USS ''O-2'' (SS-63) was one of 16
O-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 ...
s built for the
United States Navy during World War I.
Description
The O-class submarines were designed to meet a Navy requirement for coastal defense boats.
[Friedman, pp. 86–87] The 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 O-class submarines had a crew of 29 officers and enlisted men. They had a diving depth of .
[Gardiner & Gray, p. 129]
For surface running, the boats were powered by two
diesel engines, each driving one
propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a
electric motor. They could reach on the surface and underwater. On the surface, the O class had a range of at .
[
The boats were armed with four 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes in the bow. They carried four reloads, for a total of eight torpedoes. The O-class submarines were also armed with a single 3"/50 caliber deck gun.][
]
Construction and career
''O-2'' was laid down on 27 July 1917 by the Puget Sound Navy Yard. She was launched on 24 May 1918, and commissioned at Puget Sound on 19 October 1918.
Service history
During World War I, ''O-2'' patrolled off the New England coast until war's end. Reclassified as a second line submarine on 25 July 1924, and reverting to a first liner on 6 June 1928, she served at the submarine base
A submarine base is a military base that shelters submarines and their personnel.
Examples of present-day submarine bases include HMNB Clyde, Île Longue (the base for France's Force océanique stratégique), Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Na ...
, New London, Connecticut, in training officers and men until 1931, except for a brief tour at Coco Solo, Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone ( es, Zona del Canal de Panamá), also simply known as the Canal Zone, was an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the Isthmus of Panama, that existed from 1903 to 1979. It was located within the terr ...
, in 1924. In 1931, she transferred to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she decommissioned on 25 June 1931.
With increasing possibility of U.S. involvement in World War II, ''O-2'' recommissioned at Philadelphia on 3 February 1941. Steaming to New London in June, she trained submarine crews there until after Germany collapsed. She decommissioned on 26 July 1945, was struck on 11 August 1945, and was sold on 16 November 1945.
Awards
* World War I Victory Medal
* American Defense Service Medal
* American Campaign Medal
* World War II Victory Medal
Notes
References
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External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:O-02
United States O-class submarines
World War I submarines of the United States
World War II submarines of the United States
Ships built in Vancouver, Washington
1918 ships