USS S-5

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USSS5SS110.jpg
USS S-5 immediately after her launching at Portsmouth Navy Yard, in Kittery, Maine, on 10 November 1919, she is dressed overall
History
US flag 48 stars.svgUnited States
NameS-4
Builder Portsmouth Navy Yard, on Seavey Island, Kittery, Maine
Cost$675,391.67 (hull and machinery) [1]
Laid down4 December 1917
Launched10 November 1919
Sponsored byMrs. Geraldine Burrell
Commissioned6 March 1920
Stricken1921
Identification
Fate Foundered, 1 September 1920
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-5 (SS-110), also known as "Submarine No. 110", was an S-3-class, also referred to as a "Government"-type, submarine of the United States Navy.

Contents

She sunk on 1 September 1920, when the main air induction valve jammed in the open position, causing her to flood. The crew was rescued, but the boat was lost.

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 S-3-class were powered by two 700- brake-horsepower (522 kW) NELSECO diesel engines, 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 eight reloads, for a total of twelve torpedoes. The S-3-class submarines were also armed with a single 4 in (100 mm)/50 caliber deck gun. [2]

Construction

S-5's keel was laid down on 4 December 1917, by the Portsmouth Navy Yard, of Kittery, Maine. She was launched on 10 November 1919, [4] sponsored by Mrs. Geraldine Burrell, [5] and commissioned on 6 March 1920, with future Admiral, Lieutenant Commander Charles M. "Savvy" Cooke, Jr., in command. [4] [6]

Service history

When the US Navy adopted its hull classification system on 17 July 1920, she received the hull number SS-110. [3]

Following builder's trials, outfitting, and crew training, S-5 departed the Boston Navy Yard, on 30 August 1920, to undergo full-power trials 55 nautical miles (102 km; 63 mi) off the Delaware Capes. [4]

Sinking

At 13:00, on 1 September 1920, she commenced a dive for a submerged test run. Water unexpectedly entered the submarine through the main air induction system, pouring into the control room, engine room, torpedo room, and the motor room. [4] [7]

Normal procedure was to leave the main air induction valve open until the engines had a chance to come to a full stop, this operation being so timed as to occur just prior to complete submergence. [4] In the case of S-5, however, the chief of the boat, Gunner's Mate Percy Fox, [7] the man responsible for operating this valve, was momentarily distracted. Noticing the mistake, he grabbed the valve lever and jerked hard, causing the valve to jam open. After considerable difficulty, the system valves in the other compartments were closed, but all efforts to secure the torpedo room valve met with failure. The abandoned torpedo room flooded, making the boat bow-heavy. An additional 80 long tons (81 t) of water in the motor room bilges caused her to settle on the bottom. It was now impossible to eject water from the torpedo room. An attempt was then made to pump out the motor room, but a gasket blew out and there were no means for repair. Lying 194 ft (59 m) on the bottom, the crew had little hope of being found, much less being rescued. [4]

The crew reasoned that sufficient buoyancy in the after section could tilt the sub on her nose and extend the stern above the surface. The tilt would cause the water in the motor room to drain forward and increase buoyancy further. However, there was great risk involved because this would allow salt water into the battery room, which would generate deadly chlorine gas. They hoped to have enough time, after the water had entered, to close the watertight door before the gas could reach a dangerous level. [4]

After making preparations, air was applied to the after ballast and fuel tanks, blowing them dry. The stern began to rise and then shot to the surface. Men, floor plates, bilge water, and other loose objects fell through the length of the submarine. One man nearly drowned in the battery room, but was fished out, and the compartment door was sealed against the gas. [4]

By tapping on the hull, it was determined that the stern extended about 17 ft (5.2 m) above the water. With inadequate tools, they took turns trying to cut a hole in the thick hull. After 36 hours, they had only succeeded in making a hole 3 in (76 mm) in diameter. [4]

The steamship Alanthus detected the plight of the submarine. With additional assistance from the Panama Railway Company steamship General G. W. Goethals, a much larger hole was cut, and the entire crew was rescued. [4]

Side view of USS S-5 USS S-5 (SS-110)- from the US Navy - 1920 .gif
Side view of USS S-5
The steamship Alanthus standing by the stern of S-5 on 2 September 1920, the day after S-5 accidentally sank off the Delaware Bay Steamship Alanthus standing by the submarine S-5 stern.jpg
The steamship Alanthus standing by the stern of S-5 on 2 September 1920, the day after S-5 accidentally sank off the Delaware Bay
NOAAS Whiting's first sonar image of the wreck of S-5 on the ocean bottom, made in late July 2001, when Whiting discovered the wreck's exact location for the first time USS S-5 (S-110) wreck sonar image.jpg
NOAAS Whiting's first sonar image of the wreck of S-5 on the ocean bottom, made in late July 2001, when Whiting discovered the wreck's exact location for the first time
The circle of plating General G. W. Goethals cut from S-5's hull, to allow men to escape, is on display at the Navy Museum, at the Washington Navy Yard, in Washington, D.C., it is approximately 2 ft (0.61 m) in diameter and .mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-parser-output .frac .den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;vertical-align:super}.mw-parser-output .frac .den{vertical-align:sub}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);clip-path:polygon(0px 0px,0px 0px,0px 0px);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px} 3/4 in (19 mm) thick Circle of plating cut from S-5's hull to allow men to escape.gif
The circle of plating General G. W. Goethals cut from S-5's hull, to allow men to escape, is on display at the Navy Museum, at the Washington Navy Yard, in Washington, D.C., it is approximately 2 ft (0.61 m) in diameter and 3⁄4 in (19 mm) thick

Once the crew was offloaded from S-5, the battleship Ohio secured a towline to her stern and proceeded to tow her to shallower water. The towline, however, parted and the loose submarine bobbed, then plunged to the bottom about 15 nmi (28 km; 17 mi) off Cape May, New Jersey. [4] [8]

The Navy began an unsuccessful attempt to raise S-5, but called it off in November 1920. A second effort in 1921, also was unsuccessful, and S-5 was struck from the Naval Vessel Register that year. She was the fourth submarine lost in US Navy history.[ citation needed ]

Discovery of wreck

The exact location of the wreck of S-5 remained unknown until July 2001, when the Office of Ocean Exploration at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) asked the NOAA survey ship NOAAS Whiting to search for it. Whiting, which had just completed a summer in port at Norfolk, Virginia, and was bound for Boston, to conduct hydrographic survey operations in New England, paused off Cape May, in late July 2001, to search for the wreck. [9]

Whiting's survey department approached the project as it would any typical hydrographic survey. Information on snags, obstructions on the ocean bottom that snarl fishing nets and gear, that local recreational fishermen had reported and reports of possible locations of the wreck from divers that had visited it provided Whiting with possible targets for her search. After her crew had prepared a plan for a systematic search, Whiting moved from target cluster to target cluster, mapping the ocean bottom using sidescan sonar. After eight hours of searching, Whiting found the wreck of S-5 directly over one of the suspected targets, made a sonar image of the wreck, and recorded its exact location. Whiting then made several more passes over the wreck to acquire additional images of it at various angles before leaving the scene. [9]

Museum holdings and displays

The portion of S-5's hull plating that General G. W. Goethals removed to permit the crew of the submarine to escape is on exhibit in the National Museum of the United States Navy, in the Washington Navy Yard, in Washington, D.C.

NOAA donated the sonar data Whiting gathered in 2001, during her discovery of the wreck of S-5, to the Submarine Force Library and Museum, in Groton, Connecticut, for archiving and display. [9]

References

  1. ↑ Navy List 1921, p. 770.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Friedman 1995, p. 308.
  3. 1 2 Priolo & S-5.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 DANFS & S-5.
  5. ↑ Hall 1925, p. 200.
  6. ↑ Blair 1975, p. 1017.
  7. 1 2 USNSS 1966.
  8. ↑ Rear.
  9. 1 2 3 Weirich.

Bibliography

Further reading

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