USS ''H-3'' (SS-30) was a H-class

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

originally named ''Garfish'', the only ship of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

named for the

gar Gars are an ancient group of ray-finned fish in the family Lepisosteidae. They comprise seven living species of fish in two genera that inhabit fresh, brackish, and occasionally marine waters of eastern North America, Central America and Cuba ...

, a popular target for recreational anglers. ''Garfish'' was laid down by

The Moran Company The Seattle Construction and Drydock Company was a shipbuilding company based in Seattle, Washington. Between 1911 and 1918, it produced a substantial number of ships for both commercial and military uses. In the beginning of the 20th century, u ...

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

. She was renamed ''H-3'' on 17 November 1911, launched on 3 July 1913 sponsored by Ms. Helen MacEwan, and commissioned at

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ; ) is a complex estuary, estuarine system of interconnected Marine habitat, marine waterways and basins located on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As a part of the Salish Sea, the sound ...

on 16 January 1914,

Lieutenant, junior grade Lieutenant junior grade is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank used in a number of navies. United States Lieutenant (junior grade), commonly abbreviated as LTJG or, historically, Lt. (j.g.) (as well as variants of both ab ...

William R. Munroe in command.

Service history

After shakedown, ''H-3'' was attached to the Pacific Fleet and began operations along the coast from lower

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, exercising frequently with and . ''H-3'' ran aground in heavy fog while attempting to enter

Humboldt Bay Humboldt Bay (Wiyot language, Wiyot: ''Wigi'') is a natural bay and a multi-basin, bar-built coastal lagoon located on the rugged North Coast (California), North Coast of California, entirely within Humboldt County, California, Humboldt County, ...

on the morning of 14 December 1916. The crew were rescued by

Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a Maritime Security Regimes, maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with cust ...

Humboldt Bay Life-Saving Station The Humboldt Bay Life-Saving Station was originally built in November 1878 on the north side of the entrance to Humboldt Bay in northern California, United States, near Eureka, California, Eureka, adjacent to the site of the first Humboldt Harbor ...

; many were brought to shore by

breeches buoy A breeches buoy is a rope-based rescue device used to extract people from wrecked vessels, or to transfer people from one place to another in situations of danger. The device resembles a round emergency personal flotation device with a leg harne ...

. Storm surf pushed ''H-3'' high up on a sandy beach, surrounded by quicksand. At low tide, she was from the water, but at high tide, the ocean reached almost beyond her. The submarine crew pitched camp on the

Samoa, California Samoa (formerly Brownsville) is a census-designated place in Humboldt County, California. It is located northwest of Eureka, at an elevation of . Samoa is located in the northern peninsula of Humboldt Bay and is the site of the Samoa Cookhous ...

beach near their stranded submarine, while the

tug A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, suc ...

steamed from

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to attempt salvage.Haislip, February 1967, p.38 Combined efforts of ''Iroquois'' and were unable to dislodge ''H-3'', so both ships returned to Mare Island while the Navy requested bids from commercial salvage firms. Only two bids were received. The largest marine salvage firm on the west coast offered to pull the submarine into deep water offshore for $150,000 and the Mercer-Fraser Company of

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offered to pull the submarine over the Samoa peninsula into Humboldt Bay for $18,000. USS H-3 1917 h35850

Navy officials at Mare Island regarded the lumber company proposal as infeasible and felt the salvage firm bid was excessive. The

protected cruiser Protected cruisers, a type of cruiser of the late 19th century, took their name from the armored deck, which protected vital machine-spaces from fragments released by explosive shells. Protected cruisers notably lacked a belt of armour alon ...

sailed from Mare Island to tow ''H-3'' off the beach. ''Milwaukee'' grounded attempting salvage on 13 January 1917 and broke up in the pounding surf.Haislip, February 1967, pp.46-48 ''H-3'' was temporarily decommissioned on 4 February while the lumber company salvage bid was accepted. ''H-3'' was placed on giant log rollers and taken overland to be relaunched into Humboldt Bay on 20 April. She then returned to

San Pedro, California San Pedro ( ; ) is a neighborhood located within the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay and Los Angeles Harbor Region, Harbor region of the city of Los Angeles, California, United States. Formerly a separate city, it consolidated with Los ...

, where she served as

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

of Submarine Division 7 (SubDiv 7), participating in exercises and operations along the coast until 1922. ''H-3'', with the entire division, sailed from San Pedro on 25 July and reached

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond, and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's Point near whe ...

on 14 September. ''H-3'' decommissioned at

on 23 October. She was struck from the

Naval Vessel Register The ''Naval Vessel Register'' (NVR) is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from t ...

on 18 December 1930 and scrapped on 14 September 1931.

References

* *

External links

PigBoats.COM H-class page
*

* ttps://books.google.com/books?id=PG_mAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA396 ''Salvaging the Submarine'' H-3''International Marine Engineering'', September 1917, technical article on bids and work. {{DEFAULTSORT:H-3 (SS-30) United States H-class submarines World War I submarines of the United States Maritime incidents in 1916 United States submarine accidents History of Humboldt County, California Ships built in Seattle 1913 ships