USS Plunger (SS-2)
Plunger in 1902
| |
History | |
---|---|
United States | |
Name | USS Plunger |
Namesake | Plunger, a gambler |
Builder | |
Laid down | 21 May 1901 |
Launched | 1 February 1902 |
Commissioned | 19 September 1903 |
Decommissioned | 3 November 1905 |
Recommissioned | 23 February 1907 |
Stricken | 24 February 1913 |
Fate | Sold for scrapping 26 January 1922 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Plunger-class submarine |
Displacement | 107 long tons (109 t) |
Length | 64 ft (20 m) |
Beam | 12 ft (3.7 m) |
Draft | 11 ft (3.4 m) |
Speed |
|
Complement | 7 |
Armament | 1 × 18 inch (450 mm) torpedo tube (five torpedoes[1] ) |
USS Plunger (SS-2) was one of the earliest
Early service
Plunger was originally laid down on 21 May 1901 at
She was
Assigned to the
In August 1905, Plunger underwent two weeks of upkeep before leaving the yard on 22 August. She was towed by the tug Apache to New York City, where Plunger conducted trials near the home of President Theodore Roosevelt. Upon the submarine's arrival that afternoon, she moored alongside the tug and prepared for a visit from President Roosevelt.
President Roosevelt's visit
The following morning, Plunger charged her batteries and made a series of five short dives before returning alongside Apache to recharge. Later that afternoon, Roosevelt boarded the Plunger and stayed aboard for almost two hours while she made another series of dives before returning to moor alongside the tug. Roosevelt spent almost another hour on board the submarine before he left.
Roosevelt's novel voyage prompted significant interest. On 6 September, Roosevelt wrote from Oyster Bay to Hermann Speck von Sternburg: "I myself am both amused and interested as to what you say about the interest excited about my trip in the Plunger. I went down in it chiefly because I did not like to have the officers and enlisted men think I wanted them to try things I was reluctant to try myself. I believe a good deal can be done with these submarines, although there is always the danger of people getting carried away with the idea and thinking that they can be of more use than they possibly could be." To another correspondent he declared that never in his life had he experienced "such a diverting day ... nor so much enjoyment in so few hours."[2]
Later service
Decommissioned on 3 November 1905, Plunger remained inactive until she was recommissioned on 23 February 1907. On 3 May 1909,
Reassigned to the
Plunger was renamed A-1 on 17 November 1911. She was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 24 February 1913.
By 1916, A-1 had been authorized for use as an "experimental target, designated 'Target E'". Approximately 22 March 1918 she sank at
References
- ^ "PigBoats.COM - A Class Submarines". pigboats.com. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
- ^ "Teddy Roosevelt trip aboard Plunger". militaryhonors.sid-hill.us. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
- ^ "Records of the T. A. Scott co". mysticseaport.org. 20 May 2016. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
Bibliography
- Eger, Christopher L. (March 2021). "Hudson Fulton Celebration, Part II". Warship International. LVIII (1): 58–81. ISSN 0043-0374.
- Wright, C. C. (2004). "Question 21/02 Submarines Used as Targets". Warship International. XLI (3): 243–245. ISSN 0043-0374.
- This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
- This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
External links
- history.navy.mil: USS Plunger
- navsource.org: USS Plunger
- hazegray.org: USS Plunger
- [1] Lewis Nixon's Shipyard is acknowledged as place where first submarines were developed. Arthur Busch's role is mentioned and acknowledged as builder of Holland's submarines for Electric Boat Company.