USS ''B-3'' (SS-12) was one of three B-class submarines built 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 ...

in the first decade of the 20th century.

Description

The B-class submarines were enlarged versions of the preceding ''Plunger'' class. They had a length of overall, a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

of and a mean draft of . They displaced on the surface and submerged. The B-class boats had a crew of one officer and nine enlisted men. They had a diving depth of .Friedman, p. 306 For surface running, they were powered by one gasoline engine that drove the single propeller shaft. When submerged the propeller was driven by a

electric motor An electric motor is an Electric machine, electrical machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a Electromagneti ...

. The boats could reach on the surface and underwater. On the surface, they had a range of at and at submerged. The B-class boats were armed with two 18 inch (450 mm)

torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...

s in the bow. They carried two reloads, for a total of four torpedoes.Gardiner & Gray, p. 127

Construction and career

''B-3'' was laid down by

Fore River Shipbuilding Fore River Shipyard was a shipyard owned by General Dynamics Corporation located on Weymouth Fore River in Braintree and Quincy, Massachusetts. It began operations in 1883 in Braintree, and moved to its final location on Quincy Point in 1901. In ...

Company in

Quincy, Massachusetts Quincy ( ) is a coastal U.S. city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest city in the county and a part of Greater Boston, Metropolitan Boston as one of Boston's immediate southern suburbs. Its population in 2020 was 1 ...

, under a subcontract from Electric Boat Company of then

New Suffolk 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 ...

L. I., as ''Tarantula'', making her the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the

tarantula Tarantulas comprise a group of large and often hairy spiders of the family Theraphosidae. , 1,040 species have been identified, with 156 genera. The term "tarantula" is usually used to describe members of the family Theraphosidae, although ...

. She was launched on 30 March 1907 sponsored by Mrs. George S. Radford, wife of Naval Constructor Radford, and commissioned on 3 December 1907.

Service history

She reported to the Atlantic Fleet, and ''Tarantula'' operated along the Atlantic coast with the First and Second Submarine Flotillas on training and experimental exercises until going into reserve at

Charleston Navy Yard Charleston Naval Shipyard (formerly known as the Charleston Navy Yard) was a U.S. Navy ship building and repair facility located along the west bank of the Cooper River, in North Charleston, South Carolina and part of Naval Base Charleston. H ...

on 6 November 1909. She was recommissioned on 15 April 1910 and served with the Atlantic Torpedo Fleet until assigned to the Reserve Torpedo Group, Charleston Navy Yard on 9 May 1911 and placed out of commission on 4 December 1912. On 17 November, ''Tarantula'' was renamed ''B-3''. On 6 December 1912, ''B-3'' was towed to

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

, and loaded onto the collier for transfer to the Asiatic Station. Arriving at

Cavite Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite ( tl, Lalawigan ng Kabite; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Located on the southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest ...

, Philippine Islands on 30 April 1913, ''B-3'' was launched from ''Ajax'' on 12 May. She was recommissioned on 2 September and remained in the Philippines where she served with Submarine Division 4, Torpedo Flotilla,

Asiatic Fleet The United States Asiatic Fleet was a fleet of the United States Navy during much of the first half of the 20th century. Before World War II, the fleet patrolled the Philippine Islands. Much of the fleet was destroyed by the Japanese by Februar ...

. Excerpts from the autobiography of Captain C.Q. Wright indicate he was the "Officer in Charge" of the B3 at Cavite. His crew launched the two subs off the deck of the ''Ajax''. They then retrofitted the gasoline powered engines and motors in the Cavite Navy Yard shop readying the subs for a 48-hour shake down cruise. The first tour of duty began with sealed orders at 1900 hours, guarding

Manila Bay Manila Bay ( fil, Look ng Maynila) is a natural harbor that serves the Port of Manila (on Luzon), in the Philippines. Strategically located around the capital city of the Philippines, Manila Bay facilitated commerce and trade between the Phili ...

Naval Base Manila Map of Manila, Naval Base Manila is at Cavite in Manila Bay Naval Base Manila, Naval Air Base Manila was a major United States Navy base south of the City of Manila, on Luzon Island in the Philippines. Some of the bases dates back to 1898, t ...

, in the event hostilities broke out with Japan. Orders were to sink any Japanese war vessel that came into sight, although none did. 1914: B-3 awarded the "Battle Efficiency Pennant" for the best operating submarine in the US fleet, C.O. Ensign C.Q. Wright. Decommissioned at Cavite on 25 July 1921, ''B-3'' was subsequently used as a target.

Notes

References

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External links