Name USS H-5 Commissioned 30 September 1918 Reclassified SS-148, 15 July 1920 Launched 24 September 1918 | Laid down 12 May 1918 Decommissioned 20 October 1922 Construction started 12 May 1918 Length 46 m | |
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Ordered by the Imperial Russian Navy, 1915 Builder Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility |
USS H-5 (SS-148) was a H-class submarine originally built for the Imperial Russian Navy. Six of these were not delivered pending the outcome of the Russian Revolution of 1917 before being purchased by the United States Navy on 20 May 1918.
Contents
Description
The H-class submarines had a length of 150 feet 4 inches (45.8 m) overall, a beam of 15 feet 10 inches (4.8 m) and a mean draft of 12 feet 5 inches (3.8 m). They displaced 358 long tons (364 t) on the surface and 467 long tons (474 t) submerged. The boats had a crew of 2 officers and 23 enlisted men. They had a diving depth of 200 feet (61.0 m).
For surface running, they were powered by two New London Ship & Engine Co. 475-brake-horsepower (354 kW) diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a 170-horsepower (127 kW) Electro Dynamic Co. electric motor. They could reach 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) on the surface and 10.5 knots (19.4 km/h; 12.1 mph) underwater. On the surface, the boats had a range of 2,300 nautical miles (4,300 km; 2,600 mi) at 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph) and 100 nmi (190 km; 120 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) submerged.
The boats were armed with four 18-inch (45 cm) torpedo tubes in the bow. They carried four reloads, for a total of eight torpedoes.
Construction and career
H-5 was launched on 24 September 1918, and commissioned on 30 September 1918 with Lieutenant Gordon Hutchins in command. Operating out of San Pedro, California, with Submarine Division 6 and 7 (SubDivs 6 and SubDiv 7), H-5 participated in various training and battle exercises, with periodic overhauls at Mare Island. She departed San Francisco, California on 25 July 1922 in company with both divisions and arrived at Norfolk, Virginia on 14 September. H-5 decommissioned at Norfolk on 20 October. Her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 26 February 1931. She was sold for scrapping on 28 November 1933.