USS S-15

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USS S-15 (SS-120).jpg
USS S-15 (SS-120), dockside at Bridgeport, Connecticut, 3 January, 12 days before her commissioning, on 15 January 1921
History
US flag 48 stars.svgUnited States
NameS-15
Builder Lake Torpedo Boat Company, Bridgeport, Connecticut
Cost$1,020,854.53 (hull and machinery) [1]
Laid down13 December 1917
Launched8 March 1920
Sponsored byMrs. Margaret Lake
Commissioned15 January 1921
Decommissioned26 April 1935
Recommissioned3 January 1941
Decommissioned11 June 1946
Stricken3 July 1946
Identification
FateSold for scrapping, 4 December 1946
General characteristics [2] [3]
Class & type S-3-class submarine
Displacement
  • 875 long tons (889 t) surfaced
  • 1,088 long tons (1,105 t) submerged
Length231 feet (70 m)
Beam21 ft 10 in (6.65 m)
Draft13 ft 1 in (3.99 m)
Installed power
Propulsion
Speed
  • 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) surfaced
  • 11 kn (20 km/h; 13 mph) submerged
Test depth200 ft (61 m)
Capacity36,950 US gallons (139,900  L; 30,770  imp gal) fuel
Complement
  • 4 officers
  • 34 enlisted
Armament

USS S-15 (SS-120) was an S-3-class, also referred to as a "Government"-type, submarine of the United States Navy.

Contents

Design

The "Government"-type had a length of 231 feet (70.4 m) overall, a beam of 21 ft 10 in (6.7 m), and a mean draft of 13 ft 1 in (4.0 m). They displaced 875 long tons (889 t) on the surface and 1,088 long tons (1,105 t) submerged. All S-class submarines had a crew of 4 officers and 34 enlisted men, when first commissioned. They had a diving depth of 200 ft (61.0 m). [2]

For surface running, the "Government"-type built by Lake Torpedo Boat Company, were powered by two 700- brake-horsepower (522 kW) Busch-Sulzer 6M150 diesel engines, [4] each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a 600-horsepower (447 kW) Westinghouse Electric Corporation electric motor. They could reach 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) on the surface and 11 kn (20 km/h; 13 mph) underwater. [2]

The boats were armed with four 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes in the bow. They carried 8 reloads, for a total of twelve torpedoes. The "Government"-type submarines were also armed with a single 4 in (100 mm)/50 caliber deck gun. [2]

Construction

S-15's keel was laid down on 13 December 1917, by the Lake Torpedo Boat Company, in Bridgeport, Connecticut. She was launched on 8 March 1920, [5] sponsored by Mrs. Margaret Lake, [6] wife of Simon Lake, and commissioned on 15 January 1921. [5]

Service history

1921–1935

Attached to SubDiv 18, S-15 departed New London, Connecticut, on 31 May 1921, and sailed via the Panama Canal, California, the Territory of Hawaii, and Guam, to the Philippines. She arrived at Cavite, Luzon, on 1 December 1921. [5]

In 1922, she sailed from Cavite, on 11 October, visited Hong Kong, from 14 October to 28 October, and returned to Cavite, on 1 November. Sailing from Manila, on 15 May 1923, S-15 visited Shanghai, Yantai, and Qinhuangdao, before returning via Wusong and Amoy, to Cavite, on 11 September. In the summer of 1924, she again visited China, and returned to Olongapo, on 23 September. [5]

Departing Cavite on 29 October 1924, she arrived at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California, on 30 December. Remaining at Mare Island, in 1925 and 1926, she operated along the West Coast, through 1927. [5]

From February 1928, into 1935, S-15 served in the Panama Canal area, although she visited Baltimore, Maryland, from 15 May to 5 June 1933. [5]

She departed Coco Solo on 11 January 1935, for the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, where she decommissioned on 26 April 1935. [5]

1940–1946

S-15 was recommissioned on 3 January 1941, at Philadelphia. Following voyages to Bermuda, she operated at Saint Thomas, US Virgin Islands, from 31 October to 9 December 1941; in the Panama Canal area, from January 1942 into December 1943; at Guantanamo Bay, through May 1944; in the Panama Canal area, from June through September 1944; at Trinidad, for the rest of the year; and at Guantanamo, from January into March 1945. [5]

Fate

S-15 departed Guantanamo, on 23 March 1945, and reported at New London, for inactivation. She was decommissioned on 11 June 1946, at Philadelphia, and was struck from the Naval Vessel Register. On 4 December 1946, she was sold for scrapping to the Potomac Shipwrecking Company, of Maryland. [5]

Awards

References

Bibliography

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