United States B-class submarine

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For ships with a similar name, see B-class submarine.
USS Tarantula, underway near the New York Navy Yard, 1909
Class overview
Builders
Operators United States Navy
Preceded byPlunger class
Succeeded byC class
Built1906–1907
In commission1907–1921
Completed3
Retired3
General characteristics
Class & typemidget submarine
Displacement
  • 145 long tons (147 t) surfaced
  • 173 long tons (176 t) submerged
Length82 ft 6 in (25.15 m)
Beam12 ft 6 in (3.81 m)
Draft10 ft 6 in (3.20 m)
Installed power
  • 250 bhp (190 kW) surfaced
  • 150 bhp (110 kW) submerged
Propulsion
Speed
  • 9 kn (17 km/h; 10 mph) surfaced
  • 8 kn (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) submerged
Range
  • 540 nmi (1,000 km; 620 mi) surfaced
  • 12 nmi (22 km; 14 mi) submerged
Test depth150 ft (46 m)
Complement
  • 1 officer
  • 9 enlisted
Armament2 × 18 inch (450 mm) bow torpedo tubes (4 torpedoes)

The B-class submarines were three United States Navy submarines built by the Fore River Shipbuilding Company, in Quincy, Massachusetts, under a subcontract from the Electric Boat Company.[1] They were eventually stationed in the Philippines, an American possession, beginning in 1912–1915. They were shipped there on colliers. All three were stricken and expended as targets 1919–1922.[2]

Design

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These were the last submarines designed directly by John Philip Holland. In a series of business organizational moves, Holland had essentially been forced out of Electric Boat, by Isaac Rice and Elihu Frost, and he resigned from the company on 28 March 1904.[3] They were also the last submarines in the US Navy with a single, axial mounted propeller until the experimental submarine Albacore, of 1953.[4]

These vessels introduced some features intended to increase underwater speed, including a small sail and a rotating cap over the torpedo tube muzzles. The streamlined 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.[5]

For extended surface runs, the small sail was augmented with a temporary piping-and-canvas structure (see photo). 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.[6] Experience in World War I 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 in 1918-1919, with lessons learned from overseas experience US submarines had bridges more suited to surfaced operations in rough weather.

Boats in class

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The following ships of the class were constructed. [7] [8] [9]

Construction data
Ship name Hull class and no. Builder Laid down Launched Comm. Decomm. Renamed Rename date Reclass. hull no. Reclass. hull no. date Fate
Viper Submarine No. 10 Fore River Shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts 5 September 1905 30 March 1907 18 October 1907 1 December 1921 B-1 17 November 1911 SS-10 15 July 1920 Sunk as a target
Cuttlefish Submarine No. 11 30 August 1905 1 September 1906 12 December 1919 B-2 SS-11
Tarantula Submarine No. 12 5 September 1905 30 March 1907 3 December 1907 25 July 1921 B-3 SS-12

Citations

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  1. ^ "Quincy's Shipbuilding Heritage". thomascranelibrary.org. Archived from the original on 7 September 2008. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
  2. ^ Gardiner, p. 127
  3. ^ Goldstone, pp. 290
  4. ^ PigBoats.COM B-class Notes section
  5. ^ Friedman, pp. 75-97
  6. ^ Friedman pp. 43 & 149
  7. ^ Priolo, Gary. "Viper / B-1 (SS-10)". NavSource. Retrieved 15 September 2025.
  8. ^ Mohl, Michael. "Cuttlefish / B-2 (SS-11)". NavSource. Retrieved 15 September 2025.
  9. ^ Priolo, Gary. "Tarantula / B-3 (SS-12)". NavSource. Retrieved 15 September 2025.

Sources

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  • Friedman, Norman "US Submarines through 1945: An Illustrated Design History", Naval Institute Press, Annapolis:1995, ISBN 1-55750-263-3.
  • Gardiner, Robert, Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921 Conway Maritime Press, 1985. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
  • Goldstone, Lawrence "Going Deep: John Philip Holland and the Invention of the Attack Submarine", Pegasus Books, New York:2017, ISBN 978-1-68177-429-9.
  • Silverstone, Paul H., U.S. Warships of World War I (Ian Allan, 1970), ISBN 0-71100-095-6.
  • Wright, C. C. (2003). "Question 40/02: Submarines Expended as Targets 1922". Warship International. XL (4): 286–298. ISSN 0043-0374.
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