USS ''H-4'' (SS-147) was a
H-class submarine originally built for the
Imperial Russian Navy
The Imperial Russian Navy () operated as the navy of the Russian Tsardom and later the Russian Empire from 1696 to 1917. Formally established in 1696, it lasted until dissolved in the wake of the February Revolution of 1917. It developed from ...
. Six of these were not delivered pending the outcome of the
Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...
before being purchased by 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 ...
on 20 May 1918.
Description
The H-class submarines had a length of
overall
Overalls, also called bib-and-brace overalls or dungarees, are a type of garment usually used as protective clothing when working. The garments are commonly referred to as a "pair of overalls" by analogy with "pair of trousers".
Overalls were ...
, 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
Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to:
Watercraft dimensions
* Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel
* Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail
* Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vesse ...
of . They
displaced on the surface and submerged. The boats had a crew of 2 officers and 23 enlisted men. They had a diving depth of .
[Friedman, p. 307]
For surface running, they were powered by two
New London Ship & Engine Co. diesel engine
The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-ca ...
s, each driving one
propeller shaft
A drive shaft, driveshaft, driving shaft, tailshaft (Australian English), propeller shaft (prop shaft), or Cardan shaft (after Girolamo Cardano) is a component for transmitting mechanical power and torque and rotation, usually used to connect ...
. When submerged each propeller was driven by a Electro Dynamic Co.
electric motor
An electric motor is an 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 wire winding to generate for ...
. They could reach on the surface and underwater.
[ On the surface, the boats had a range of at and at submerged.][Gardiner & Gray, p. 128]
The boats were armed with four 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 four reloads, for a total of eight torpedoes.[
]
Construction and career
''H-4'' was launched on 9 October 1918, and commissioned on 24 October 1918. Stationed at San Pedro, California
San Pedro ( ; Spanish: "St. Peter") is a neighborhood within the City of Los Angeles, California. Formerly a separate city, it consolidated with Los Angeles in 1909. The Port of Los Angeles, a major international seaport, is partially located wi ...
— first with Submarine Division 6 (SubDiv 6) and then SubDiv 7 — ''H-4'' participated in various battle and training exercises along the West Coast with her sister H-boats. These exercises were interrupted by occasional patrol duty off Santa Catalina Island and periodic overhauls at Mare Island
Mare Island ( Spanish: ''Isla de la Yegua'') is a peninsula in the United States in the city of Vallejo, California, about northeast of San Francisco. The Napa River forms its eastern side as it enters the Carquinez Strait juncture with the ...
.
In company with the two sub divisions and tender , ''H-4'' sailed from San Pedro on 25 July 1922 and reached Norfolk, Virginia on 14 September via Magdalena Bay
Magdalena Bay ( es, Bahía Magdalena) is a long bay in Comondú Municipality along the western coast of the Mexican state of Baja California Sur. It is protected from the Pacific Ocean by the unpopulated sandy barrier islands of Isla Magdalena ...
, Corinto, and Coco Solo
Coco Solo was a United States Navy submarine base and naval air station, active from 1918 to the 1960s.
History
The submarine base at Coco Solo was established May 6, 1918. The site corresponds with modern-day Cativá in Panama. It was on th ...
. She decommissioned there on 25 October. ''H-4'' 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 26 February 1931 and sold for scrap on 14 September.
Notes
References
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:H-4 (SS-147)
United States H-class submarines
World War I submarines of the United States
Ships built in Bremerton, Washington
1918 ships
Russian Empire–United States relations