USS D-1
Template:Short description Template:Other ships Template:Use dmy dates
Template:Infobox ship imageTemplate:Infobox ship careerTemplate:Infobox ship characteristicsUSS Narwhal/D-1 (SS-17), also known as "Submarine No. 17", was the lead ship of the D-class submarines of the United States Navy (USN). She was the first ship of the USN to be named for the narwhal, a gray and white arctic whale which averages Template:Cvt in length, the male of which has a long, helical ivory tusk of commercial value.
Design
The D-class submarines were enlarged versions of the preceding C class, the first American submarines armed with four torpedo tubes. They had a length of Template:Cvt overall, a beam of Template:Cvt and a mean draft of Template:Cvt. They displaced Template:Cvt on the surface and Template:Cvt submerged. The D-class boats had a crew of 1 officer and 14 enlisted men. They had a diving depth of Template:Cvt.Template:Sfn
For surface running, they were powered by two Template:Convert gasoline 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:Cvt and Template:Cvt at Template:Cvt submerged.Template:Sfn
The boats were armed with four 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes in the bow. They did not carry reloads for them.Template:Sfn
Construction
NarwhalTemplate:'s keel was laid down by Fore River Shipbuilding Company, in Quincy, Massachusetts, under a subcontract from Electric Boat Company, of Groton, Connecticut. She was launched on 8 April 1909, sponsored by Mrs. Alice Davison, the wife of Gregory C. Davison, the vice president of Electric Boat, and daughter of Rear Admiral Edwin M. Shepard. Narwhal was commissioned on 23 November 1909.Template:Sfn
Service history
Narwhal joined the Atlantic Torpedo Fleet, based at Newport, Rhode Island. Narwhal was renamed D-1 on 17 November 1911. She operated on the diving grounds in Cape Cod and Narragansett Bays, Long Island and Block Island Sounds and Chesapeake Bay, and off Norfolk, Virginia; on target ranges proving torpedoes; experimental operations; and cruises along the East Coast. Template:Sfn
From 20 January – 11 April 1913, the submarine flotilla cruised to the Caribbean Sea, and from 5 January – 21 April 1914 visited Gulf and Florida ports.Template:Sfn
During World War I, D-1 trained crews and classes of officers and served in experiments in the Third Naval District. After overhaul, D-1 was placed in commission in reserve on 9 September 1919, continuing her work of training new submariners along with experimental and development work.Template:Sfn
Fate
On 15 July 1921, she was placed in commission, in ordinary. She was towed to Philadelphia Navy Yard, arriving on 30 January 1922. Decommissioned on 8 February, her hulk was sold on 5 June 1922.Template:Sfn
Whale encounter
The New York World quoted Lt. Chester Nimitz, in command of Narwhal in August 1911, with regards to an encounter with whales that the submarine had. This encounter is not referenced anywhere else and may be journalistic hyperbole.<ref>World magazine Wikimedia</ref>
References
Bibliography
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