USS ''R-17'' (SS-94) was an R-class coastal and harbor defense submarine of the United States Navy.

Construction and commissioning

''R-17''′s keel was laid down by the Union Iron Works in San Francisco, California, on 5 May 1917. She was launched on 24 December 1917 sponsored by Miss Bertha F. Dew, and commissioned on 17 August 1918 with Lieutenant Commander William R. Munroe in command.

Service history

1919–1931

Commissioned toward the end of World War I, ''R-17'' operated briefly off the California coast, then patrolled off the

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 ...

, returning to California in December 1918. In March 1919, she arrived at San Francisco, California, for overhaul, after which she moved west to Pearl Harbor. Departing the West Coast 17 June, she arrived in Hawaii on 25 June and for the next 11½ years operated with fleet units and tested equipment being developed for submarines. The submarine, given hull classification symbol SS-94 in July 1920, departed Pearl Harbor 12 December 1930, called at San Diego, California, thence continued on to the East Coast for inactivation. Arriving at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 9 February 1931, she was decommissioned 15 May and berthed at League Island until after the outbreak of World War II in Europe.

1941–1946

Recommissioned at New London, 25 March 1941, ''R-17'' headed south on 14 May, patrolled in the Virgin Islands during June; off the Canal Zone in July, August, and September; then, in October, returned to New London. For the next four months she conducted training exercises. On 9 March 1942, she was decommissioned and transferred to the United Kingdom under the

lend-lease Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (), was a policy under which the United States supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and other Allied nations with food, oil, ...

agreement. Commissioned in the Royal Navy as HMS ''P.512'', she was employed at Bermuda as a training ship for the Royal Canadian Navy until 6 September 1944 when she was returned to the U.S. Navy at Philadelphia. Retained for use as a target ship until after the end of the war in Europe, ''R-17'' was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 22 June 1945. She was sold, 16 November 1945, to the

North American Smelting North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''no ...

Company in Philadelphia, for scrapping.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:R-17 (SS-94) R-17 (SS-94) World War I submarines of the United States World War II submarines of the United States Ships built in San Francisco 1917 ships Ships transferred from the United States Navy to the Royal Navy United States R-class submarines of the Royal Navy World War II submarines of the United Kingdom