USS R-17

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USS R-17 (SS-94).jpg
USS R-17 (SS-94) underway in a tinted colored photo, c. 1923, note the large white triangle painted on the submarine's fairwater for recognition
History
US flag 48 stars.svgUnited States
NameR-17
Ordered29 August 1916
Builder Union Iron Works, San Francisco, California
Cost$802,128.53 (hull and machinery) [1]
Laid down5 May 1917
Launched24 December 1917
Sponsored byMiss Bertha Frances Dew
Commissioned18 August 1918
Decommissioned15 May 1931
Recommissioned25 March 1941
Decommissioned9 March 1942
Stricken22 June 1945
Identification
FateTransferred to United Kingdom, 9 March 1942
Naval ensign of the United Kingdom.svgUnited Kingdom
NameP.512
Acquired9 March 1942
Fate
  • Returned to US Navy, 6 September 1944
  • Sold for scrapping, 16 November 1945
NotesCrewed by the Royal Canadian Navy
General characteristics [2] [3]
Class & type R-1-class submarine
Displacement
  • 574 long tons (583 t) surfaced
  • 685 long tons (696 t) submerged
Length186 feet 3 inches (56.77 m)
Beam18 ft (5.5 m)
Draft15 ft 6 in (4.72 m)
Installed power
Propulsion
Speed
  • 12.5 knots (23.2 km/h; 14.4 mph) surfaced
  • 9.3 kn (17.2 km/h; 10.7 mph) submerged
Range4,700 nautical miles (8,700 km; 5,400 mi) at 6.2 kn (11.5 km/h; 7.1 mph), 7,000 nmi (13,000 km; 8,100 mi) if fuel loaded into the main ballast tanks
Test depth200 ft (61 m)
Capacity18,880 US gallons (71,500  L; 15,720  imp gal) fuel
Complement
  • 2 officers
  • 27 enlisted
Armament

USS R-17 (SS-94), also known as "Submarine No. 94", was an R-1-class coastal and harbor defense submarines of the United States Navy commissioned before the end of World War I.

Contents

Design

The R-boats built by the Fore River Shipbuilding Company, R-1 through R-14, and the Union Iron Works, R-15 through R-20, are sometimes considered a separate class, R-1-class, from those built by the Lake Torpedo Boat Company, R-21 through R-27, R-21-class. [2]

The submarines had a length of 186 feet 3 inches (56.8 m) overall, a beam of 18 ft (5.5 m), and a mean draft of 15 ft 6 in (4.7 m). They displaced 574 long tons (583 t) on the surface and 685 long tons (696 t) submerged. The R-1-class submarines had a crew of 2 officers and 27 enlisted men. They had a diving depth of 200 ft (61.0 m). [2] [4]

For surface running, the boats were powered by two 440- brake-horsepower (328 kW) NELSECO 6-EB-14 diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a 467-horsepower (348 kW) Electro-Dynamic Company electric motor. They could reach 12.5 knots (23.2 km/h; 14.4 mph) on the surface and 9.3 kn (17.2 km/h; 10.7 mph) underwater. On the surface, the R-1-class had a range of 4,700 nautical miles (8,700 km; 5,400 mi) at 6.2 kn (11.5 km/h; 7.1 mph), or 7,000 nmi (13,000 km; 8,100 mi) if fuel was loaded into their main ballast tanks. [4]

The boats were armed with four 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes in the bow. They carried four reloads, for a total of eight torpedoes. The R-1-class submarines were also armed with a single 3 in (76 mm)/50 caliber deck gun. [2] [4]

Construction

R-17's keel was laid down by the Union Iron Works, in San Francisco, California, on 5 May 1917. She was launched on 24 December 1917, [5] sponsored by Miss Bertha Frances Dew, [6] and commissioned on 17 August 1918. [5]

Service history

1918–1931

Commissioned toward the end of World War I, R-17 operated briefly off the California coast, then patrolled off the Panama Canal Zone, returning to California, in December 1918. In March 1919, she arrived at San Francisco, for overhaul, after which she moved west to Pearl Harbor. Departing the West Coast, on 17 June, she arrived in the Territory of Hawaii, on 25 June, and for the next 11 years operated with fleet units and tested equipment being developed for submarines. [5]

When the US Navy adopted its hull classification system on 17 July 1920, she received the hull number SS-94. [5]

R-17 departed Pearl Harbor, on 12 December 1930, called at San Diego, thence continued on to the East Coast for inactivation. Arriving at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, on 9 February 1931, she was decommissioned 15 May, and berthed at League Island, until after the outbreak of World War II in Europe. [5]

1941–1946

Recommissioned at New London, 25 March 1941, R-17 headed south, on 14 May, and patrolled in the Virgin Islands, during June. She then patrolled off the Panama Canal Zone, in July, August, and September; then in October, returned to New London. For the next four months she conducted training exercises. [5]

On 9 March 1942, she was decommissioned and transferred to the United Kingdom under the Lend-Lease Agreement. Commissioned in the Royal Navy as HMS P.512, she was employed at Bermuda, as a training ship for the Royal Canadian Navy, until 6 September 1944, when she was returned to the US Navy, at Philadelphia. [5]

Fate

Retained for use as a target ship, until after the end of the war in Europe, R-17 was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 22 June 1945. She was sold, on 16 November 1945, to the North American Smelting Company, in Philadelphia, for scrapping. [5]

References

Bibliography

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