USS ''H-1'' (SS-28), the

lead ship The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very complex and may ...

of her class of 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 ...

, was originally named ''Seawolf'', making her the first ship of the U.S. Navy to be named for the seawolf. ''Seawolf'' was laid down by the

Union Iron Works Union Iron Works, located in San Francisco, California, on the southeast waterfront, was a central business within the large industrial zone of Potrero Point, for four decades at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries ...

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 ...

. She was renamed on 17 November 1911, launched on 6 May 1913 sponsored by Miss Lesley Jean Makins, and commissioned at

Mare Island Navy Yard The Mare Island Naval Shipyard (MINSY) was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean. It is located northeast of San Francisco in Vallejo, California. The Napa River goes through the Mare Island Strait and separates t ...

on 1 December 1913.

Service history

The new submarine was attached to Torpedo

Flotilla A flotilla (from Spanish, meaning a small ''flota'' ( fleet) of ships), or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. Composition A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same clas ...

2, Pacific Fleet, and operated along the West Coast out of

San Pedro, California San Pedro ( ; Spanish: "St. Peter") is a neighborhood within the City of Los Angeles, California. Formerly a separate city, it consolidated with Los Angeles in 1909. The Port of Los Angeles, a major international seaport, is partially located wi ...

. During various exercises and patrols, she traveled the coast from

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

to lower British Columbia, often in company with her sister ships and sometimes . Sailing from San Pedro, California on 17 October 1917, she reached New London, Connecticut on 8 November. For the remainder of World War I, she was based there and patrolled Long Island Sound, frequently with officer students from the submarine school on board. ''H-1'' and ''H-2'' sailed for San Pedro, California on 6 January 1920, transiting the Panama Canal on 20 February. On 12 March, as ''H-1'' made her way up the coast of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula, she ran aground on a shoal off Magdalena Bay. Four men – including the commanding officer died trying to reach shore. The diesel freighter on her maiden voyage for the California & Mexico Steamship Company (also this line's inaugural voyage), tried to pull the submarine into deep water, and then carried 22 survivors to San Pedro where they arrived on March 18. pulled ''H-1'' off the rocks in the morning of 24 March, but in only 45 minutes, the submarine sank in some of water. Further salvage effort was abandoned. Her name was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 12 April, and she was sold for scrap in June 1920, but never recovered. In 2019, her wreck was identified south of Baja California. H1 and H2 In Coos Bay

References

External links

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On Eternal Patrol: USS ''H-1''
{{DEFAULTSORT:H-1 (SS-28) United States H-class submarines World War I submarines of the United States Lost submarines of the United States Maritime incidents in 1920 United States submarine accidents Shipwrecks of Mexico Ships built in San Francisco 1913 ships Ships built by Union Iron Works