USS ''S-3'' (SS-107) was the prototype of the "Government-type" ''S''-class submarines 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 the "Holland-type" prototype and the "Lake-type".) Her keel was laid down on 29 August 1917 by the

Portsmouth Navy Yard The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, often called the Portsmouth Navy Yard, is a United States Navy shipyard in Kittery on the southern boundary of Maine near the city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Founded in 1800, PNS is U.S. Navy's oldest continuo ...

. She was launched on 21 December 1918 sponsored by Mrs. William L. Hill, and commissioned on 30 January 1919. Following outfitting and trials, ''S-3'' began her career with training operations along the

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...

coast operating out of

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

and

New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decade ...

. In 1920, she twice visited Havana, Cuba: first in January, and again in December. In July 1921, she was attached to Submarine Division 12 (SubDiv 12) which, along with SubDiv 18, was to rendezvous off Portsmouth for the longest voyage on record, at that time, for American submarines. The two divisions were assigned to the Asiatic Fleet as Submarine Flotilla 3 (SubFlot 3) at the

Cavite Naval Station Naval Station Sangley Point was a communication and hospital facility of the United States Navy which occupied the northern portion of the Cavite City peninsula and is surrounded by Manila Bay, approximately eight miles southwest of Manila, th ...

in the

Philippine Islands The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. They sailed via the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a condui ...

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the R ...

, where ''S-3'' was detached and reassigned to operate on the

United States West Coast The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast, Pacific states, and the western seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the contiguous U.S. ...

from

Mare Island, California Mare Island ( Spanish: ''Isla de la Yegua'') is a peninsula in the United States in the city of Vallejo, California, about northeast of San Francisco. The Napa River forms its eastern side as it enters the Carquinez Strait juncture with the eas ...

. The two divisions continued on and successfully completed the voyage, arriving at Cavite on 1 December. ''S-3'' departed Pearl Harbor on 9 November and sailed to the U.S. West Coast where she operated until mid-July 1923. On 17 July, she took departure from San Francisco Bay to retransit the Panama Canal en route to New London. Reaching New London on 5 September, she was attached to SubDiv 2, Atlantic Fleet, and assigned experimental duty at the Submarine School at New London, assuming the duties of , flagship of SubDiv 2, which was conducting special experiments with

aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engine ...

. During the remainder of 1923 and the years following, into 1927, she ranged the

United States East Coast The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Eastern United States meets the North Atlantic Ocean. The eastern seaboard contains the coa ...

conducting training operations and evaluating new techniques in submarine development. In July 1927, ''S-3'' and ''S-1'' formed SubDiv 4 and began a schedule which included operational cruises to the Panama Canal Zone in the spring months of 1928–1930. The remaining months of those years were spent in operations along the New England coast. Early in 1931, ''S-3'' was ordered to

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 ...

, for inactivation. She was decommissioned there on 24 March and laid up. She 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 25 January 1937 and subsequently scrapped.

References

Ships built in Kittery, Maine S-03 1918 ships {{US-submarine-stub