USS ''K-4'' (SS-35) was a K-class submarine 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 ...

during the 1910s.

Description

The K-class boats 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 K-class submarines had a crew of 2 officers and 26 enlisted men. They had a diving depth of .Friedman, p. 307 For surface running, the boats were powered by two

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s, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each 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 ...

. They could reach on the surface and underwater. On the surface, the oats had a range of at and at submerged.Gardiner & Gray, p. 128 The K-class submarines 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

The boat was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

by the Moran Company in

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, as ''Walrus'', making her the first ship of the

to be named for the walrus, a gregarious, aquatic

mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

related to the seal found in Arctic waters, but on 17 November 1911 she was renamed ''K-4''. She was launched on 19 March 1914 sponsored by Mrs. James P. Olding, wife of the commanding officer, and commissioned on 24 October 1914. Joining the Pacific Torpedo Flotilla, ''K-4'' operated along the coast of

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, conducting constant exercises and experiments to develop the techniques of submarine warfare. From 14 October 1915 to 31 October 1917, she carried out similar operations in the

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. When the

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's involvement in

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 ...

called for increased naval activity, ''K-4'' departed

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

for service out of

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, arriving 9 January 1918. For the rest of the war, she remained at Key West, where she patrolled the

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

peninsula. After the Armistice with Germany of 11 November 1918, ''K-4'' operated along the East Coast training officers and men for duty in submarines. She continued these duties for four years before arriving at

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 ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, on 24 March 1923. ''K-4'' decommissioned there 10 May 1923 and was sold as scrap on 3 June 1931.

Notes

References

* * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:K-4 (SS-35) United States K-class submarines World War I submarines of the United States Ships built in Seattle 1914 ships