Name USS Plunger Commissioned Never Length 26 m | Ordered 13 March 1895 | |
Namesake Plunger, a diver or daring gambler Fate Cancelled April 1900 prior to completion Builder Holland Torpedo Boat Company | ||
USS Plunger, ordered in 1895, was the first submarine built for the United States Navy, but she was never commissioned thus the "USS" appellation is in error.
On 3 March 1893, the United States Congress authorized the first "submarine torpedo boat" to be built for the U.S. Navy. John P. Holland won a Navy design competition in 1895 to build it with his design for a submarine powered by a steam engine. The Navy ordered Holland's design as USS Plunger, and awarded a contract for her construction to Holland's firm, the Holland Torpedo Boat Company, on 13 March 1895.
While building Plunger, Holland concluded that steam power would never be suitable in a submarine, and he abandoned construction of Plunger in favor of the construction of another submarine, Holland, powered by a gasoline engine, which he funded personally.
Accordingly, the Navy cancelled the contract for Plunger's construction in April 1900; the money paid towards her was credited to her successor, USS Plunger (SS-2). That same month, it purchased Holland and commissioned her as its first submarine, USS Holland (SS-1).