The

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

's sixteen O-class submarines were created out of the lessons learned from the L class. The O class were about 80 tons larger than the L class, with greater power and endurance for ocean patrols. Due to the

American entry into World War I American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

the O class were built much more rapidly than previous classes, and were all commissioned in 1918. ''O-1'' through ''O-10'' were group 1, designed by Electric Boat, ''O-11'' through ''O-16'' were group 2, designed by the

Lake Torpedo Boat The Lake Torpedo Boat Company of Bridgeport, Connecticut, was an early builder of submarines for the United States Navy in the early 20th century. History Founded by Simon Lake in 1912, the company was located at the east end of Seaview Avenue ...

Company and sometimes considered a separate class. The group 2 boats entered service just before the end of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Eight of the group 1 boats survived to serve in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

as training boats when they were recommissioned in 1941. The O class were built by five shipyards: ''O-1'' by

Portsmouth Navy Yard The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, often called the Portsmouth Navy Yard, is a United States Navy shipyard in Kittery on the southern boundary of Maine near the city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Founded in 1800, PNS is U.S. Navy's oldest continuo ...

Kittery, Maine Kittery is a town in York County, Maine, United States. Home to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on Seavey's Island, Kittery includes Badger's Island, the seaside district of Kittery Point, and part of the Isles of Shoals. The southernmost town i ...

, ''O-2'' by

Puget Sound Navy Yard Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, officially Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PSNS & IMF), is a United States Navy shipyard covering 179 acres (0.7 km2) on Puget Sound at Bremerton, Washington in uninterrupted u ...

Bremerton, Washington Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington. The population was 37,729 at the 2010 census and an estimated 41,405 in 2019, making it the largest city on the Kitsap Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremer ...

, ''O-3'' through ''O-10'' by

Fore River Shipyard Fore River Shipyard was a shipyard owned by General Dynamics Corporation located on Weymouth Fore River in Braintree and Quincy, Massachusetts. It began operations in 1883 in Braintree, and moved to its final location on Quincy Point in 1901. I ...

, Quincy, Massachusetts, ''O-11'' through ''O-13'' by

Company, Bridgeport, Connecticut, and ''O-14'' through ''O-16'' by California Shipbuilding (formerly

Craig Shipbuilding '' Light Vessel No.57'' at Toledo, Ohio Craig Shipbuilding was a shipbuilding company in Long Beach, California. To support the World War I demand for ships Craig Shipbuilding shipyard switched over to military construction and built: US ...

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Service

The class originally operated in the anti-submarine role off the United States's East Coast. Two of the boats, and , came under fire from a British merchantman in the Atlantic on 24 July 1918. The steamer scored six hits on ''O-4''s conning tower and pressure hull before her identity was discovered. ''O-4'' suffered minor damage caused by shell splinters. to boats formed part of the twenty-strong submarine force that left

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New Yor ...

on 2 November 1918 for the

Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

, but the task force was recalled after the Armistice was signed nine days later. O type submarines at Boston

The second group of boats (''O-11'' through ''O-16''), built by the Lake Torpedo Boat Company and

, suffered from electrical problems. was immediately sent to the

Philadelphia Navy Yard The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was an important naval shipyard of the United States for almost two centuries. Philadelphia's original navy yard, begun in 1776 on Front Street and Federal Street in what is now the Pennsport section of the ci ...

for a five-month overhaul. In October 1918, sank the patrol boat in a collision while she (''O-13'') was submerged. also underwent a refit but was sent into reserve soon after before she went into service at

Coco Solo Coco Solo was a United States Navy submarine base and naval air station, active from 1918 to the 1960s. History The submarine base at Coco Solo was established May 6, 1918. The site corresponds with modern-day Cativá in Panama. It was on th ...

in the Panama Canal Zone. This also involved another overhaul. also underwent a refit soon after commissioning and later suffered a fire in her conning tower in December 1919. All six of the group 2 boats were decommissioned in July 1924 and were scrapped in July 1930 under the terms of the London Naval Treaty. However, was disarmed, renamed ''Nautilus'', and used in an Arctic expedition by

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. After being returned to the US Navy, she was scuttled in a Norwegian fjord in November 1931. The first group served well although was rammed by a cargo ship and sunk near the Panama Canal on 28 October 1923 with the loss of three crew members. All nine of the surviving Group 1 boats were decommissioned in 1931, but were recommissioned, except for ''O-1'', in 1941 to serve as training boats based at the

Naval Submarine Base New London Naval Submarine Base New London is the primary United States Navy East Coast submarine base, also known as the "Home of the Submarine Force." It is located in Groton, Connecticut directly across the Thames River from its namesake city of New L ...

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. These boats were taken out of service following

except for which sank in deep submergence trials in June 1941. Thirty-three of her crew were lost. At some point between the wars the O-class was modified for improved safety in the event of sinking. Two marker buoys were added fore and aft. In the event the submarine was stranded on the bottom the buoys could be released to show the submarine's position. A motor room hatch was also added, the motor room being the aftermost compartment. The tapered after casing became a step as a result of these modifications.Pigboats.com O-boats page
/ref> During World War II, the seven remaining O boats were stationed at the

New London Submarine Base Naval Submarine Base New London is the primary United States Navy East Coast submarine base, also known as the "Home of the Submarine Force." It is located in Groton, Connecticut directly across the Thames River from its namesake city of New Lo ...

and served as training platforms for the Submarine School. The last O boat, USS ''O-4'', was decommissioned in September 1945. ''O-4'' had served for 27 years and was, at that time, the longest serving submarine in this history of the US Navy. At least one O-class submarine can be seen briefly in the 1943 movie ''

Crash Dive A crash dive is a maneuver by a submarine in which the vessel submerges as quickly as possible to avoid attack. Crash diving from the surface to avoid attack has been largely rendered obsolete with the advent of nuclear-powered submarines, as they ...

'', filmed at the

New London submarine base Naval Submarine Base New London is the primary United States Navy East Coast submarine base, also known as the "Home of the Submarine Force." It is located in Groton, Connecticut directly across the Thames River from its namesake city of New Lo ...

Ships in class

The 16 submarines of the O-class were:

Group 1 ( Electric Boat design) Group 2 (

Company design)

References

Notes

Sources

* * Gardiner, Robert, ''Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921'' Conway Maritime Press, 1985. . * Friedman, Norman "US Submarines through 1945: An Illustrated Design History", Naval Institute Press, Annapolis:1995, .
Navsource.org early diesel submarines page

*

External links