The R-class submarines were a class of

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 ...

submarines active from 1918 until 1945. With the first of the class laid down following the

American entry into World War I American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

, they were built rapidly. Although ''R-15'' through ''R-20'' were completed July–October 1918, they did not serve overseas, and the bulk of the class were not completed until after the

Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the ...

Design

;Group 1: The ''R-1'' through ''R-20'' boats, designed by Electric Boat and built by

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 ...

and

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 ...

, were known as the ''R-1''-class submarines. These single-hull boats were structurally very similar to the preceding ''O'' class, but larger and therefore with more powerful machinery to maintain the required speed. For the first time in a US submarine class, 21 inch (533 mm)

torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...

s were fitted, a tube diameter that is still standard worldwide. A more powerful fixed 3-inch (76 mm)/50 caliber

deck gun A deck gun is a type of naval artillery mounted on the deck of a submarine. Most submarine deck guns were open, with or without a shield; however, a few larger submarines placed these guns in a turret. The main deck gun was a dual-purpose ...

replaced the retractable 3-inch/23 caliber gun found on previous classes. ;Group 2: ''R-21'' to ''R-27'', which were slightly smaller and faster than the R-1s, were designed and built by

Lake Torpedo Boat The Lake Torpedo Boat Company of Bridgeport, Connecticut, was an early builder of submarines for the United States Navy in the early 20th century. History Founded by Simon Lake in 1912, the company was located at the east end of Seaview Avenue ...

Co. and are sometimes regarded as a separate class, the ''R-21'' class. Compared with the Lake-designed O-class group, these featured a double hull and had their diving planes more conventionally positioned fore and aft, but retained the Lake O-class' characteristic wide stern and 18 inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes. They were equipped with the same 3-inch/50 deck gun as the Group 1 boats. Their smaller size compared with Group 1 allowed Lake to repeat the machinery of their O-class boats, which probably resulted in cost savings. Some Group 2 boats were fitted with a bow fairing to improve reserve

buoyancy Buoyancy (), or upthrust, is an upward force exerted by a fluid that opposes the weight of a partially or fully immersed object. In a column of fluid, pressure increases with depth as a result of the weight of the overlying fluid. Thus the ...

. This probably housed expanded ballast tanks. Unlike the Group 1 boats, most of which survived to serve in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the Group 2 boats were scrapped in 1930 as part of the Navy's compliance with the London Naval Treaty. The Lake company's demise in 1924 and the obsolescent 18-inch torpedo armament probably also contributed to this.

Service

The Group 1 boats were decommissioned in 1931, but were recommissioned in 1940, patrolling in the Caribbean or being used as sonar targets at Key West,

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 ...

, also patrolling between Submarine Base New London,

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

and

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = "Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , es ...

. At least two R-boats unsuccessfully fired torpedoes at German U-boats on the Bermuda patrols. Three (''R-3'', ''R-17'', and ''R-19'') were transferred to the

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Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

as , , and in 1941-1942. ''P.514'' was lost on 21 June 1942 in a collision with the Canadian

minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

due to being mistaken for a

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...

. ''R-12'' was lost on 12 June 1943 in an accident off Key West. At some point between the wars the US R class were modified for improved rescue ability in the event of sinking. A motor room hatch was added, the motor room being the aftermost compartment. The tapered after casing became a step as a result of this modification. At least one R-class submarine can be seen briefly in the 1943 movie ''

Crash Dive A crash dive is a maneuver by a submarine in which the vessel submerges as quickly as possible to avoid attack. Crash diving from the surface to avoid attack has been largely rendered obsolete with the advent of nuclear-powered submarines, as they ...

'', filmed at the

New London submarine base Naval Submarine Base New London is the primary United States Navy East Coast submarine base, also known as the "Home of the Submarine Force." It is located in Groton, Connecticut directly across the Thames River from its namesake city of New Lo ...

. Electric Boat built four R-class boats for the Peruvian Navy (''R-1'' to ''R-4''). Built after World War I using materials assembled from cancelled S-class submarines, they were refitted in 1935–36 and 1955–56, and renamed ''Islay'', ''Casma'', ''Pacocha'', and ''Arica'' in 1957. They were discarded in 1960. In December 2020, the remains of '' R-8'' were discovered off the coast of

Ocean City, Maryland Ocean City, officially the Town of Ocean City, is an Atlantic resort town in Worcester County, Maryland along the East Coast of the United States. The population was 6,844 at the 2020 U.S. census, although during summer weekends the city hosts b ...

. The vessel sank there in 1936, after being used for target practice by bombers.

Ships in class

The 27 submarines of the R class were:

References

Notes

Sources

* https://web.archive.org/web/20140322093118/http://www.fleetsubmarine.com/sublist.html * Gardiner, Robert, ''Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921'' Conway Maritime Press, 1985. . *
Navsource.org early diesel submarines page

*

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:R class submarines, United States Submarine classes R class R class