USS ''R-20'' (SS-97) was an ''R''-class coastal and harbor defense submarine 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 ...

Construction and commissioning

''R-20''′s

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element of a watercraft, important for stability. On some sailboats, it may have a fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose as well. The keel laying, laying of the keel is often ...

was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one ...

on 4 June 1917 by the

Union Iron Works Union Iron Works, located in San Francisco, California, on the southeast waterfront, was a central business within the large industrial zone of Potrero Point, for four decades at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries. ...

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. She was launched on 21 January 1918, sponsored by Mrs. Arnold Foster, and commissioned on 26 October 1918 with Lieutenant Commander Alfred E. Montgomery in command.

Service history

1918–1931

Fitted out at

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 ...

, ''R-20'' remained off southern

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 ...

operating between San Pedro and

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, until March 1919. She then moved to

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

; underwent overhaul, and on 17 June got underway for

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

. She arrived at

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...

Naval Submarine Base Pearl Harbor file:Hawaii map new.png, Map of the List of counties in Hawaii, five counties of the Hawaii, state of Hawaii Naval Base Hawaii was a number of United States Navy bases in the Territory of Hawaii during World War II. At the start of the war ...

on 25 June. Given

hull classification symbol The United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) use a hull classification symbol (sometimes called hull code or hull number) to identify their ships by type and by ind ...

SS-97 in July 1920, she served with the fleet training submarine personnel and assisting in the development of submarine equipment and tactics for over a decade. On 12 December 1930, she departed Pearl Harbor and headed for

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, and inactivation. She arrived at Philadelphia on 9 February 1931; decommissioned on 15 May; and was berthed at

League Island League Island was an island in the Delaware River, part of the city of Philadelphia, just upstream from the mouth of the Schuylkill River. The island was developed as the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. Since the late 20th century, it has been re ...

1941–1946

''R-20'' recommissioned on 22 January 1941. In April she shifted to

New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the outlet of the Thames River (Connecticut), Thames River in New London County, Connecticut, which empties into Long Island Sound. The cit ...

. There she trained personnel and conducted patrols until June. She then moved south to

Key West, Florida Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida, at the southern end of the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Sigsbee Park, Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Islan ...

, arriving on 22 June to spend the remainder of her career as a training ship. ''R-20'' decommissioned at Key West on 27 September 1945 and 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 ...

the following month. On 13 March 1946, she was sold to Macey O. Scott of

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:R-20 (SS-97) R-20 (SS-97) World War I submarines of the United States World War II submarines of the United States Ships built in San Francisco 1918 ships