 340 hp (250 kW) (electric)
Propulsion
Speed
  • 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) surfaced
  • 10.5 knots (19.4 km/h; 12.1 mph) submerged
Range
  • 3,300  nmi (6,100 km; 3,800 mi) at 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph) on the surface
  • 150 nmi (280 km; 170 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) submerged
Test depth200 feet (61.0 m)
Complement28 officers and enlisted men
Armament

USS L-3 (SS-42) was an L-class submarine of the United States Navy.

Contents

Description

The L-class boats designed by Electric Boat (L-1 to L-4 and L-9 to L-11) were built to slightly different specifications from the other L boats, which were designed by Lake Torpedo Boat, and are sometimes considered a separate class. The Electric Boat submarines had a length of 168 feet 6 inches (51.4 m) overall, a beam of 17 feet 5 inches (5.3 m) and a mean draft of 13 feet 7 inches (4.1 m). They displaced 450 long tons (460 t) on the surface and 548 long tons (557 t) submerged. The L-class submarines had a crew of 28 officers and enlisted men. They had a diving depth of 200 feet (61.0 m). [1]

For surface running, the Electric Boat submarines were powered by two 450- brake-horsepower (336 kW) diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a 170-horsepower (127 kW) electric motor. They could reach 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) on the surface and 10.5 knots (19.4 km/h; 12.1 mph) underwater. On the surface, the boats had a range of 5,150 nautical miles (9,540 km; 5,930 mi) at 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph) [1] and 150 nmi (280 km; 170 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) submerged. [2]

The boats were armed with four 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes in the bow. They carried four reloads, for a total of eight torpedoes. The Electric Boat submarines were initially not fitted with a deck gun; a single 3"/50 caliber gun on a disappearing mount was added during the war. [2]

Construction and career

L-3's keel was laid down on 18 April 1914 by the Fore River Shipbuilding Company in Quincy, Massachusetts. She was launched on 15 March 1915 sponsored by Mrs. Lew Morton Atkins, and commissioned on 22 April 1916. Assigned to the Atlantic Submarine Flotilla, L-3 operated along the Atlantic coast from New England to Florida developing new techniques of undersea warfare, until April 1917.

Fairview of USS L-3, off Berehaven, Ireland, in 1918 USS L-3 1918 h63176.jpg
Fairview of USS L-3, off Berehaven, Ireland, in 1918

Following the United States's entry into World War I, the submarine protected Allied shipping lanes to the European countries. Departing New London, Connecticut, on 27 November, L-3 sailed for the Azores via Bermuda arriving Ponta Delgada on 13 January 1918. One month later, she was dispatched to the British Isles for patrol duty out of Berehaven, Bantry Bay, Ireland, to protect Allied shipping losses from U-boat attacks.

Remaining in British waters throughout the war, L-3 departed the Isle of Portland, England, on 3 January 1919 for the United States, arriving Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 1 February. For the next two years, the submarine operated along the East Coast, performing experiments and developing submarine warfare tactics. L-3 was placed in commission, in ordinary, on 1 June 1921 at Philadelphia, and returned to full commission on 26 January 1922. After operations out of New London, Connecticut, for 14 months, the submarine arrived Norfolk, Virginia, on 21 April 1923. L-3 decommissioned at Hampton Roads, Virginia, on 11 June 1923. She was scrapped, and her material was sold on 28 November 1933 in accordance with the London Naval Treaty.

Notes

  1. 1 2 Friedman, p. 307
  2. 1 2 Gardiner & Gray, p. 129

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References

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