USS ''O-13'' (SS-74) was an ''O''-class submarine of 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 ...

. Her keel was laid down on 6 March 1916 by the

Lake Torpedo Boat The Lake Torpedo Boat Company of Bridgeport, Connecticut, was an early builder of submarines for the United States Navy in the early 20th century. History Founded by Simon Lake in 1912, the company was located at the east end of Seaview Avenue ...

Company in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The later O-boats (''O-11'' through ''O-16'') were designed by Lake Torpedo Boat to different specifications from the earlier ones designed by Electric Boat. They performed much less well, and are sometimes considered a separate class. ''O-13'' was launched on 27 December 1917 sponsored by Miss Margaret Arletta Adams. While conducting submerged trials in Long Island Sound on 5 October 1918, prior to her commissioning, ''O-13'' rammed , the

section patrol A Section Patrol Craft was a civilian vessel registered by the United States Navy for potential wartime service before, during, and shortly after World War I. Historical overview The SP/ID registration system In 1916, with World War I raging a ...

boat accompanying her, during a submerged circular run off

Bridgeport Bridgeport is the most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the fifth-most populous in New England. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonnoc ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

, holing ''Mary Alice'' amidships. Although ''Mary Alice'' sank within minutes, ''O-13'' rescued her entire crew, including Captain William A. Gill, President of the U.S. Navy's

Board of Inspection and Survey The Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV) is a United States Navy organization whose purpose is to inspect and assess the material condition of U.S. Navy vessels. The Board is currently headquartered at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, Virgin ...

, who had been embarked on ''Mary Alice''. ''O-13'' was commissioned at

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

on 27 November 1918.

Service history

''O-13'' operated along the coast of

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

and New York until 8 October 1919, when she arrived

Philadelphia Navy Yard The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was an important naval shipyard of the United States for almost two centuries. Philadelphia's original navy yard, begun in 1776 on Front Street and Federal Street in what is now the Pennsport section of the ci ...

for a five-month overhaul. After returning to

Cape May, New Jersey Cape May is a city located at the southern tip of Cape May Peninsula in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States, where the Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of the country's oldest vacation resort destinations, and part of ...

, on 8 March 1920, she departed on 1 April for duty in the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...

. Steaming via Key West, Florida, and

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

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, she arrived

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 ...

, Panama Canal Zone, on 30 April. For over three years ''O-13'' operated out of the Submarine Base at Coco Solo both in the

and in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

. Cruises sent her to ports in Colombia,

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...

, and

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

while assigned to Submarine Division 10. Thence, she sailed on 15 October 1923 for the

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, arriving at

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, on 8 November. ''O-13'' decommissioned there on 11 June 1924 after just five and a half years of service, and was placed in reserve. Her name 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 9 May 1930, and her hull was sold for scrap on 30 July 1930.

References

* *
Department of the Navy Naval History and Heritage Command Online Library of Selected Images: Civilian Ships: ''Mary Alice'' (Steam Yacht, 1897). Served as USS ''Mary Alice'' (SP-397) in 1917-1918

External links

* Ships built in Groton, Connecticut 1917 ships United States O-class submarines Maritime incidents in 1918 {{US-submarine-stub