US Navy S-class submarine Ordered right after World War One, the S-Class was the last US submarine class to be given numerical designations instead of names and to retain them. In this case, the designation was an S followed by a number issued in the succession of commissioning of these vessels. Utterly obsolete as these vessels were by 1941, they scored remarkable successes - in fact, their 1942 operations accounted for the largest Japanese warship sunk to that date by submarines, the cruiser Kako.    Their design had been one of the Bureau of Construction and Repair, the first instance in which a submarine was designed by this office. The S-Class succeeded the R-Class, improving almost every respect of the latter, including duration, number of reserve torpedoes and size. By 1943, all S-Class submarines had been removed from service in the US Navy, or delegated to secondary patrol duties in the North Pacific. The Royal Navy received four of the submarines, which were put to some use in the Mediterranean.   Of the remarkable actions of these tiny boats, only the above mentioned sinking of Kako, on August 10, 1942 off Kavieng in the New Britain archipelago, by S-44, is remembered vividly. Specifications, (old) S-class: The lead boat of the class was S-1, SS-105 Displacement (srf/sub tons): 850/1,126             Dimensions (L*B*D feet): 225`3*20`8*16`0 Propulsion: two diesels-direct drive, two DC motors/generators, two propellers Speed (srf/sub knots): 14.5/11 Range (srf/sub n/miles@knots): un known Diving depth (feet): 200 Complement: 4 officers 37 enlisted Torpedo: 4*21" bow torpedo tubes, 1*21" stern torpedo tubes, total of 14 torpedoes (two reloads forward one aft) Mines: none Armament: 1*3"/50 main deck gun, 1*0.30 cal. machine guns Construction Total of 48 boats S-1, S-11 to S-47 Back to History Index     Image Country Year Description United States 2000 US Navy S class submarine