USS R-26

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USS R-26 (SS-103).jpg
USS R-26 preparing to submerge at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, on 22 September 1923
History
US flag 48 stars.svgUnited States
NameR-26
Ordered29 August 1916
Builder Lake Torpedo Boat Company, Bridgeport, Connecticut
Cost$855,559.94 (hull and machinery) [1]
Laid down26 April 1917
Launched18 June 1919
Sponsored byMrs. Mary Barnett
Commissioned23 October 1919
Decommissioned12 June 1924
Stricken9 May 1930
Identification
FateSold 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
Length175 feet (53 m)
Beam16 ft 7 in (5.05 m)
Draft13 ft 11 in (4.24 m)
Installed power
Propulsion
Speed
  • 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) surfaced
  • 11 kn (20 km/h; 13 mph) submerged
Range3,523 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 depth200 ft (61 m)
Capacity17,922 US gallons (67,840  L; 14,923  imp gal) fuel
Complement
  • 3 officers
  • 23 enlisted
Armament

USS R-26 (SS-103), also known as "Submarine No. 103", was an R-21-class coastal and harbor defense submarines of the United States Navy commissioned after the end of World War I.

Contents

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-26's keel was laid down on 26 April 1917, by the Lake Torpedo Boat Company, in Bridgeport, Connecticut. She was launched on 18 June 1919, [5] sponsored by Mrs. Mary Barnett, [6] and commissioned on 23 October 1919. [5]

Service history

Homeported at Coco Solo, in the Panama Canal Zone, R-26 departed New London, Connecticut, on 26 November 1919, and arrived in the Canal Zone, 11 January 1920. [5]

When the US Navy adopted its hull classification system on 17 July 1920, she received the hull number SS-103. [3]

She spent her entire career operating out of Coco Solo. Interrupting her service in those waters only for overhauls at Balboa, and on the East Coast. [5]

Fate

She returned to the United States for inactivation in January 1925. Arriving at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, on 25 January, she was decommissioned on 12 June 1925, after only five-and-a-half years of service. She was berthed at League Island, until struck from the Naval Vessel Register in May 1930. Her hull was sold for scrapping on 30 July 1930. [5]

References

Bibliography

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