USS Holland (SS-1) - Scientific American 1898

Holland Torpedo Boat Station is where the first

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

s were stationed for trials and training of submarine crews from 1899 to 1905. Holland Torpedo Boat Station was located in the community of

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

New Suffolk, New York New Suffolk is a census-designated place (CDP) that roughly corresponds to the hamlet by the same name in the Town of Southold in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The CDP's population was 349 at the 2010 census. History The submarine ...

. Hamlet claims to be the first

submarine base A submarine base is a military base that shelters submarines and their personnel. Examples of present-day submarine bases include HMNB Clyde, Île Longue (the base for France's Force océanique stratégique), Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Na ...

in the United States. The USS ''Holland'' was based at Hamlet's Holland Torpedo Boat Station from 1899 to 1905. Seven submarines built by the Holland Torpedo Boat Company – Electric Boat Company were stationed at Hamlet. Holland Torpedo Boat Station at Cutchogue Harbor was not designated a submarine base by the US Navy. The US Navy gave that title to

Naval Submarine Base New London Naval Submarine Base New London is the primary United States Navy East Coast submarine base, also known as the "Home of the Submarine Force." It is located in Groton, Connecticut directly across the Thames River from its namesake city of New Lon ...

as the first submarine base. Naval Submarine Base New London was commissioned by the US Navy in 1916 as a dedicated submarine base.

History

At Holland Torpedo Boat Station the first US Navy submarine, the which was launched in May 1897 was tested. The USS ''Holland'' was acquired by the Navy on 11 April 1900. On 16 October 1900, the USS ''Holland'' departed for her first port,

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

for crew training. USS ''Holland'' had a crew of one officer, and five enlisted men. Annapolis being a training center was not designated a US submarine base, though the USS ''Holland'' was stationed there. The ''Holland'' was built by

Crescent Shipyard Crescent Shipyard, located on Newark Bay in Elizabeth, New Jersey, built a number of ships for the United States Navy and allied nations as well during their production run, which lasted about ten years while under the Crescent name and banner. ...

Elizabeth, New Jersey Elizabeth is a city and the county seat of Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.New J ...

for

John Philip Holland John Philip Holland ( ga, Seán Pilib Ó hUallacháin/Ó Maolchalann) (24 February 184112 August 1914) was an Irish engineer who developed the first submarine to be formally commissioned by the US Navy, and the first Royal Navy submarine, ''Hol ...

. She was launched on 17 May 1897 and commissioned by the Navy on 12 October 1900 at

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...

. Holland Torpedo Boat Station had engineers, mechanics, draftsmen, machine shops, housing and all the supplies needed to operate the seven submarines at Holland Torpedo Boat Station. A two-mile-long test track was made about three miles east of Holland Torpedo Boat Station in Little Peconic Bay. Little Peconic Bay is at the north end of

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

located at . The two-mile test track was marked with

buoy A buoy () is a floating device that can have many purposes. It can be anchored (stationary) or allowed to drift with ocean currents. Types Navigational buoys * Race course marker buoys are used for buoy racing, the most prevalent form of yac ...

s and flags. To test the submarine and train the crew, the submarine ran the course in both directions. On 26 July 1899 the USS Plunger followed the course submerged.

Whitehead torpedo The Whitehead torpedo was the first self-propelled or "locomotive" torpedo ever developed. It was perfected in 1866 by Robert Whitehead from a rough design conceived by Giovanni Luppis of the Austro-Hungarian Navy in Fiume. It was driven by a th ...

, the first self-propelled

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...

Robert Whitehead Robert Whitehead (3 January 1823 – 14 November 1905) was an English engineer who was most famous for developing the first effective self-propelled naval torpedo. Early life He was born in Bolton, England, the son of James Whitehead, ...

was added to the submarine ''Holland'' at the Station on 20 August 1899 for training. On 6 November 1899, the first sea trails of the ''Holland'' were made.

Rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

Frederick Rodgers Rear Admiral Frederick W. Rodgers (3 October 1842 – 3 November 1917) was an officer in the United States Navy. He fought in the American Civil War and rose to be the last commander of the Asiatic Squadron. He was a grandson of U.S. Navy Commodo ...

and other US Navy personnel were at the first sea trails. ''Holland'' had seven crew members and two US Navy officers: Commander William H. Emory and Captain John Lowe (1838–1930) as observers for the Navy. In addition to the observers, three Whitehead torpedos were aboard. The test did electric runs (125V-175A), gas-powered runs, submerged runs, torpedo firings and torpedo reloading (''Holland'' had one torpedo tube). Buoy with flags was added to the ''Holland'' so Frederick Rodgers and others could track the ''Holland'' during the submerged runs. The US Navy sea trial was successful and a report was given to the US Navy and US Congress. Later Captain John Lowe would report to the US Congress on 7 November 1899, the need for a fleet of submarines, as

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, Hawaii and other United States oversea territories could be attacked. Captain John Lowe became the first naval officer to be posted on active duty in the new US Navy submarine service. John Lowe retired in 1900 and in 1911 was promoted to rear admiral with a retroactive promotion back to 1900. The

Spanish American War Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

broke out on 24 April 1898, new in warfare was the idea that a small vessel with a fast torpedo could sink a large ship. On 17 March 1898, the 55 feet long by 11 feet wide, ''Holland'' made its first sea trials at

Perth Amboy, New Jersey Perth Amboy is a city (New Jersey), city in Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, New Jersey. Perth Amboy is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 55,4 ...

before moving to Holland Torpedo Boat Station.

Station Submarines

Porpoise (SS-7) and Shark (SS-8);H98835k

* USS ''Holland'' (SS-1),

museum ship A museum ship, also called a memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public for educational or memorial purposes. Some are also used for training and recruitment purposes, mostly for the small numb ...

in 1913, scrapped 1932 * USS Plunger (1895) was an experimental

steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...

submarine, canceled April 1900 prior to completion, scrapped 1917 The six

Plunger-class submarine The ''Plunger'' class was an early class of United States Navy submarines. In the first years of their service, they were used primarily as training and experimental vessels for the newly formed "silent service" to familiarize naval personnel w ...

s, launched from 1901 to 1903, that were stationed and tested at Holland Torpedo Boat Station: * USS ''Plunger'' (SS-2) / ''A-1'', scrapped 1922 * USS ''Adder'' ''A-2'', sunk as target 1920 * USS ''Moccasin'' ''A-4'', sunk as target 1921 * USS ''Porpoise'' ''A-6'', sunk as target 1921 * USS ''Shark'' ''A-7'', sunk as target 1921 **Plunger-class submarines that were built and stationed in San Francisco, California: ** USS ''Pike'' ''A-5'', sunk as target 1921 ** USS ''Grampus'' ''A-3'', sunk as target 1921

Historical Marker

*First Submarine Base Historical Marker reads: ''This marks the site of the first submarine base in this country where "U.S.S. Holland", first submarine commissioned by the U.S. Navy was based for trials. In the period between 1899 and 1905 six other submarines of the Holland Torpedo Boat Co. were based at this site which was known as the Holland Torpedo Boat Station. Naval maneuvers between submarines and the U.S.S. torpedo boat destroyer "Winslow" of the Spanish War fame were held in these waters.''
''Erected by Cutchogue-New Suffolk Historical Council.''
Located at Main Street at Cutchogue Harbor in Hamlet, New Suffolk, New York.

Gallery

File:Portrait of John Philip Holland.jpg,

founder File:JohnPhilipHolland.jpg, John Holland (1841-1914) stands in the hatch of a submarine File:USS Holland SS-1.gif, USS Holland (SS-1) underway File:A-2 torpedo loading.png,

loading into USS ''Adder'' ''A-2'' File:EB1911 Ship Fig. 126 -US 'Adder'.png, USS ''Adder'' File:USS A-4 - NH 57729-A.jpeg, USS ''Moccasin'' ''A-4'' torpedo room File:USS Shark - 19-N-6787.jpg, USS ''Shark'' ''A-7'' file:Plunger (SS2), renamed A1. Port bow, moored beside the Shark (SS8), 1902 - NARA - 512925.jpg, USS Plunger moored beside the USS Shark in 1902 Torpille Whitehead.jpg, Whitehead torpedo

External links

youtube.com USS Holland youtube.com Submarine #1
* *

References

{{Plunger class submarine United States Navy submarine bases Naval Stations of the United States Navy Closed installations of the United States Navy

Holland Torpedo Boat Station Holland Torpedo Boat Station is where the first United States Navy submarines were stationed for trials and training of submarine crews from 1899 to 1905. Holland Torpedo Boat Station was located in the community of Hamlet in New Suffolk, New ...