USS O-1
 USS O-1 underway, probably in 1918 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
.svg.png){kind=small} United States | |
| Name | O-1 |
| Ordered | 3 March 1916 |
| Builder | Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, Maine |
| Cost | $779,722.32 (hull and machinery)[1] |
| Laid down | 26 March 1917 |
| Launched | 9 July 1918 |
| Sponsored by | Mrs. Cora Isabel Adams |
| Commissioned | 5 November 1918 |
| Decommissioned | 11 June 1931 |
| Stricken | 18 May 1938 |
| Identification |
|
| Fate | Sold for scrap |
| General characteristics [2][3] | |
| Class & type | O-1-class submarine |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 172 ft 4 in (52.53 m) |
| Beam | 18 ft (5.5 m) |
| Draft | 14 ft 5 in (4.39 m) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed |
|
| Range |
|
| Test depth | 200 ft (61 m) |
| Capacity | 21,897 US gal (82,890 L; 18,233 imp gal) fuel |
| Complement |
|
| Armament |
|
USS O-1 (SS-62), also known as "Submarine No. 62", was the lead ship of her class of submarines of the United States Navy commissioned during World War I.
Design
The O-1-class submarines were designed to meet a Navy requirement for coastal defense boats.[4] The submarines had a length of 172 ft 4 in (52.5 m) overall, a beam of 18 ft 1 in (5.5 m), and a mean draft of 14 ft 5 in (4.4 m). They displaced 520 long tons (530 t) on the surface and 629 long tons (639 t) submerged. The O-class submarines had a crew of 2 officers and 27 enlisted men. They had a diving depth of 200 ft (61.0 m).[5][2]
For surface running, the boats were powered by two 440-brake-horsepower (328 kW) NELSECO 6-EB-14 diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a 370-horsepower (276 kW) New York Navy Yard electric motor.[3] They could reach 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) on the surface and 10.5 kn (19.4 km/h; 12.1 mph) underwater. On the surface, the O-class had a range of 5,500 nautical miles (10,200 km; 6,300 mi) at 11.5 kn (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph).[5]
The boats were armed with four 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes in the bow. They carried four reloads, for a total of eight torpedoes. The O-class submarines were also armed with a single 3 in (76 mm)/23 caliber retractable deck gun.[5][2]
Construction
O-1's keel was laid down on 26 March 1917, at the Portsmouth Navy Yard, in Kittery, Maine. She was launched on 9 July 1918,[6] sponsored by Mrs. Cora Isabel Adams,[7] and commissioned on 5 November 1918.[6]
Service history
Commissioned just before the Armistice with Germany, O-1 operated in the East Coast waters from Cape Cod, in Massachusetts, to Key West, in Florida, after World War I.[6]
When the US Navy adopted its hull classification system on 17 July 1920, she received the hull number SS-62.[3]
Reclassified a second-line submarine, on 25 July 1924, and first-line, on 6 June 1928, O-1 was converted to an experimental vessel on 28 December 1930, and operated in this capacity out of the submarine base at New London, Connecticut, until decommissioning on 11 June 1931.[6]
Fate
She was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 18 May 1938, and sold for scrap.[6]
References
- ^ a b c Friedman 1995, p. 307.
- ^ a b c Priolo & O-1.
- ^ Friedman 1995, pp. 86–87.
- ^ a b c Gardiner & Gray 1985, p. 129.
- ^ a b c d e DANFS & O-1.
- ^ Hall 1925, p. 158.
Bibliography
- "Table 21 - Ships on Navy List June 30, 1919". Congressional Serial Set. U.S. Government Printing Office: 768. 1921.
- Gary, Priolo. "O-1 (SS-62)". Navsource.net. Retrieved 29 October 2025.
- Friedman, Norman (1995). U.S. Submarines Through 1945: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-263-3.
- Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
- "O-1". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 29 October 2025.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. - Hall, Anne Martin (1925). Ships of the United States navy and their sponsors, 1913-1923. Retrieved 29 October 2025.
External links
- Photo gallery of USS O-1 (SS-62) at NavSource Naval History