USS Adder (SS-3)
| Adder running trials in Long Island Sound, 1903
Adder running trials in Long Island Sound, 1903
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| History | |
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 United States |
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| Name: | USS Adder |
| Builder: | Crescent Shipyard, Elizabeth, New Jersey |
| Laid down: | 3 October 1900 |
| Launched: | 22 July 1901 |
| Commissioned: | 12 January 1903 |
| Decommissioned: | 12 December 1919 |
| Struck: | 16 January 1922 |
| Fate: | Sunk as target |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type: | Plunger-class submarine |
| Displacement: |
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| Length: | 63 ft 10 in (19.46 m) |
| Beam: | 11 ft 11 in (3.63 m) |
| Draft: | 10 ft 7 in (3.23 m) |
| Installed power: |
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| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: |
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| Test depth: | 150 feet (45.7 m) |
| Complement: | 7 officers and enlisted |
| Armament: | 1 × bow 18 in (460 mm) torpedo tube |
USS Adder (SS-3) (later renamed A-2), was one of seven Plunger-class submarines built for the United States Navy (USN) in the first decade of the 20th century.
Description
The Plunger-class submarines were enlarged and improved versions of the preceding Holland, the first submarine in the USN. They had a length of 63 feet 10 inches (19.5 m) overall, a beam of 11 feet 11 inches (3.6 m) and a mean draft of 10 feet 7 inches (3.2 m). They displaced 107 long tons (109 t) on the surface and 123 long tons (125 t) submerged. The Plunger-class boats had a crew of one officer and six enlisted men. They had a diving depth of 150 feet (45.7 m).[1]
For surface running, they were powered by one 180-brake-horsepower (134 kW) gasoline engine that drove the single propeller shaft. When submerged the propeller was driven by a 70-horsepower (52 kW) electric motor.[1] The boats could reach 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) on the surface and 7 knots (13 km/h; 8.1 mph) underwater.[2]
The Plunger-class boats were armed with one 18-inch (45 cm) torpedo tube in the bow. They carried two reloads, for a total of three torpedoes.[1]
Construction and career
Adder was laid down on 3 October 1900 by the Crescent Shipyard, launched on 22 July 1901, and commissioned on 12 January 1903 at the Holland yard at New Suffolk, Ensign Frank L. Pinney in command. After initial experimental duty at the Naval Torpedo Station at Newport, Adder was towed to the Norfolk Naval Shipyard by the tug Peoria, arriving there on 4 December 1903. In January 1904, the submarine torpedo boat was assigned to the Reserve Torpedo Flotilla. Placed out of commission on 26 July 1909, Adder was loaded onto the collier Caesar, and was transported to the Philippines, arriving on 1 October.
Recommissioned on 10 February 1910, she was assigned to duty with the 1st Submarine Division, Asiatic Torpedo Fleet. Over almost a decade, the submarine torpedo boat operated from Cavite and Olongapo, principally in training and experimental work. During this time, she was renamed on 17 November 1911, becoming simply A-2.
During World War I, she carried out patrols off the entrance to Manila Bay, and around the island of Corregidor. Decommissioned on 12 December 1919, A-2 (assigned the alphanumeric hull number "SS-3" on 17 July 1920) was designated for use as a target on 24 September 1920. She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 16 January 1922.
Notes
References
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This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
External links
- history.navy.mil: USS Adder Photos
- navsource.org: USS Adder
- hazegray.org: USS Adder
- [1] Information on Lewis Nixon's Crescent Shipyard, location of John P. Holland's site of operations in New Jersey.
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