USS R-5
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USS R-5 (SS-81), also known as "Submarine No. 81", was an R-1-class coastal and harbor defense submarines of the United States Navy commissioned after the end of World War I.
Due to space constraints, the boats built at the Fore River Shipbuilding Company yard, were laid down much later than the boats built at the Union Iron Works and the Lake Torpedo Boat Company yards. Because of this, none were commissioned before the end of WWI.
Design
The submarines had a length of Template:Convert 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 R-1-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 NELSECO 6-EB-14 diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a Template:Convert Electro-Dynamic Company electric motor. They could reach Template:Convert on the surface and Template:Cvt underwater. On the surface, the R-1-class had a range of Template:Convert at Template:Cvt, or Template:Cvt if fuel was loaded into their main ballast tanks.Template:Sfn
The boats were armed with four [[American 21-inch torpedo|Template:Convert]] torpedo tubes in the bow. They carried four reloads, for a total of eight torpedoes. The R-1-class submarines were also armed with a single [[3"/50 caliber gun|Template:Cvt/50 caliber]] deck gun.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
Construction
R-5Template:'s keel was laid down on 16 October 1917, by the Fore River Shipbuilding Company, Quincy, Massachusetts. She was launched on 24 November 1918,Template:Sfn sponsored by Miss Margaretta Wood,Template:Sfn and commissioned on 15 April 1919.Template:Sfn
Service history
1919–1932
After completion at the Boston Navy Yard, R-5 got underway on 28 April 1919, for New London, Connecticut, where she was assigned to Submarine Division 9, of the Atlantic Fleet. She headed south on 4 December, for Norfolk, Virginia, and winter exercises with her division in the Gulf of Mexico, from 21 January to 14 April 1920. R-5 later returned to Newport, Rhode Island, on 18 May, for four months of summer training in New England waters.Template:Sfn
When the US Navy adopted its hull classification system on 17 July 1920, she received the hull number SS-81.Template:Sfn
She sailed 13 September 1920, for Norfolk, and an overhaul that was completed in April 1921. In company with the submarine tender Template:USS, R-5 was ordered to the Pacific Ocean, on 11 April 1921, transited the Panama Canal, on 28 May, and arrived on 30 June, at her new base, San Pedro, California.Template:Sfn
In January 1923, she was used in the filming of the Twentieth Century-Fox motion picture The Eleventh Hour, and engaged in war games with the battle fleet in the Gulf of Fonseca, from 5 February to 6 April 1923.Template:Sfn
She was transferred on 16 July, along with Division 9, to Pearl Harbor, where she was based for the next eight years engaged in training and operations with fleet units. R-5 made an endurance run to Midway Island, in July and August 1924. In December, during division exercises off Pearl Harbor, she rammed her sister boat Template:USS, in the after battery room, causing extensive damage to both ships.Template:Sfn
R-5 was transferred back to the Atlantic, on 12 December 1930, with Divisions 9 and 14. She transited the Panama Canal, on 28 January 1931, and arrived at New London, on 9 February. She was assigned to Division 4, on 1 April, and acted as training ship for the Submarine School, until sailing on 28 April 1932, for the Philadelphia Navy Yard, where she decommissioned on 30 June 1932.Template:Sfn
1940–1946
After recommissioning on 19 August 1940, R-5 reported to Division 42, at New London, on 30 October. She sailed on 10 December, for the submarine base at Coco Solo, in the Panama Canal Zone, where she was assigned patrol duty in the Bay of Panama, until returning to New London, on 31 October 1941. She underwent overhaul, and in December, relieved Template:USS on patrol along the Bermuda-New England shipping lanes. Through the U-boat offensives of 1942, she maintained those patrols, operating out of New London and Bermuda, and alternating them with anti-submarine training operations for destroyers and destroyer escorts. Twice, during the first part of the year, she made contact with U-boats, and once, on 10 February, fired torpedoes, but none found its mark.Template:Sfn
Fate
From 1943 into 1945, R-5 continued to rotate between New London and Bermuda. After the end of World War II, she was ordered to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, for inactivation. Arriving on 6 September 1945, she decommissioned on 14 September, and was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 11 October 1945. On 22 August 1946, R-5 was sold for scrap to John J. Duane of Quincy, Massachusetts.Template:Sfn
References
Bibliography
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External links
Template:Military navigation Template:WWI US ships Template:WWII US ships