USS R-24

USS R-24 (SS-101) in the Reserve Basin at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, 22 September 1923, when the boat was undergoing a shipyard overhaul
History
United States
Name	R-24
Ordered	29 August 1916
Builder	Lake Torpedo Boat Company, Bridgeport, Connecticut
Cost	$871,310.58 (hull and machinery) [1]
Laid down	9 May 1917
Launched	21 August 1918
Sponsored by	Mrs. Elizabeth Norton
Commissioned	27 June 1919
Decommissioned	11 June 1925
Stricken	9 May 1930
Identification	Hull symbol: SS-101 (17 July 1920) Call sign: NIMB
Fate	Sold for scrap, 30 July 1930
General characteristics [2] [3]
Class & type	R-21-class submarine
Displacement	497 long tons (505 t) surfaced 652 long tons (662 t) submerged
Length	175 feet (53 m)
Beam	16 ft 7 in (5.05 m)
Draft	13 ft 11 in (4.24 m)
Installed power	1,000 brake horsepower (746  kW) diesel 800 hp (597 kW) electric
Propulsion	2 × Busch-Sulzer diesel engines 2 × Diehl Manufacture Company electric motors 1 × 120-cell batteries 2 × Propellers
Speed	14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) surfaced 11 kn (20 km/h; 13 mph) submerged
Range	3,523 nautical miles (6,525 km; 4,054 mi) at 11 kn (20 km/h; 13 mph), 6,499 nmi (12,036 km; 7,479 mi) if fuel loaded into the main ballast tanks
Test depth	200 ft (61 m)
Capacity	17,922 US gallons (67,840  L; 14,923  imp gal) fuel
Complement	3 officers 23 enlisted
Armament	4 × 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes (8 torpedoes) 1 × 3-inch (76 mm)/50-caliber deck gun

USS R-24 (SS-101), also known as "Submarine No. 101", was an R-21-class coastal and harbor defense submarines of the United States Navy commissioned after the end of World War I.

Design

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

The submarines had a length of 175 feet (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 497 long tons (505 t) on the surface and 652 long tons (662 t) submerged. The R-21-class submarines had a crew of 3 officers and 23 enlisted men. They had a diving depth of 200 ft (61.0 m). ^{[2] [4]}

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 400-horsepower (298 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 R-21-class had a range of 3,523 nautical miles (6,525 km; 4,054 mi) at 11 kn (20 km/h; 13 mph), or 6,499 nmi (12,036 km; 7,479 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-21-class submarines were also armed with a single 3 in (76 mm)/50 caliber deck gun. ^{[2] [4]}

Construction

R-24's keel was laid down on 9 May 1919, by the Lake Torpedo Boat Company, of Bridgeport, Connecticut. She was launched on 21 August 1918, ^[5] sponsored by Mrs. Elizabeth Norton, ^[6] and commissioned on 27 June 1919, with future Rear Admiral, Lieutenant Commander Andrew Carl Bennett in command. ^[5]

Service history

After four months of coastal operations off southern New England, R-24 got underway for her homeport, Coco Solo, in the Panama Canal Zone, on 1 November. ^[5]

When the US Navy adopted its hull classification system on 17 July 1920, she received the hull number SS-101. ^[3]

At the end of 1921, she returned to the United States for a shipyard overhaul. In the fall of 1922, she resumed operations out of Coco Solo, and Balboa. A year later she again sailed to the United States, for a shipyard overhaul, and at the end of 1924, she returned for inactivation. ^[5]

Fate

On 25 January 1925, she arrived at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, and on 11 June, she was decommissioned after only five-and-a-half years of service. R-24 was berthed at League Island, for the next five years. On 9 May 1930, she was struck from the Naval Vessel Register, and on 30 July 1930, she was sold for scrapping. ^[5]

References

1. Navy List 1921, p. 770.
2. Friedman 1995, p. 308.
3. Priolo & R-24.
4. Gardiner & Gray 1985, p. 129.
5. DANFS & R-24.
6. Hall 1925, p. 188.

Bibliography

• "Table 21 - Ships on Navy List June 30, 1919". Congressional Serial Set. U.S. Government Printing Office: 770. 1921.
• Friedman, Norman (1995). U.S. Submarines Through 1945: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN   1-55750-263-3.
• Priolo, Gary. "R-24 (SS-101)". Navsource.net. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
• 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.
• "R-24". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships . Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command . Retrieved 20 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 20 November 2025.

External links

• Photo gallery of USS R-24 (SS-101) at NavSource Naval History