The ''SC-1'' class was a large class of

submarine chaser A submarine chaser or subchaser is a small naval vessel that is specifically intended for anti-submarine warfare. Many of the American submarine chasers used in World War I found their way to Allied nations by way of Lend-Lease in World War II. ...

s built during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

for the

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 ...

. They were ordered in very large numbers in order to combat attacks by German

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...

s, with 442 boats built from 1917 to 1919.

Development

In 1916, the then

Assistant Secretary of the Navy Assistant Secretary of the Navy (ASN) is the title given to certain civilian senior officials in the United States Department of the Navy. From 1861 to 1954, the Assistant Secretary of the Navy was the second-highest civilian office in the Depar ...

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

ordered the US Navy to design a small anti-submarine vessel that could be built quickly in small civilian boatyards, as if war came, larger shipyards would be busy building larger warships.Treadwell, Theodore R
"Subchasers of World War I"
''Splinter Fleet''. Retrieved 4 March 2011. Consideration was given to adopting an wooden

Motor Launch A Motor Launch (ML) is a small military vessel in Royal Navy service. It was designed for harbour defence and submarine chasing or for armed high-speed air-sea rescue. Some vessels for water police service are also known as motor launches. ...

built in large numbers by ELCO for the British

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

, but the

General Board of the United States Navy The General Board of the United States Navy was an advisory body of the United States Navy, somewhat akin to a naval general staff and somewhat not. The General Board was established by general order 544, issued on March 13, 1900 by Secretary ...

thought that these boats were too small to be effective seaboats. The task of designing the new type was given to an experienced designer of small boats,

Albert Loring Swasey Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Albert C ...

. He drew up a design for a wooden boat, emphasizing seaworthiness over speed. At first it was intended to use two engines, but a shortage of these engines resulted in the design being changed to use three

gasoline Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organic co ...

engines.Gardiner and Gray 1985, pp. 132–133. Cinderellas of the fleet (1920) (14595373477)

Armament was initially planned to be two guns, but the aft gun was usually replaced by a

depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth ...

thrower to attack submerged submarines, with two Colt machine guns completing the armament. Many boats were fitted with

hydrophone A hydrophone ( grc, ὕδωρ + φωνή, , water + sound) is a microphone designed to be used underwater for recording or listening to underwater sound. Most hydrophones are based on a piezoelectric transducer that generates an electric potenti ...

s for detecting underwater noises, with either a K-tube fish-type device of range or SC and MB tubes of range.Moore 1990, p. 152. An initial order of 345 SC boats placed in 1917 was planned to be delivered by the end of 1917, with further orders for the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

pushing the total ordered up to 448.

Operational history

Deliveries started in July 1917, with deliveries continuing into 1919, with 441 boats built, and the remaining seven boats canceled. One hundred were sold to France,Moore 1990, p. 197. and a further 121 US Navy SC boats were deployed to Europe to operate off Britain and France and in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

, where they supported the

Otranto Barrage The Otranto Barrage was an Allied naval blockade of the Otranto Straits between Brindisi in Italy and Corfu on the Greek side of the Adriatic Sea in the First World War. The blockade was intended to prevent the Austro-Hungarian Navy from escapi ...

with the remaining US Navy boats operating off the East Coast of the United States. The US Navy lost six SC boats during World War I; lost in collision with the tanker ''Fred M. Weller'' on 1 October 1918,"Hull Number: SC 60"
''The Subchaser Archives''. Retrieved 4 March 2011.
''Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships''. Retrieved 5 June 2015. in a fire on 22 December 1917,
''Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships''. Retrieved 5 June 2015. was lost in collision on 5 June 1918, in a collision on 4 August 1918, by friendly fire from the trawler ''Felix Taussig'' on 27 August 1918
''Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships''. Retrieved 5 June 2015."Hull Number: SC 209"
''The Subchaser Archives''. Retrieved 4 March 2011. and by fire on 19 February 1918."Hull Number: SC 209"
''The Subchaser Archives''. Retrieved 4 March 2011 France lost three SC-boats. Following the end of the war, four boats (, , and ) were transferred to Cuba, while 14 boats were transferred to the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...

in 1919–1920. Eight of the French SC boats remained in service at the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

.Gardiner and Chesneau 1980, p. 259. In 1920 SC 292 sold commercial becoming Trawler "Chief Seattle", SC 293 becoming Trawler " George L. Harvey", and SC 300 becoming Trawler "Joseph Kildall'. By December 1941, only 11 boats remained in US Navy service, with two continuing in use until at least April 1945.Friedman 1987, p. 32. Two boats were sold to the

Bulgarian Navy The Bulgarian Navy ( bg, Военноморски сили на Република България, Voennomorski sili na Republika Balgariya, lit=Naval Forces of the Republic of Bulgaria) is the navy of the Republic of Bulgaria and forms part of ...

and saw action in World War II, sinking one Soviet submarine.

Ships

* List of ''SC-1''-class subchasers (''SC-1'' to ''SC-50'') * List of ''SC-1''-class subchasers (''SC-51'' to ''SC-100'') * List of ''SC-1''-class subchasers (''SC-101'' to ''SC-150'') * List of ''SC-1''-class subchasers (''SC-151'' to ''SC-200'') * List of ''SC-1''-class subchasers (''SC-201'' to ''SC-250'') * List of ''SC-1''-class subchasers (''SC-251'' to ''SC-300'') * List of ''SC-1''-class subchasers (''SC-301'' to ''SC-350'') * List of ''SC-1''-class subchasers (''SC-351'' to ''SC-400'')

Footnotes

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Friedman, Norman. ''U.S. Small Combatants''. Annapolis, Maryland, USA: Naval Institute Press, 1987. . * Gardiner, Robert and Randall Gray (eds). ''Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921''. London: Conway Maritime Press, 1985. . * Gardiner, Robert and Roger Chesneau (eds.) ''Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946'' London: Conway Maritime Press, 1980. . * Halpern, Paul G. ''A Naval History of World War I''. London: UCL Press, 1995. . * Halpern, Paul G. ''The Naval War in the Mediterranean 1914–1918''. Annapolis, Maryland, USA: Naval Institute Press, 1987. . * Moore, John. ''Jane's Fighting Ships of World War I''. London: Studio, 1990. .

External links

Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (print), v. VI, Appendix 1, "Submarine Chasers (SC)"
(General description p. 711-713, list following)
Subchaser.org
{{SC-1 class submarine chasers, state=collapsed SC-1-class submarine chasers World War I patrol vessels of the United States Ship classes of the French Navy