USS O-15

USS O-15 at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, on 28 June 1919
History
United States
Name	O-15
Ordered	3 March 1916
Builder	California Shipbuilding Company, at the Craig Shipbuilding Company, in Long Beach, California
Cost	$611,272.76 (hull and machinery) [1]
Laid down	21 September 1916
Launched	12 February 1918
Sponsored by	Mrs. James J. Murphy
Commissioned	27 August 1918
Decommissioned	11 June 1924
Stricken	9 May 1930
Identification	Hull symbol: SS-76 (17 July 1920) Call sign: NAXS
Fate	Sold for scrap, 30 July 1930
General characteristics [2] [3]
Class & type	O-11-class submarine
Displacement	485 long tons (493 t) surfaced 566 long tons (575 t) submerged
Length	175 ft (53 m)
Beam	16 ft 7 in (5.05 m)
Draft	13 ft 11 in (4.24 m)
Installed power	1,000 bhp (746 kW) 800 hp (597 kW)
Propulsion	2 × Busch-Sulzer diesel engines 2 × Diehl Manufacture Company electric motors 1 × 120-cell battery 2 × shafts
Speed	14 kn surfaced 11 kn (20 km/h; 13 mph) submerged
Range	5500 nmi at 11.5 kn surfaced 250 nmi at 5 kn submerged
Test depth	200 ft
Capacity	18,588 US gal (70,360 L; 15,478 imp gal) fuel
Complement	2 officers 27 enlisted
Armament	4 × 18 inch bow torpedo tubes (8 torpedoes) 1 × 3 in/23 caliber retractable deck gun

USS O-15 (SS-76), also known as "Submarine No. 76", was one of 16 O-class submarines of the United States Navy commissioned during World War I.

Design

The later O-boats, O-11 through O-16, were designed by the Lake Torpedo Boat Company, to different specifications from the earlier boats designed by Electric Boat. They did not perform as well, and are sometimes considered a separate class. ^[4] The submarines had a length of 175 ft (53.3 m) overall, a beam of 16 ft 7 in (5.1 m), and a mean draft of 13 ft 11 in (4.2 m). They displaced 485 long tons (493 t) on the surface and 566 long tons (575 t) submerged. The O-class submarines had a crew of 2 officers and 27 enlisted men. They had a diving depth of 200 ft (61.0 m). ^{[5] [2]}

For surface running, the boats were powered by two 500- brake-horsepower (373 kW) Busch-Sulzer diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a 370-horsepower (276 kW) Diehl Manufacture Company electric motor. They could reach 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) on the surface and 11 kn (20 km/h; 13 mph) underwater. On the surface, the O class had a range of 5,500 nautical miles (10,200 km; 6,300 mi) at 11.5 kn (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph). ^{[5] [2] [3]}

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 O-class submarines were also armed with a single 3 in (76 mm)/23 caliber retractable deck gun. ^[5]

Construction

O-15's keel was laid down on 21 September 1916, at the Craig Shipbuilding Company, in Long Beach, California, by the California Shipbuilding Company. ^{[6] [7]} She was launched on 12 February 1918, ^[7] sponsored by Mrs. James J. Murphy, ^[8] and completed at the Mare Island Navy Yard. ^[3] O-15 was commissioned on 27 August 1918. ^[7]

Service history

Commissioning during the final months of World War I, O-15 saw brief war time service, on patrol along the Atlantic coast. ^[7]

After the war, she reported to the Philadelphia Navy Yard, where machinists and electricians worked on her until 20 September 1919, when she was reduced to "in commission, in reserve", at Cape May, New Jersey. ^[7]

She departed Philadelphia, in April 1920, and proceeded, via Jamaica, to Coco Solo, in the Panama Canal Zone, where she underwent overhaul and conducted experimental tests.

When the US Navy adopted its hull classification system on 17 July 1920, she received the hull number SS-76. ^[3]

Conducting training cruises, she operated in and around Cuba, and the Virgin Islands, early in 1922, and returned to Coco Solo, in April. ^[7]

Fate

O-15 reported to Philadelphia, in November 1923, and decommissioned there 11 June 1924, after just five and a half years of service. Struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 9 May 1930, she was scrapped, under terms of the London Naval Treaty, on 30 July 1930. ^[7]

References

1. Navy List 1921, p. 769.
2. Friedman 1995, p. 307.
3. Priolo & O-15.
4. Friedman 1995, pp. 86–87.
5. Gardiner & Gray 1985, p. 129.
6. Colton 2021.
7. DANFS & O-15.
8. Hall 1925, p. 161.

Bibliography

• "Table 21 - Ships on Navy List June 30, 1919". Congressional Serial Set. U.S. Government Printing Office: 769. 1921.
• Gary, Priolo. "O-15 (SS-76)". Navsource.net. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
• 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 (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN   0-85177-245-5.
• "O-15". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships . Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. 17 August 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2025. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
• Hall, Anne Martin (1925). Ships of the United States navy and their sponsors, 1913-1923 . Retrieved 4 November 2025.
• Colton, Tim (12 December 2021). "Craig Shipbuilding, Long Beach, CA" . Retrieved 4 November 2025.

External links

• Photo gallery of USS O-15 (SS-76) at NavSource Naval History