USS R-25

USS R-25 (SS-102), also known as "Submarine No. 102", was an R-21-class coastal and harbor defense submarines of the United States Navy commissioned after the end of World War I.

USS R-25, probably at the Lake Torpedo Boat Company. at Bridgeport, Connecticut, in 1919
History
United States
Name	R-25
Ordered	29 August 1916
Builder	Lake Torpedo Boat Company, Bridgeport, Connecticut
Cost	$848,818.04 (hull and machinery)[1]
Laid down	26 April 1917
Launched	15 May 1919
Sponsored by	Mrs. Rosalinda Robinson
Commissioned	23 October 1919
Decommissioned	21 June 1924
Stricken	9 May 1930
Identification	Hull symbol: SS-102 (17 July 1920) Call sign: NIMC
Fate	Sold for scrap, 30 July 1930
General characteristics [2][3]
Class & type	R-21-class submarine
Displacement	497 long tons (505 t) surfaced 652 long tons (662 t) submerged
Length	175 feet (53 m)
Beam	16 ft 7 in (5.05 m)
Draft	13 ft 11 in (4.24 m)
Installed power	1,000 brake horsepower (746 kW) diesel 800 hp (597 kW) electric
Propulsion	2 × Busch-Sulzer diesel engines 2 × Diehl Manufacture Company electric motors 1 × 120-cell batteries 2 × Propellers
Speed	14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) surfaced 11 kn (20 km/h; 13 mph) submerged
Range	3,523 nautical miles (6,525 km; 4,054 mi) at 11 kn (20 km/h; 13 mph), 6,499 nmi (12,036 km; 7,479 mi) if fuel loaded into the main ballast tanks
Test depth	200 ft (61 m)
Capacity	17,922 US gallons (67,840 L; 14,923 imp gal) fuel
Complement	3 officers 23 enlisted
Armament	4 × 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes (8 torpedoes) 1 × 3-inch (76 mm)/50-caliber deck gun

Design

The R-boats built by the Lake Torpedo Boat Company, R-21 through R-27, are sometimes considered a separate class, R-21-class, from those built by the Fore River Shipbuilding Company, R-1 through R-14, and the Union Iron Works, R-15 through R-20, R-1-class.^[2]

The submarines had a length of 175 feet (53.3 m) overall, a beam of 16 ft 7 in (5.1 m), and a mean draft of 13 ft 11 in (4.2 m). They displaced 497 long tons (505 t) on the surface and 652 long tons (662 t) submerged. The R-21-class submarines had a crew of 3 officers and 23 enlisted men. They had a diving depth of 200 ft (61.0 m).^[2][4]

For surface running, the boats were powered by two 500-brake-horsepower (373 kW) Busch-Sulzer diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a 400-horsepower (298 kW) Diehl Manufacture Company electric motor. They could reach 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) on the surface and 11 kn (20 km/h; 13 mph) underwater. On the surface, the R-21-class had a range of 3,523 nautical miles (6,525 km; 4,054 mi) at 11 kn (20 km/h; 13 mph), or 6,499 nmi (12,036 km; 7,479 mi) if fuel was loaded into their main ballast tanks.^[4]

The boats were armed with four 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes in the bow. They carried four reloads, for a total of eight torpedoes. The R-21-class submarines were also armed with a single 3 in (76 mm)/50 caliber deck gun.^[2][4]

Construction

USS R-25 in Bridgeport during 1919

R-25's keel was laid down on 26 April 1917, by the Lake Torpedo Boat Company, in Bridgeport, Connecticut. She was launched on 15 May 1919,^[5] sponsored by Mrs. Rosalinda Robinson,^[6] and commissioned on 23 October 1919 with future Vice Admiral and Commander, Submarines, Southwest Pacific (COMSUBSOWESPAC), Lieutenant Commander Charles A. Lockwood, Jr., in command.^[5]

Service record

At the end of November, R-25 got underway for her homeport, Coco Solo, in the Panama Canal Zone, arriving 11 January 1920.^[5]

When the US Navy adopted its hull classification system on 17 July 1920, she received the hull number SS-102.^[3]

Except for overhaul periods at Balboa, and on the East Coast, R-25 operated in the waters off the Panama Canal Zone, until the fall of 1923.^[5]

Fate

In November of that year she arrived at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, and underwent inactivation overhaul. On 21 June 1924, she was decommissioned after just over four-and-a-half years of service. She was laid up at League Island, until she was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 9 May 1930, and sold for scrap on 30 July 1930.^[5]