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{{Short description|B-class submarine of the United States}}
{{other ships|USS Tarantula}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2025}}

{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=USS Tarantula - 19-N-60-9-5.jpg
|Ship caption= USS ''Tarantula'', underway near the [[New York Navy Yard]], 1909
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1921}}
|Ship name= ''Tarantula''
|Ship namesake=The [[tarantula]]
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder= [[Fore River Shipbuilding Company]], [[Quincy, Massachusetts|Quincy]], Massachusetts
|Ship original cost= $185,077.84 (hull and machinery){{sfn|Navy List|1921|p=762}}
|Ship laid down= 5 September 1905
|Ship launched= 30 March 1907
|Ship sponsor= Mrs. George S. Radford
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned= 3 December 1907
|Ship decommissioned= 6 November 1909
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=yes
|Ship recommissioned= 15 April 1910
|Ship decommissioned= 4 December 1912
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=yes
|Ship recommissioned= 2 September 1913
|Ship decommissioned= 25 July 1921
|Ship struck= 17 January 1922
|Ship renamed= ''B-3'' (Submarine Torpedo Boat No.12), 17 November 1911
|Ship identification=*[[Hull classification symbol#Submarine type|Hull symbol]]: SS-12 (17 July 1920)
*[[Maritime call sign|Call sign]]: NUD
*{{ICS|November}}{{ICS|Uniform}}{{ICS|Delta}}
|Ship fate= Sunk as a target
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption= {{sfn|Priolo}}
|Ship class=[[United States B-class submarine|B-class submarine]]
|Ship displacement=* {{cvt|145|LT|lk=in}} surfaced
* {{cvt|173|LT}} submerged
|Ship length= {{cvt|82|ft|5|in}}
|Ship beam= {{cvt|12|ft|6|in}}
|Ship draft= {{cvt|10|ft|7|in}}
|Ship power=* {{cvt|250|bhp|lk=in}} surfaced
* {{cvt|150|bhp}} submerged
|Ship propulsion=*1 × [[Craig Shipbuilding Company]] [[gasoline engine]]
* 1 × [[Electro Dynamic]] [[electric motor]]
* 60-[[Electrochemical cell|cell]] [[Battery (electricity)|battery]]
*1 × [[propeller|shaft]]
|Ship speed=*{{cvt|9|kn|lk=in}} surfaced
*{{cvt|8|kn}} submerged
|Ship range=* {{cvt|540|nmi|lk=in}} at 9 kn surfaced
*{{cvt|12|nmi}} at {{cvt|4|kn}} submerged
|Ship test depth= {{cvt|150|ft}}
|Ship complement=* 1 officer
* 9 enlisted
|Ship armament=2 × [[American 18 inch torpedo|18 inch (450 mm)]] bow [[torpedo tube]]s (4 [[torpedo]]es)
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

'''USS ''Tarantula/B-3'' (SS-12)''', also known as "Submarine Torpedo Boat No. 12", was one of three [[United States B-class submarine|B-class submarine]]s built for the [[United States Navy]] (USN) in the first decade of the 20th century. She was the first boat of the USN to be named for the [[tarantula]], a group of large, and often hairy, [[spider]]s of the family Theraphosidae. Used primarily for training, she was transported to the [[Philippines]], in 1913. During [[WWI]] she patrolled the waters around the Philippines.

==Design==
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}}

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}}

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}}

==Construction==
''Tarantula'' 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. ''Tarantula'' was [[ship naming and launching|launched]] on 30 March 1907, sponsored by Mrs. George S. Radford; the boat was [[ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 4 December 1907.{{sfn|DANFS|2024}}

==Service history==
''Tarantula'' reported to the [[United States Fleet Forces Command|Atlantic Fleet]], and operated along the [[East Coast of the United States|Atlantic coast]], with the First and Second Submarine Flotillas, on training and experimental exercises until going into reserve at [[Charleston Navy Yard]], on 6 November 1909. She was recommissioned on 15 April 1910, and served with the Atlantic Torpedo Fleet until assigned to the Reserve Torpedo Group, Charleston Navy Yard, on 9 May 1911, and placed out of commission on 4 December 1912. On 17 November, ''Tarantula'' was renamed ''B-3''.{{sfn|DANFS|2024}}

On 6 December 1912, ''B-3'' was towed to [[Norfolk Navy Yard]], and loaded onto the [[Collier (ship type)|collier]] {{USS|Ajax|AG-15|2}}, along with her [[sister ship]] {{USS|B-2|SS-11|2}}, for transfer to the [[Asiatic Station]]. Arriving at [[Cavite]], in the Philippine Islands, on 30 April 1913, ''B-3'' was launched from ''Ajax'' on 12 May. She was recommissioned on 2 September and remained in the Philippines where she served with Submarine Division 4, Torpedo Flotilla, [[United States Asiatic Fleet|Asiatic Fleet]].{{sfn|DANFS|2024}}

Excerpts from the autobiography of [[Captain (US Navy)|Captain]] C.Q. Wright, indicate he was the "Officer in Charge" of ''B3'' at Cavite. His crew launched the two subs off the deck of the ''Ajax''. They then retrofitted the gasoline powered engines and motors in the [[Cavite Navy Yard]] shop readying the subs for a 48-hour [[shakedown cruise]]. The first tour of duty began with sealed orders at 1900 hours, guarding [[Manila Bay]]'s [[Naval Base Manila]], in the event hostilities broke out with the [[Empire of Japan]]. Orders were to sink any Japanese war vessel that came into sight, although none did.{{CN|date=September 2025}}

In 1914, ''B-3'' was awarded the "Battle Efficiency Pennant" for the best operating submarine in the US fleet, Commanding Officer [[Ensign (rank)|Ensign]] C.Q. Wright.{{CN|date=September 2025}}

After [[World War I]] broke out in [[Europe]] early in the summer of 1914, she carried out patrols to prevent belligerent warships from violating the neutrality of Philippine waters until the United States entered the conflict in the spring of 1917. Then, through the [[Armistice of 11 November 1918|Armistice]], she continued much the same work, ostensibly to protect the archipelago from the [[Imperial German Navy]], a force that long before had been driven from the oceans.{{sfn|DANFS|2024}}

==Fate==
Decommissioned at Cavite, on 25 July 1921, ''B-3'' was subsequently sunk as a target. Her name was struck from the [[Navy list]] on 17 January 1922.{{sfn|DANFS|2024}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite journal
|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=mZEqAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA762
|title= Table 21 - Ships on Navy List June 30, 1919
|journal= Congressional Serial Set
|publisher= U.S. Government Printing Office
|year= 1921
|page= 762
|ref= {{sfnRef|Navy List|1921}}
}}
* {{cite web
|last= Priolo
|first= Gary
|title= Tarantula / B-3 (SS-12)
|url= https://www.navsource.net/archives/08/08012.htm
|website= Navsource.net
|access-date= 15 September 2025
}}
* {{cite book
|last= Friedman |first= Norman
|author-link= Norman Friedman
|title= U.S. Submarines Through 1945: An Illustrated Design History
|publisher= [[Naval Institute Press]]
|location= [[Annapolis]], Maryland
|year= 1995
|isbn=1-55750-263-3
}}
* {{cite book
|editor1-last= Gardiner
|editor1-first= Robert
|editor2-last= Gray
|editor2-first= Randal
|title= Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921
|year= 1985
|location= Annapolis, Maryland
|publisher= Naval Institute Press
|isbn=0-85177-245-5
|name-list-style= amp
}}
* {{cite DANFS
|last=
|first=
|title= B-3 (Submarine Torpedo Boat No. 12)
|url= https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/b/b-3.html
|date= 20 August 2024
|access-date= 15 September 2025
|ref= {{sfnRef|DANFS|2024}}
}}{{PD-notice}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
*{{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}}
*{{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}}

==External links==
{{commons category|USS B-3 (SS 12) (submarine, 1907)}}
*{{navsource|08/08012|USS Tarantula}}

{{United States B class submarine}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:B-03 (SS-12)}}
[[Category:United States B-class submarines]]
[[Category:World War I submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Ships sunk as targets]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks in Manila Bay]]
[[Category:Ships built in Quincy, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:1907 ships]]

USS B-3 - Revision history

imported>Pennsy22 at 13:03, 15 October 2025