Operators United States Navy Succeeded by B-class submarine In commission 1903-1921 | Preceded by USS Holland (SS-1) Built 1900-1903 | |
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Builders Electric Boat (design)
Crescent Shipyard (SS-2, -3, -5, -7, -8)
Union Iron Works (SS-4, SS-6) | ||
The Plunger class was an early class of United States Navy submarines, used primarily as training and experimental vessels for the newly formed "silent service" to familiarize naval personnel with the performance and operations of such craft. They were known as the "A-class" after being renamed to A-type designations (A-1 through A-7) on 17 November 1911. All except Plunger ended up being stationed in the Philippines, an American possession, prior to the outbreak of World War I. They were shipped there on colliers (coal-carrying ships). In some instances, this class of submarines is referred to as the Adder-class submarine, as USS Adder was the first boat of the class to be completed.
Contents
Design and construction
The Plunger-class submarines were built at the beginning of the twentieth century largely as experimental vessels. The prototype, named Fulton, was later sold to Russia, and renamed Som. The Plunger class was built at two different locations on both coasts of the United States.
Service
The five East Coast boats were based at New Suffolk, New York until 1905, allowing New Suffolk to claim itself as the first submarine base in the United States. The squadron remained at New Suffolk until 1905 when it was moved to Newport, Rhode Island. The submarines of the Plunger class later were moved to the Philippine Islands where they served through the First World War.
The class was given alphanumeric hull classification symbols (SS-2, SS-3, etc.) on 17 July 1920, after all but Grampus (SS-4) and Pike (SS-6) had been decommissioned. All of the Plunger-class boats were decommissioned by 1921, and all except Plunger used as targets. They were stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 16 January 1922 and sold for scrap.