USS ''E-2'' (SS-25) was an E-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 ...

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 ...

. Originally named ''Sturgeon'', the boat was launched on 15 June 1911 by the

Fore River Shipyard Fore River Shipyard was a shipyard owned by General Dynamics Corporation located on Weymouth Fore River in Braintree and Quincy, Massachusetts. It began operations in 1883 in Braintree, and moved to its final location on Quincy Point in 1901. I ...

Quincy, Massachusetts Quincy ( ) is a coastal U.S. city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest city in the county and a part of Greater Boston, Metropolitan Boston as one of Boston's immediate southern suburbs. Its population in 2020 was 1 ...

; sponsored by Ms. Margaret Nelson Little; renamed ''E-2'' on 17 November 1911; and commissioned on 14 February 1912d.

Service history

Serving in the Atlantic Submarine Flotilla, ''E-2'' sailed out of

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...

for developmental exercises and training. From 5 January-21 April 1914, she cruised to Guantanamo Bay and the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

. She returned to

Naval Station Newport The Naval Station Newport (NAVSTA Newport) is a United States Navy base located in the city of Newport and the town of Middletown, Rhode Island. Naval Station Newport is home to the Naval War College and the Naval Justice School. It once was th ...

on 27 July, for training operations for the remainder of the summer and from February–May 1915 off

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 ...

. On 19 June, she entered

New York Navy Yard The Brooklyn Navy Yard (originally known as the New York Navy Yard) is a shipyard and industrial complex located in northwest Brooklyn in New York City, New York (state), New York. The Navy Yard is located on the East River in Wallabout Bay, a ...

for overhaul. While sitting in

dry dock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...

Number 2, ''E-2'' was victim of a violent explosion and fire on 15 January 1916 when

hydrogen Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, an ...

gas ignited during conditions of severe battery testing; tests made under the direction of the Edison Storage Battery Company. At the time, ''E-2'' was the test submarine for new nickel battery designed to eliminate the danger from chlorine gas asphyxiation. There were 32 men aboard the submarine at the time of the explosion, consisting of both crew and civilian electricians and mechanics making repairs. Four men were killed and seven injured. The government investigation, led by then Lieutenant Chester W. Nimitz, pointed blame away from the submarine's commanding officer, then Lieutenant Charles M. Cooke, Jr. On 13 March, ''E-2'' was placed out of commission for use as a laboratory, for exhaustive tests of the Edison storage battery. Recommissioned on 25 March 1918, ''E-2'' served in training and experimental work at

New London New London may refer to: Places United States *New London, Alabama *New London, Connecticut *New London, Indiana *New London, Iowa *New London, Maryland *New London, Minnesota *New London, Missouri *New London, New Hampshire, a New England town ** ...

until 16 May. Two days later she arrived at

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

to operate against enemy submarines off

Cape Hatteras Cape Hatteras is a cape located at a pronounced bend in Hatteras Island, one of the barrier islands of North Carolina. Long stretches of beach, sand dunes, marshes, and maritime forests create a unique environment where wind and waves shap ...

. From 21 May-27 August, she made four war patrols, sighting a large enemy submarine for which she made extended submerged search on her last patrol. ''E-2'' was commended by the

Chief of Naval Operations The chief of naval operations (CNO) is the professional head of the United States Navy. The position is a statutory office () held by an admiral who is a military adviser and deputy to the secretary of the Navy. In a separate capacity as a memb ...

for two of these

anti-submarine An anti-submarine weapon (ASW) is any one of a number of devices that are intended to act against a submarine and its crew, to destroy (sink) the vessel or reduce its capability as a weapon of war. In its simplest sense, an anti-submarine weapo ...

patrols, which were exceptionally long for a submarine of her size. Returning to New London on 31 August 1918, ''E-2'' made two more patrols before the end of the war, then returned to training student officers and qualifying men for duty in submarines. She sailed from New London to Norfolk on 19 April 1920, arriving two days later. There she was placed in commission in ordinary on 18 July 1921. On 17 September, she sailed for

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 cit ...

where she was decommissioned on 20 October and sold on 19 April 1922.

References

External links

*
Video of the U.S.S. E-2 Underway
{{DEFAULTSORT:E-2 (SS-25) United States E-class submarines World War I submarines of the United States Ships built in Quincy, Massachusetts 1911 ships Maritime incidents in 1916