https://wiki.sarg.dev/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=USS_B-1USS B-1 - Revision history2026-06-11T13:47:44ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.44.2https://wiki.sarg.dev/index.php?title=USS_B-1&diff=820202&oldid=previmported>Pennsy22 at 12:59, 15 October 20252025-10-15T12:59:22Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|B-class submarine of the United States}}<br />
{{other ships|USS Viper}}<br />
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{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2025}}<br />
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{|{{Infobox ship begin}}<br />
{{Infobox ship image<br />
|Ship image=USS B-1.jpg<br />
|Ship caption=USS ''Viper'' in port, with members of her crew on deck, {{circa}} 1907-1911, {{USS|Tarantula|SS-12|6}} is behind her<br />
}}<br />
{{Infobox ship career<br />
|Hide header=<br />
|Ship country=United States<br />
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1921}}<br />
|Ship name= ''Viper''<br />
|Ship namesake= The [[viper]]<br />
|Ship ordered=<br />
|Ship builder= [[Fore River Shipbuilding Company]], [[Quincy, Massachusetts|Quincy]], Massachusetts<br />
|Ship original cost= $200,957.48 (hull and machinery){{sfn|Navy List|1921|p=762}}<br />
|Ship laid down= 5 September 1905<br />
|Ship launched= 30 March 1907<br />
|Ship sponsor= Mrs. Lillian Spear<br />
|Ship acquired=<br />
|Ship commissioned= 18 October 1907<br />
|Ship decommissioned= 30 November 1909<br />
}}<br />
{{Infobox ship career<br />
|Hide header=yes<br />
|Ship recommissioned= 15 April 1910<br />
|Ship decommissioned= 9 May 1911<br />
}}<br />
{{Infobox ship career<br />
|Hide header=yes<br />
|Ship recommissioned= 26 March 1915<br />
|Ship decommissioned= 1 December 1921<br />
|Ship struck= 1 December 1921<br />
|Ship renamed= ''B-1'' (Submarine Torpedo Boat No.10), 17 November 1911<br />
|Ship identification=*[[Hull classification symbol#Submarine type|Hull symbol]]: SS-10 (17 July 1920)<br />
*[[Maritime call sign|Call sign]]: NVQ<br />
*{{ICS|November}}{{ICS|Victor}}{{ICS|Quebec}}<br />
|Ship fate= Sunk as a target<br />
|Ship notes=<br />
}}<br />
{{Infobox ship characteristics<br />
|Hide header=<br />
|Header caption= {{sfn|Mohl}}<br />
|Ship class=[[United States B-class submarine|B-class submarine]]<br />
|Ship displacement=* {{cvt|145|LT|lk=in}} surfaced<br />
* {{cvt|173|LT}} submerged<br />
|Ship length= {{cvt|82|ft|5|in}}<br />
|Ship beam= {{cvt|12|ft|6|in}}<br />
|Ship draft= {{cvt|10|ft|7|in}}<br />
|Ship power=* {{cvt|250|bhp|lk=in}} surfaced<br />
* {{cvt|150|bhp}} submerged<br />
|Ship propulsion=*1 × [[Craig Shipbuilding Company]] [[gasoline engine]]<br />
* 1 × [[Electro Dynamic]] [[electric motor]]<br />
* 60-[[Electrochemical cell|cell]] [[Battery (electricity)|battery]]<br />
*1 × [[propeller|shaft]]<br />
|Ship speed=*{{cvt|9|kn|lk=in}} surfaced<br />
*{{cvt|8|kn}} submerged<br />
|Ship range=* {{cvt|540|nmi|lk=in}} at 9 kn surfaced<br />
*{{cvt|12|nmi}} at {{cvt|4|kn}} submerged<br />
|Ship test depth= {{cvt|150|ft}}<br />
|Ship complement=* 1 officer<br />
* 9 enlisted<br />
|Ship armament=2 × [[American 18 inch torpedo|18 inch (450 mm)]] bow [[torpedo tube]]s (4 [[torpedo]]es)<br />
|Ship notes=<br />
}}<br />
|}<br />
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'''USS ''Viper/B-1'' (SS-10)''', also known as "Submarine Torpedo Boat No. 10", was the [[lead ship]] of [[United States B-class submarine|her class]] of [[submarine]]s built for the [[United States Navy]] (USN) in the first decade of the 20th century. She was the third boat of the USN to be named for the [[viper]]. Used primarily for training, she was transported to the [[Philippines]], in 1915. During [[WWI]] she patrolled the waters around the Philippines. <br />
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==Design==<br />
The B-class submarines, also known as the ''Viper''-class, were enlarged versions of the preceding {{sclass|Plunger|submarine|0}}. They had a length of {{cvt|82|ft|5|in}} [[length overall|overall]], a [[beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{cvt|12|ft|6|in}}, and a mean [[draft (ship)|draft]] of {{cvt|10|ft|7|in}}. They [[displacement (ship)|displaced]] {{cvt|145|LT|lk=in}} on the surface and {{cvt|173|LT}} submerged. The B-class boats had a crew of one officer and nine enlisted men. They had a diving depth of {{convert|150|ft|1}}.{{sfn|Friedman|1995|p=306}}<br />
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For surface running, they were powered by one {{convert|240|bhp|lk=in|adj=on}} [[gasoline engine]] that drove the single [[propeller shaft]]. When submerged the [[propeller]] was driven by a {{convert|115|hp|adj=on}} [[electric motor]].{{sfn|Friedman|1995|p=306}} The boats could reach {{cvt|9|kn|lk=in}} on the surface and {{cvt|8|kn}} underwater. On the surface, they had a range of {{cvt|540|nmi|lk=in}} at 9 kn and {{cvt|12|nmi}} at {{cvt|4|kn}} submerged.{{sfn|Gardiner|Gray|1985|p=127}}<br />
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The B-class boats were armed with two [[American 18 inch torpedo|18 inch (450 mm)]] [[torpedo tube]]s in the bow. They carried two reloads, for a total of four torpedoes.{{sfn|Gardiner|Gray|1985|p=127}}<br />
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==Construction==<br />
''Viper'' was [[laid down]] 5 September 1905, in [[Quincy, Massachusetts]], by the [[Fore River Shipbuilding Company]], under a subcontract from [[Electric Boat Company]], of [[New Suffolk]], Long Island. ''Viper'' was [[ship naming and launching|launched]] on 30 March 1907, sponsored by Mrs. Lillian Spear, wife of [[Lawrence York Spear]], Vice President of the [[Holland Torpedo Boat Company]]. The boat was [[ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 18 October 1907.{{sfn|DANFS|2016}}<br />
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==Service history==<br />
''Viper'' was assigned to the Second Submarine Flotilla, [[United States Fleet Forces Command|Atlantic Fleet]]. She cruised along the [[East Coast of the United States|Atlantic coast]] on training and experimental exercises until going into reserve at [[Charleston Navy Yard]], on 30 November 1909. Recommissioned on 15 April 1910, she served with the Atlantic Torpedo Fleet, until assigned to the Reserve Torpedo Group, at Charleston Navy Yard, on 9 May 1911. On 17 November, her name was changed to ''B-1''.{{sfn|DANFS|2016}}<br />
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In April 1914, ''B-1'' was towed to the [[Norfolk Navy Yard]], to be overhauled. In 1915, she was loaded aboard the [[Collier (ship type)|collier]] {{USS|Hector|AC-7|2}}, for transport to the [[Philippine Islands]]. Arriving at [[Olongapo]], Luzon, on 24 March 1915, ''B-1'' was launched sidewise from the deck of ''Hector'', into [[Canacao Bay]], on 15 April, and recommissioned two days later.{{sfn|DANFS|2016}}<br />
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''B-1'' was assigned to the First Submarine Division, Torpedo Flotilla, [[United States Asiatic Fleet|Asiatic Fleet]] on 19 May 1915. Up to that time, the division had consisted solely of somewhat older, smaller and slower, ''Plunger''-class, or A-boats, so the division commander, took command of ''B-1'' as his [[flagship]]. Since these early submarines possessed no [[Galley (kitchen)|galley]]s or [[berthing]] accommodations, their officers and men ate and slept in the old [[Monitor (warship)|monitor]] {{USS|Monadnock|BM-3|2}}, which usually rode at anchor off [[Sangley Point]], when not towing targets for the submarines or recovering their torpedoes with her boats.{{sfn|DANFS|2016}}<br />
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[[World War I]] had broken out in [[Europe]] during the previous summer, so ''B-1'' and her division mates carried out patrols to assure that no belligerent warships violated the neutrality of Philippine territorial waters. In addition to such duty, she also joined them in diving tests and torpedo-firing exercises during which they helped to develop the techniques and tactics of submarine warfare.{{sfn|DANFS|2016}}<br />
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These operations, even before the United States entered the war, entailed considerable peril. Tremendous pressure could crush ''B-1''{{'}}s hull like an eggshell if she should dive too deep while operating submerged. [[Hydrogen]] gas from her electric batteries or gasoline fumes from her internal-combustion engines could turn a submarine into a giant bomb awaiting a spark. Moreover, the fumes were poisonous, and by [[Carbon monoxide poisoning|intoxicating]] those who inhale them, could deprive both crew and commander of the sound judgement needed for safe operations. This happened to ''B-1'' in the autumn of 1916, during an attempt to make a submerged, five-hour run in [[Manila Bay]]. [[Lieutenant (junior grade)|Lieutenant (jg)]] [[Charles A. Lockwood]], who had recently relieved the previous commander of the submarine, and who would go on to direct the deadly effective American submarine campaign against the [[Empire of Japan]] during [[World War II]], and his crew were deeply affected by gasoline fumes, caused by a leaking fuel line, and were saved from disaster only by ''B-1''{{'}}s surfacing ahead of schedule.{{sfn|DANFS|2016}}<br />
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America's entry into the war in April 1917, had little effect upon ''B-1''{{'}}s routine. While she never was involved in combat, her operations in the Philippines, by adding to the Navy experience in submerged navigation, helped to develop the submarine force into the highly effective weapon that contributed so greatly to American victory in World War II.{{sfn|DANFS|2016}}<br />
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==Fate==<br />
Following the [[Armistice of 11 November 1918|Armistice]], ''B-1'', by then a member of the 2d Submarine Division, continued operations in Philippine waters until decommissioned at [[Cavite]], on 1 December 1921. She was subsequently destroyed as a target during destroyer gunnery practice. Her name was struck from the [[Navy list]], on 16 January 1922.{{sfn|DANFS|2016}}<br />
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==References==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
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==Bibliography==<br />
{{refbegin}}<br />
* {{cite journal<br />
|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=mZEqAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA762<br />
|title= Table 21 - Ships on Navy List June 30, 1919<br />
|journal= Congressional Serial Set<br />
|publisher= U.S. Government Printing Office<br />
|year= 1921<br />
|page= 762<br />
|ref= {{sfnRef|Navy List|1921}} <br />
}}<br />
* {{cite web<br />
|last= Mohl<br />
|first= Michael<br />
|title= Viper / B-1 (SS-10)<br />
|url= https://www.navsource.net/archives/08/08010.htm<br />
|website= Navsource.net<br />
|access-date= 15 September 2025<br />
}}<br />
* {{cite book<br />
|last= Friedman |first= Norman<br />
|author-link= Norman Friedman<br />
|title= U.S. Submarines Through 1945: An Illustrated Design History<br />
|publisher= [[Naval Institute Press]]<br />
|location= [[Annapolis]], Maryland<br />
|year= 1995<br />
|isbn=1-55750-263-3<br />
}}<br />
* {{cite book<br />
|editor1-last= Gardiner<br />
|editor1-first= Robert<br />
|editor2-last= Gray<br />
|editor2-first= Randal<br />
|title= Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921<br />
|year= 1985<br />
|location= Annapolis, Maryland<br />
|publisher= Naval Institute Press<br />
|isbn=0-85177-245-5<br />
|name-list-style= amp<br />
}}<br />
* {{cite DANFS<br />
|last= <br />
|first= <br />
|title= B-1 (Submarine Torpedo Boat No. 10)<br />
|url= https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/b/b-1.html<br />
|date= 1 September 2016<br />
|access-date= 15 September 2025<br />
|ref= {{sfnRef|DANFS|2016}}<br />
}}{{PD-notice}}<br />
{{refend}}<br />
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==Further reading==<br />
*{{cite journal |last1=Eger|first1=Christopher L.|title=Hudson Fulton Celebration, Part II |journal=Warship International|date=March 2021|volume=LVIII |issue=1 |pages=58–81 |issn=0043-0374}}<br />
*{{cite journal|last1=Wright|first1=C. C.|title=Question 40/02: Submarines Expended as Targets 1922 |journal=Warship International |date=2003|volume=XL|issue=4|pages=286–298 |issn=0043-0374}}<br />
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==External links==<br />
{{commons category|USS B-1 (SS 10) (submarine, 1907)}}<br />
*{{navsource|08/08010|USS Viper}}<br />
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{{United States B class submarine}}<br />
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{{DEFAULTSORT:B-01 (SS-10)}}<br />
[[Category:United States B-class submarines]]<br />
[[Category:World War I submarines of the United States]]<br />
[[Category:Ships sunk as targets]]<br />
[[Category:Shipwrecks in Manila Bay]]<br />
[[Category:Ships built in Quincy, Massachusetts]]<br />
[[Category:1907 ships]]</div>imported>Pennsy22