Plunger class submarine

USS Plunger (SS-2)
Class overview
Builders:	Crescent Shipyard (SS 2, 3, 5, 7, 8) Union Iron Works (SS 4, 6)
Operators:	United States Navy
Preceded by:	Holland-class submarine
Succeeded by:	B-class submarine
Completed:	7
Retired:	7
Preserved:	0
General characteristics
Type:	Training ship
Displacement:	107 tons
Length:	63 ft 10 in
Beam:	11 ft 11 in
Draft:	10 ft 7 in
Speed:	8 knots (surfaced) 7 knots (submerged)
Test depth:	19 m
Armament:	One 18-inch torpedo tube

The Plunger-class was an early class of United States Navy submarines, used primarily as training vessels for the newly formed "silent service" to familiarize navy personnel with the performance and operations of such craft. Most of these "A-class" submarines ended up being stationed in the Philippines prior to the outbreak of World War I. In some instances, this class of submarines is referred to as the Adder-class submarine, as the USS Adder was the first boat of the class to be completed.

History

The Plunger-class submarines were built at the beginning of the twentieth century largely as experimental vessels. This class of submarines were built at two different locations on both coasts of the United States. All seven boats were renamed to A-type designations (A-1 through A-7) on 17 November 1911. They were given corresponding alphanumeric hull numbers on 17 July 1920, after all but Grampus (SS-4) and Pike (SS-6) had been decommissioned. All of the Plunger-class ships were decommissioned by 1921 and used as targets.

Boats

USS Plunger / A-1

• Designation: Submarine Torpedo Boat No. 2, SS-2
• Builders: United States (Crescent Shipyard in Elizabethport, New Jersey
• Laid down: 21 May 1901
• Launched: 1 February 1902 (List)
• Operator: United States Navy
• Commissioned: 19 September 1903 (List)
• Decommissioned: 24 February 1913 (List)
• Status: Sold for scrap 26 January 1922
• Operations: Torpedo testing, training, Theodore Roosevelt tour

USS Adder / A-2

• Designation: Submarine Torpedo Boat No. 3, SS-3
• Builders: United States (Crescent Shipyard in Elizabethport, New Jersey
• Laid down: 3 October 1900
• Launched: 22 July 1901 (List)
• Operator: United States Navy
• Commissioned: 12 January 1903 (List)
• Decommissioned: 12 December 1919 (List)
• Status: Sunk as a target ship
• Operations: Torpedo testing, training, peace time patrol

USS Grampus / A-3

• Designation: Submarine Torpedo Boat No. 3, SS-4
• Builders: United States (Union Iron Works in San Francisco, California
• Laid down: 10 December 1900
• Launched: 31 July 1902 (List)
• Operator: United States Navy
• Commissioned: 28 May 1903 (List)
• Decommissioned: 25 July 1921 (List)
• Status: Struck 16 January 1922 and sunk as a target ship
• Operations: San Francisco earthquake of 1906 relief efforts

USS Moccasin / A-4

• Designation: Submarine Torpedo Boat No. 5, SS-5
• Builders: United States (Crescent Shipyard in Elizabethport, New Jersey
• Laid down: 8 November 1900
• Launched: 20 August 1901 (List)
• Operator: United States Navy
• Commissioned: 17 January 1903 (List)
• Decommissioned: 12 December 1919 (List)
• Status: Target ship
• Operations: Training, trials, peacetime patrol

USS Pike / A-5

• Designation: Submarine Torpedo Boat No. 6, SS-6
• Builders: United States (Union Iron Works in San Francisco, California
• Laid down: 10 December 1900
• Launched: 14 January 1903 (List)
• Operator: United States Navy
• Commissioned: 28 May 1903 (List)
• Decommissioned: 25 July 1921 (List)
• Status: Sold for scrap 26 January 1922
• Operations: San Francisco earthquake of 1906 recovery efforts, training & trials, harbor patrol

USS Porpoise, A-6

• Designation: Submarine Torpedo Boat No. 7, SS-7
• Builders: United States (Crescent Shipyard in Elizabethport, New Jersey
• Laid down: 13 December 1900
• Launched: 23 September 1901 (List)
• Operator: United States Navy
• Commissioned: 19 September 1903 (List)
• Decommissioned: 12 December 1919 (List)
• Status: Target ship
• Operations: Whiting experiment, other trials, harbor patrols

USS Shark, A-7

Plunger, Adder, Moccasin, Porpoise, and Shark.

• Designation: Submarine Torpedo Boat No. 8, SS-8
• Builders: United States (Crescent Shipyard in Elizabethport, New Jersey
• Laid down: 11 January 1901
• Launched: 19 October 1901 (List)
• Operator: United States Navy
• Commissioned: 19 September 1903 (List)
• Decommissioned: 12 December 1919 (List)
• Status: Target ship
• Operations: Torpedo and other trials, Manila Bay patrols

A 1912 view of the breech of the sole torpedo tube of USS A-4. Two torpedoes are on wooden skids in the foreground. The skids slid across the deck for loading.

See also

• List of United States Navy submarines

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

External links

• SS-2 A-1 Plunger page on globalsecurity.org