_Bridgeport_Connecticut_7_October_1918.jpg) USSO-12 at theLake Torpedo Boat Company,Bridgeport, Connecticut, on 7 October 1918 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | O-12 |
| Ordered | 3 March 1916 |
| Builder | Lake Torpedo Boat Company,Bridgeport, Connecticut |
| Cost | $620,918.53 (hull and machinery)[1] |
| Laid down | 6 March 1916 |
| Launched | 29 September 1917 |
| Sponsored by | Mrs. Marguerite Cummings |
| Commissioned | 19 October 1918 |
| Decommissioned | 17 June 1924 |
| Stricken | 29 May 1930 |
| Identification |
|
| Fate | Transferred to theUSSB |
| United States | |
| Name | Nautilus |
| Namesake | Nautilus |
| In service | 24 March 1931 |
| Out of service | 20 November 1931 |
| Fate | Scuttled, 20 November 1931 |
| General characteristics[2][3] | |
| Class & type | O-11-classsubmarine |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 175 ft (53 m) |
| Beam | 16 ft 7 in (5.05 m) |
| Draft | 13 ft 11 in (4.24 m) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed |
|
| Range |
|
| Test depth | 200 ft |
| Capacity | 18,588 US gal (70,360 L; 15,478 imp gal) fuel |
| Complement |
|
| Armament |
|
USSO-12 (SS-73), also known as "Submarine No. 73", was one of 16O-classsubmarines of theUnited States Navy commissioned duringWorld War I.
Laid up in reserve by the US Navy, in 1924, the submarine was leased for use inArctic exploration in 1930, sponsored byWilliam Randolph Hearst. RenamedNautilus, the submarine suffered significant damage while exploring the Arctic, in 1931, and while having recorded significant data while there, Hearst considered the venture a failure. She returned toNorway, to repair the damage, and the submarine was returned to the USN there, they had the submarine towed down afjord andscuttled, in November 1931.
The later O-boats,O-11 throughO-16, were designed by theLake Torpedo Boat Company, to different specifications from the earlier boats designed byElectric Boat. They did not perform as well, and are sometimes considered a separate class.[4] The submarines had a length of 175 ft (53.3 m)overall, abeam of 16 ft 7 in (5.1 m), and a meandraft of 13 ft 11 in (4.2 m). Theydisplaced 485long tons (493 t) on the surface and 566 long tons (575 t) submerged. The O-class submarines had a crew of 2 officers and 27 enlisted men. They had a diving depth of 200 ft (61.0 m).[5][2]
For surface running, the boats were powered by two 500-brake-horsepower (373 kW)Busch-Sulzerdiesel engines, each driving onepropeller shaft. When submerged eachpropeller was driven by a 370-horsepower (276 kW)Diehl Manufacture Companyelectric motor. They could reach 14knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) on the surface and 11 kn (20 km/h; 13 mph) underwater. On the surface, the O class had a range of 5,500nautical miles (10,200 km; 6,300 mi) at 11.5 kn (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph).[5][2][3]
The boats were armed with four18-inch (450 mm)torpedo tubes in the bow. They carried four reloads, for a total of eight torpedoes. The O-class submarines were also armed with a single3 in (76 mm)/23 caliber retractabledeck gun.[5]
O-12'skeel waslaid down on 6 March 1916, by the Lake Torpedo Boat Company, inBridgeport, Connecticut. She waslaunched on 29 September 1917,[6]sponsored by Mrs. Marguerite Cummings, wife ofHomer S. Cummings,[7] andcommissioned on 18 October 1918.[6]
O-12 spent much of her career as a unit of Submarine Division 1, based atCoco Solo, in thePanama Canal Zone.[6]
When the US Navy adopted itshull classification system on 17 July 1920, she received thehull numberSS-73.[3]
In 1921, she was awarded a Battle Efficiency Pennant and trophy for gunnery (gun and torpedo). She decommissioned on 17 June 1924, after just five and a half years of service, and was placed in reserve at thePhiladelphia Naval Yard.[6]
Struck from theNaval Vessel Register on 29 July 1930, ex-O-12 transferred to theUnited States Shipping Board (USSB), for conversion by the Philadelphia Navy Yard.[6] She was leased at the rate of one dollar per year toLake and Danenhower, Inc., of Bridgeport, for use onHubert Wilkins's andLincoln Ellsworth's Arctic Expedition of geophysical investigation.[8] The lease required that she either be returned to the Navy for disposal, or scuttled in at least 1,200 ft (370 m) of water.
On 24 March 1931, she was re-christenedNautilus. AsProhibition prevented the use of an alcoholic beverage, she was baptised not with the traditionalchampagne but rather with a bucket of ice cubes.[8] Great French writerJules Verne's grandson was present at the event, under the French flag, along with Sir Hubert's new-wed wife, actressSuzanne Bennett.[3]
Simon Lake furnishedNautilus with several pieces of scientific equipment designed for under-ice operations. One was a mechanical probe, much like atrolley pole, that would scrape along the bottom of the ice cap to indicate how much clearance the submarine had below the ice.[8] Another included drills, supposedly capable of cutting through 13 ft (4 m) of ice, to reach fresh air.[9] The vessel's torpedo chamber was converted into amoon pool, when its water-tight door was closed, pressure was equalized, so a trap door could be opened, allowing the lowering of scientific instruments. These innovations were tested only cursorily before the boat put to sea.[10]
Nautilus, with her crew of 20 men, was commanded by Captain Sloan Danenhower, son ofJohn Wilson Danenhower, who served aboardUSS Jeannette during her Arctic expedition.[8] On 4 June 1931,Nautilus began the crossing fromNew York City, United States, toPlymouth, England. The first leg of the voyage that was planned to take them up the coast of theNorth Sea, toSpitsbergen, and conclude with a dramatic rendezvous at theNorth Pole with theGerman airshipGraf Zeppelin. On that first leg, however,Nautilus encountered a violent storm. Both engines failed, leaving the boat adrift. She was rescued, and initially towed intoCork Harbor, in Southern Ireland, on 22 June, where her batteries were re-charged, before being towed to England, byUSS Wyoming, where she was repaired.[11]
On 5 August 1931, very late in the year to begin an Arctic expedition,Nautilus began making her way through theEnglish Channel, and along theNorwegian coast. Another storm again damaged the boat, carrying away her bridge and giving her a permanent list, but after a stop inTromsø, on 11 August, she successfully reached Spitsbergen, where Wilkins allowed only a single day for repairs.
The crew carried out the planned scientific experiments as they pushed on northward, but thickpack ice hindered their progress. The boat was ill-equipped to deal with the extreme cold, lacking insulation and heaters. The fresh water system froze and the hull developed slow leaks.
After ten days,Nautilus reached the82nd parallel north, the farthest north any vessel had reached under its own power, and preparations began to dive and proceed under the ice. However, the boat refused to respond; thestern planes had been carried away at some unknown earlier time. Without them, the submarine could not control its depth while submerged, and the expedition had to be aborted.
On 31 August, under financial pressure from newspapermanWilliam Randolph Hearst, who had initially promised to pay for the expedition, but who indicated by telegraph that Wilkins would not be paid if he did not continue, Wilkins ordered the submarine onward. Captain Danenhower orderedNautilus trimmed down by the bow, and deliberately rammed anice floe in an attempt to force the boat under. The manoeuver worked, in thatNautilus submerged, and became the first submarine to operate under the polar ice cap. However, her unconventional method of diving caused significant damage to her upper works. She was out of radio contact for days, was presumed lost, and rescue efforts were planned. In fact, she had actually travelled only a short distance under the ice before resurfacing through apolynya, but her radios had been badly damaged, requiring days to repair.
The scientific crew continued their experiments, and their findings became the first paper published by theWoods Hole Oceanographic Institution. On 20 September,Nautilus returned to Spitsbergen, carrying invaluable data and with all crew alive. Hearst, however, considered the expedition a failure and carried out his threat, refusing to pay for the expedition.
Following the expedition,O-12 was returned to theNavy Department.[8] On 20 November 1931, she was towed three miles (4.8 km) down theByfjorden, aNorwegianfjord just outsideBergen, and scuttled in 1,138 ft (347 m) of water. In 1981, Norwegian divers found her wreck.
In 1959,USS Skate was the first submarine to surface at the North Pole, and the second submarine, afterUSS Nautilus (SSN-571) in 1958, to reach the North Pole. Her crew conducted a tribute to Sir George Hubert Wilkins, and scattered his ashes over the North Pole.
In 2010, the research submersibleJAGO dove to try to locate and inspectNautilus.[8]
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
