United States C-class Submarine
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The C-class submarines were five
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 ...
submarines built by the
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in
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, under a subcontract from the
Electric Boat Company Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...
. Built between 1906 and 1909, and in commission from 1908 to 1919, all five were subsequently sold for scrap in 1920. They were considerably larger than the preceding B-class at 275 tons submerged vs. 173 tons submerged, and were the first United States submarines with two-shaft propulsion, doubling the machinery of the B class.


Design

The C-class boats were the first to be designed solely by Electric Boat's new chief designer Lawrence Spear. They were the first USN submarines to have two propellers, a design trend that would last until 1953. Electric Boat made the design available for export, and two boats (with rights for a third) were sold to the
Austro-Hungarian Navy The Austro-Hungarian Navy or Imperial and Royal War Navy (, in short ''k.u.k. Kriegsmarine'', ) was the navy, naval force of Austria-Hungary. Ships of the Austro-Hungarian Navy were designated ''SMS'', for ''Seiner Majestät Schiff'' (His Majes ...
and commissioned as the U-5 class. These vessels had features intended to increase underwater speed, including a small
sail A sail is a tensile structure, which is made from fabric or other membrane materials, that uses wind power to propel sailing craft, including sailing ships, sailboats, windsurfers, ice boats, and even sail-powered land vehicles. Sails may b ...
and a rotating cap over the
torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...
muzzles. The streamlined, rotating torpedo tube muzzle cap eliminated the drag that muzzle holes would otherwise cause. In the stowed position, the submarine appears to have no torpedo tubes, as the holes in the cap are covered by the bow stem. With the exception of the L-class and the one-off ''M-1'', this feature remained standard for submarines designed by the Electric Boat Company through the O-class, after which it was replaced with individual muzzle doors faired with shutters that remain standard through the modern day. For extended surface runs, the small sail was augmented with a temporary piping-and-canvas structure. Tactical doctrine for harbor defense submarines dictated that quick "crash dives" would not be necessary, thus the considerable time it took to dismantle this structure and stow it below was not considered a liability. Experience in
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
showed that this was inadequate in the North Atlantic weather, and earlier submarines serving overseas in that war ( E, K, and L-classes) had their bridge structures augmented with a "chariot" shield on the front of the bridge. Starting with the N-class, built with lessons learned from overseas experience, U.S. submarines had bridges more suited to surfaced operations in rough weather.


Service history

''C-1'', originally named ''Octopus'', was built as a prototype by Electric Boat for demonstration in a 1906 competition with Simon Lake's submarin
''Simon Lake XV''
''Octopus'' won the trials, and the Navy ordered four additional boats of the design. This accounts for the non-sequential hull numbers for the C-class. The C-class submarines served in the Atlantic Fleet. On 20 May 1913, the five C-class boats of the First Group, Submarine Flotilla, Atlantic Fleet, departed
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for Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. They exercised in Cuban waters, principally conducting torpedo exercises, until 7 December 1913. On that date the C-class boats, now of the redesignated First Division, escorted by four surface ships, sailed for
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in the
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. Five days later the ships completed the passage, at that time the longest cruise made by United States submarines under their own power. The submarines remained at the
Coco Solo Coco Solo was a United States Navy submarine base and naval air station near the Panama Canal, 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 i ...
submarine base until they were decommissioned in 1919 and scrapped in 1920.


Boats in class

* was laid down on 3 August 1905, launched on 4 October 1906 as ''Octopus'' and commissioned on 30 June 1908. Renamed ''C-1'' on 17 November 1911, the submarine was decommissioned on 4 August 1919, and sold for scrap on 13 April 1920. * was laid down on 4 March 1908, launched on 8 April 1909 as ''Stingray'' and commissioned on 23 November 1909. Renamed ''C-2'' on 17 November 1911, the submarine was decommissioned on 23 December 1919, and sold for scrap on 13 April 1920. * was laid down on 17 March 1908, launched on 8 April 1909 as ''Tarpon'' and commissioned on 23 November 1909. Renamed ''C-3'' on 17 November 1911, the submarine was decommissioned on 23 December 1919, and sold for scrap on 12 April 1920. * was laid down on 17 March 1908, launched on 17 June 1909 as ''Bonita'' and commissioned on 23 November 1909. Renamed ''C-4'' on 17 November 1911, the submarine was decommissioned on 15 August 1919, and sold for scrap on 13 April 1920. * was laid down on 17 March 1908, launched on 16 June 1909 as ''Snapper'' and commissioned on 2 February 1910. Renamed ''C-5'' on 17 November 1911, the submarine was decommissioned on 23 December 1919, and sold for scrap on 13 April 1920.


See also

*
U-5-class submarine (Austria-Hungary) The ''U-5'' class was a class of three submarines or U-boats that were operated by the Austro-Hungarian Navy ( or ''K.u.K. Kriegsmarine'') before and during World War I. The class was a part of the Austro-Hungarian Navy's efforts to competitivel ...
 — three built to same design


References


Citations


Sources

* Friedman, Norman ''US Submarines through 1945: An Illustrated Design History'', Naval Institute Press, Annapolis:1995, . * Gardiner, Robert, ''Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921'', Conway Maritime Press, 1985. . * Silverstone, Paul H., ''U.S. Warships of World War I'' (Ian Allan, 1970), .
Navsource.org early submarines pagePigboats.com C-boats page
*


External links


PigBoats.COM
{{DEFAULTSORT:C Class Submarine Submarine classes C class