USS F-1

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USS Carp/F-1 (SS-20), also known as "Submarine No. 20", was an F-class submarine. She was the first ship of the United States Navy named for the carp, though she was renamed F-1 prior to commissioning. Commissioned in 1912, she operated in the Pacific Ocean until she sank after a collision in 1917, the only US submarine lost during the US participation in World War I.

Design

The F-class boats had an overall length of Template:Cvt, a beam of Template:Cvt, and a mean draft of Template:Cvt. They displaced Template:Cvt on the surface and Template:Cvt submerged with a diving depth of Template:Cvt. The F-class submarines had a crew of 1 officer and 21 enlisted men.Template:Sfn

For surface running, the boats were powered by two Template:Convert NELSECO diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a Template:Convert electric motor. They could reach Template:Cvt on the surface and Template:Cvt underwater. On the surface, the boats had a range of Template:Cvt at Template:CvtTemplate:Sfn and Template:Cvt at Template:Cvt submerged.Template:Sfn

The F-class submarines were armed with four 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes in the bow, no reloads were carried.Template:Sfn

Construction

CarpTemplate:'s keel was laid down by Union Iron Works, of San Francisco, California, a subcontractor of the Electric Boat Company, on 23 August 1909. She was launched on 6 September 1911, and sponsored by Miss Josephine Tynan. She was renamed F-1 on 17 November 1911, and commissioned on 19 June 1912.Template:Sfn

Service history

Assigned to the First Submarine Group, Pacific Torpedo Flotilla, F-1 operated in the San Francisco, area on trials and tests through 11 January 1913, when she joined the flotilla for training at sea between San Diego, California, and San Pedro Submarine Base, San Pedro, then in San Diego Harbor.Template:Sfn

File:USS F-1 Grounded 1912.JPG

F-1 grounded in late 1912 after slipping her mooring

In late 1912, the boat, which then held the world's deep diving record, descending to Template:Cvt, slipped her mooring at Port Watsonville, in Monterey Bay, and grounded on a nearby beach. While most of the crew of 17 safely evacuated, two men died in the incident.Template:Sfn

From 21 July 1914 to 14 November 1915, the Flotilla, towed to their destination by armored cruisers, was based at Honolulu, for development operations in the Hawaiian Islands.Template:Sfn

F-1 lay in ordinary from 15 March 1916 to 13 June 1917. When she returned to full commission, she served with the Patrol Force, Pacific, making surface and submerged runs to continue her part in the development of submarine tactics. Her base during this time was San Pedro.Template:Sfn On 17 December 1917, while maneuvering in exercises off Point Loma,Template:Sfn F-1 and Template:USS collided, the former sinking in ten seconds, her port side torn forward of the engine room. Nineteen of her men were lost; the remaining three were rescued by F-3.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

F-1 sank to the seafloor over Template:Cvt below, where it was rediscovered in 2025, by researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, lying "remarkably intact" on its starboard side.Template:Sfn

Bibliography

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External links

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• On Eternal Patrol: USS F-1