USS ''N-2'' (SS-54) was a N-class coastal defense

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 ...

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 World War I.

Description

The N-class boats designed by

Electric Boat An electric boat is a powered watercraft driven by electric motors, which are powered by either on-board battery packs, solar panels or generators. While a significant majority of water vessels are powered by diesel engines, with sail pow ...

(''N-1'' through''N-3'') were built to slightly different specifications from the other N-class submarines, which were designed by Lake Torpedo Boat, and are sometimes considered a separate class. The Electric Boat submarines 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 N-class submarines had a crew of 2 officers and 23 enlisted men. They had a diving depth of .Friedman, p. 307 For surface running, the Electric Boat submarines were powered by two

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-call ...

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 boats had a range of at and at submerged. 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.Gardiner & Gray, p. 129

Construction and career

''N-2'' 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 ...

on 29 July 1915 by

Seattle Construction and Drydock The Seattle Construction and Drydock Company was a shipbuilding company based in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington. Between 1911 and 1918, it produced a substantial number of ships for both commercial and military uses. History Formally ...

Company. She was launched on 16 January 1917 sponsored by Mrs. Whitford Drake, and commissioned on 26 September 1917 with Lieutenant Hugh C. Frazer in command. After fitting out and conducting

sea trial A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a " shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and ...

s in

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 ...

, ''N-2'' departed the Navy Yard 21 November 1917, and sailed for

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, in company with her sister ships and . Upon arriving at San Francisco, California, she was ordered to proceed to the East Coast via the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit ...

, for assignment to the Submarine Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet. She arrived at

New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decades ...

, on 7 February 1918 and almost immediately began to patrol along the

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

coast, guarding against enemy submarines in this area for the remainder of the war. Following the end of

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 ...

, ''N-2'' continued her operations out of New London, serving as a training ship for the Submarine School. Beginning in late May 1921, the submarine also tested experimental Navy weapons, such as a radio controlled torpedo, and evaluated its potential value in modern combat. Placed in reduced commission 22 April 1922, ''N-2'' continued her training and experimental duties at New London. On 11 October, she aided tanker grounded on the southern end of

Block Island Block Island is an island in the U.S. state of Rhode Island located in Block Island Sound approximately south of the mainland and east of Montauk Point, Long Island, New York, named after Dutch explorer Adriaen Block. It is part of Washingt ...

. She remained in active service until decommissioned 30 April 1926 at Philadelphia Navy Yard. Struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 18 December 1930, ''N-2'' was scrapped in early 1931.

Notes

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:N-02 (SS-54) United States N-class submarines World War I submarines of the United States Ships built in Seattle 1917 ships