USS O-16

USS O-16 (SS-77), also known as "Submarine No. 77", was one of 16 O-class submarines of the United States Navy commissioned during World War I.

Design

The later O-boats, O-11 through O-16, were designed by the Lake Torpedo Boat Company, to different specifications from the earlier boats designed by Electric Boat. They did not perform as well, and are sometimes considered a separate class.Template:Sfn The submarines had a length of Template:Cvt overall, a beam of Template:Cvt, and a mean draft of Template:Cvt. They displaced Template:Convert on the surface and Template:Cvt submerged. The O-class submarines had a crew of 2 officers and 27 enlisted men. They had a diving depth of Template:Cvt.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

For surface running, the boats were powered by two Template:Convert Busch-Sulzer diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a Template:Convert Diehl Manufacture Company electric motor. They could reach Template:Convert on the surface and Template:Cvt underwater. On the surface, the O class had a range of Template:Convert at Template:Cvt.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn

The boats were armed with four 18-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 single [[3"/23 caliber gun|Template:Cvt/23 caliber]] retractable deck gun.Template:Sfn

Construction

O-16Template:'s keel was laid down on 7 October 1916, at the Craig Shipbuilding Company, in Long Beach, California, by the California Shipbuilding Company.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn She was launched on 9 February 1918,Template:Sfn sponsored by Mrs. James J. Murphy,Template:Sfn and completed at the Mare Island Navy Yard.Template:Sfn O-16 was commissioned on 1 August 1918.Template:Sfn

Service history

Commissioning during the final months of World War I, O-16 had little wartime duty.Template:Sfn

After the war, she reported to Cape May, New Jersey, where she went into dry dock on 20 September 1919. In October, the boat sailed to the Philadelphia Navy Yard, where a dangerous fire in her superstructure on 29 December, was brought under control before it did major damage.Template:Sfn

When the US Navy adopted its hull classification system on 17 July 1920, she received the hull number SS-77.Template:Sfn

In 1922, O-16 was stationed at Coco Solo, in the Panama Canal Zone, for diving tests and maneuvers. She cruised in formation with her sister boats Template:USS, Template:USS, Template:USS, and the submarine tender Template:USS, to Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, on 26 January, and continued maneuvers in and around the Virgin Islands. In April, she returned to Coco Solo, where electricians and engineers put her in prime condition.Template:Sfn

Fate

In November 1923, O-16 sailed to Philadelphia, where she decommissioned on 21 June 1924, after just five and a half years of service, and was turned over to the Commandant, Navy Yard, Philadelphia. Struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 9 May 1930, the boat was scrapped in accordance with the London Naval Treaty on 30 July 1930.Template:Sfn

Bibliography

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External links

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