United States D-class submarine

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USS D-1;H99123.jpg
USS D-1
Class overview
NameD class
Builders
OperatorsFlag of the United States.svg  United States Navy
Preceded by C class
Succeeded by E class
BuiltApril 1909–September 1910
In commissionNovember 1909–March 1922
Completed3
Retired3
General characteristics
Type Submarine
Displacement
  • 288 long tons (293 t) surfaced
  • 337 long tons (342 t) submerged
Length134 ft 10 in (41.10 m)
Beam13 ft 11 in (4.24 m)
Draft12 ft 6 in (3.81 m)
Installed power
  • 600  bhp (450 kW) (gasoline)
  • 330 hp (250 kW) (electric)
Propulsion
Speed
  • 13  kn (24 km/h; 15 mph) surfaced
  • 9.5 kn (17.6 km/h; 10.9 mph) submerged
Range
  • 1,179  nmi (2,184 km; 1,357 mi) at 9.3 knots (17.2 km/h; 10.7 mph) on the surface
  • 24 nmi (44 km; 28 mi) at 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) submerged
Test depth200 feet (61.0 m)
Complement15 officers and enlisted
Armament4 × 18 inch (450 mm) bow torpedo tubes

The United States D-class submarines were a trio of submarines built for the United States Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. All three ships served during World War I providing training for crews and officers on the U.S. East Coast, before the class was decommissioned and sold for scrap in 1922.

Contents

Description

The D-class submarines were enlarged and iterative improvements over the preceding C class, and were the first American submarines armed with four torpedo tubes. They were built by the Fore River Shipbuilding Company of Quincy, Massachusetts, under a subcontract from the Electric Boat Company of Groton, Connecticut. They had a length of 134 feet 10 inches (41.1 m) overall, a beam of 13 feet 10 inches (4.2 m) and a mean draft of 12 feet 6 inches (3.8 m). They displaced 288 long tons (293 t) on the surface and 337 long tons (342 t) submerged. The D-class boats had a crew of 1 officer and 14 enlisted men. They had a diving depth of 200 feet (61.0 m). [1]

For surface running, they were powered by two 300- brake-horsepower (224 kW) NELSECO gasoline engines, each driving one propeller shaft. [2] When submerged each shaft was driven by a 130-horsepower (97 kW) electric motor. Two 60-cell batteries provided power when submerged. They could reach 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph) on the surface and 9.5 knots (17.6 km/h; 10.9 mph) underwater. On the surface, the boats had a range of 1,179 nautical miles (2,184 km; 1,357 mi) at 9.6 knots (17.8 km/h; 11.0 mph) and 24 nmi (44 km; 28 mi) at 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) submerged. [1]

The boats were armed with four 18-inch (45.7 cm) torpedo tubes in the bow. They did not carry reloads for them. [2] They were the first U.S. submarines to have four forward torpedo tubes which became the norm until the Tambor class which joined the fleet in 1940.

These vessels included some features intended to increase underwater speed that were standard on U.S. submarines of this era, including a small sail and a rotating cap over the torpedo tube muzzles. For extended surface runs, the small sail was augmented with a temporary piping-and-canvas structure. This structure would be disassembled and taken below before diving. USN tactical doctrine of the time did not emphasize quick dives so this was not seen as a liability. [3]

These were the first USN submarines internally subdivided into compartments. D-1 and D-2 had four compartments (torpedo room, forward battery/berthing & control room, after battery/messing, and engine/motor room). D-3 was fitted with only two bulkheads leaving one large compartment in the middle that consisted of both battery wells and the control room. [4] On D-1 and D-2 the helm wheel was actually in the after battery compartment, as the placement of the aft control room bulkhead dictated this arrangement. [5]

Distinguished Commanding Officers

Many future Admirals commanded a D-class submarine early in their careers including Chester William Nimitz [6]

Boats in class

Notes

  1. 1 2 Friedman, p. 306
  2. 1 2 Gardiner and Gray, p. 127
  3. ↑ Friedman, pp. 43 & 149
  4. ↑ PigBoats.COM D-class Notes section
  5. ↑ PigBoats.COM D-1 page
  6. ↑ PigBoats.COM Commanding Officer Database
  7. ↑ "D-1" . Retrieved 15 March 2013.
  8. ↑ "D-2" . Retrieved 15 March 2013.
  9. ↑ "D-3" . Retrieved 15 March 2013.

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References

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