USS ''H-3'' (SS-30) was a H-class

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 ...

originally named ''Garfish'', the only ship of the

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named for the

gar Gars are members of the family Lepisosteidae, which are the only surviving members of the Ginglymodi, an ancient holosteian group of ray-finned fish, which first appeared during the Triassic, over 240 million years ago. Gars comprise seven livin ...

, a popular target for recreational anglers. ''Garfish'' was laid down by The Moran Company in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

. She was renamed ''H-3'' on 17 November 1911, launched on 3 July 1913 sponsored by Ms. Helen MacEwan, and commissioned at

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected ma ...

on 16 January 1914,

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William R. Munroe William Robert Munroe (April 8, 1886 – March 1, 1966) was a decorated officer in the United States Navy with the rank of Vice Admiral. He trained as submarine commander and at the beginning of World War II, he served as Commander, Battleship D ...

in command.

Service history

After shakedown, ''H-3'' was attached to the Pacific Fleet and began operations along the coast from lower

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, exercising frequently with and . ''H-3'' ran aground in heavy fog while attempting to enter

Humboldt Bay Humboldt Bay is a natural bay and a multi-basin, bar-built coastal lagoon located on the rugged North Coast of California, entirely within Humboldt County, United States. It is the largest protected body of water on the West Coast between Sa ...

on the morning of 16 December 1916. The crew were rescued by

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; many were brought to shore by

breeches buoy A breeches buoy is a rope-based rescue device used to extract people from wrecked vessels, or to transfer people from one place to another in situations of danger. The device resembles a round emergency personal flotation device with a leg harn ...

. Storm surf pushed ''H-3'' high up on a sandy beach, surrounded by quicksand. At low tide, she was from the water, but at high tide, the ocean reached almost beyond her. The submarine crew pitched camp on the

Samoa, California Samoa (formerly Brownsville) is a census-designated place in Humboldt County, California. It is located northwest of Eureka, at an elevation of 23 feet (7 m). Samoa is located in the northern peninsula of Humboldt Bay and is the site of the Sam ...

beach near their stranded submarine, while the tug steamed from

Mare Island Navy Yard The Mare Island Naval Shipyard (MINSY) was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean. It is located northeast of San Francisco in Vallejo, California. The Napa River goes through the Mare Island Strait and separates th ...

to attempt salvage.Haislip, February 1967, p.38 Combined efforts of ''Iroquois'' and were unable to dislodge ''H-3'', so both ships returned to Mare Island while the Navy requested bids from commercial salvage firms. Only two bids were received. The largest marine salvage firm on the west coast offered to pull the submarine into deep water offshore for $150,000 and the Mercer-Fraser Company of

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offered to pull the submarine over the Samoa peninsula into Humboldt Bay for $18,000. USS H-3 1917 h35850

Navy officials at Mare Island regarded the lumber company proposal as infeasible and felt the salvage firm bid was excessive. The

protected cruiser Protected cruisers, a type of naval cruiser of the late-19th century, gained their description because an armoured deck offered protection for vital machine-spaces from fragments caused by shells exploding above them. Protected cruisers re ...

sailed from Mare Island to tow ''H-3'' off the beach. ''Milwaukee'' grounded attempting salvage on 13 January 1917 and broke up in the pounding surf.Haislip, February 1967, pp.46-48 ''H-3'' was temporarily decommissioned on 4 February while the lumber company salvage bid was accepted. ''H-3'' was placed on giant log rollers and taken overland to be relaunched into Humboldt Bay on 20 April. She then returned to

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, where she served as

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of Submarine Division 7 (SubDiv 7), participating in exercises and operations along the coast until 1922. ''H-3'', with the entire division, sailed from San Pedro on 25 July and reached

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...

on 14 September. ''H-3'' decommissioned at

on 23 October. She was struck from the

Naval Vessel Register The ''Naval Vessel Register'' (NVR) is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from t ...

on 18 December 1930 and scrapped on 14 September 1931.

References

* *

External links

*
Photos and description of salvaging the sub from the U.S. Navy military archives

''Salvaging the Submarine ''H-3'
''International Marine Engineering'', September 1917, technical article on bids and work. {{DEFAULTSORT:H-3 (SS-30) United States H-class submarines World War I submarines of the United States Maritime incidents in 1916 United States submarine accidents History of Humboldt County, California Ships built in Seattle 1913 ships