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DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER
805 KIDDER BREESE SE -- WASHINGTON NAVY YARD
WASHINGTON DC 20374-5060
Online Library of Selected Images:
-- U.S. NAVY SHIPS --
USS S-4 (Submarine # 109, later SS-109), 1919-1936
USS S-4, an 876-ton S-3 class submarine, was
built by the Portsmouth Navy Yard, located in Kittery, Maine.
Entering commissioned service in mid-November 1919, early in the
following year she went to Cuba on a shakedown cruise, then served
in the Gulf of Mexico and off New England until November 1920.
In that month she began a year-long voyage to the Philippines,
travelling by way of the Panama Canal and Hawaii in company with
several other "S" type submarines. S-4 remained
in the Far East until late 1924 and served in U.S. West Coast
waters for another two years. She returned to the Atlantic in
the spring of 1927 and again began operations off New England.
On 17 December 1927, while conducting submerged trials off
Provincetown, Massachusetts, S-4 was rammed by the U.S.
Coast Guard destroyer Paulding
(CG-17). Holed in the starboard side, just forward of her
deck gun, the submarine sank immediately. All of her officers
and men were able to reach unflooded compartments as S-4
went to the bottom in 110 feet of water. However, the majority,
who had gone aft, soon succumbed. In her torpedo room, forward,
six men remained alive. In extremely cold water and tangled wreckage,
Navy divers worked desperately to rescue them, but a storm forced
the abandonment of this effort on 24 December. In all, forty men
lost their lives in the tragedy.
During the first three months of 1928, divers and other salvage
personnel were able to raise the sunken S-4 and tow her
to the Boston Navy Yard, where she was drydocked and repaired.
She returned to active duty in October and was employed thereafter
as a submarine rescue and salvage test ship. Work with her helped
to develop equipment and techniques that bore fruit a decade later,
when 33 men were brought up alive from the sunken submarine Squalus.
In April 1933, following experimental service in New England,
Gulf of Mexico and Hawaiian waters, USS S-4 was placed
out of commission. She was stricken from the list of Naval vessels
in January 1936 and disposed of by sinking in mid-May of that
year.
This page features, or provides links to, all the views
we have concerning USS S-4 (Submarine # 109, later SS-109).
For more images related to this submarine, see:
USS S-4 -- In Groups with
Other Submarines;
USS S-4 -- Interior Views,
1919;
USS S-4 -- As a Test Ship,
1928-1933;
Loss
and Recovery of of USS S-4, 17 December 1927 - March 1928.
Click on the small photograph to prompt
a larger view of the same image.
Photo #: NH 46335
USS S-4 (Submarine # 109)
Underway on 26 December 1919, probably off Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
Photographed by the Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, Maine.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
Online Image: 73KB; 740 x 615 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 41812
USS S-4 (Submarine # 109)
Underway on 26 December 1919, probably off Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
Photographed by the Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, Maine.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
Online Image: 71KB; 740 x 610 pixels |
 |
Photo #: NH 41861
USS S-4 (SS-109)
At Port Angeles, Washington, circa 1925-1926.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
Online Image: 84KB; 740 x 505 pixels |
 |
Photo #: NH 46336
USS S-4 (Submarine # 109)
In port, during the 1920s.
Courtesy of Donald M. McPherson.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
Online Image: 99KB; 740 x 610 pixels |
 |
Photo #: NH 41858
USS Holland (AS-3)
Hoisting USS S-4 (SS-109) by the bow so repairs can be
made, during the 1920s.
Note the use of Holland's "clipper" bow as a
lifting platform.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
Online Image: 122KB; 740 x 545 pixels |
 |
Photo #: NH 41862
USS Holland (AS-3)
Preparing to hoist USS S-4 (SS-109) by the bow so repairs
can be made, during the 1920s.
Note the heavy lifting gear deployed from Holland's "clipper"
bow.
Photographed by Chief Quartermaster Peck.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
Online Image: 72KB; 740 x 465 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 41839
USS S-4 (Submarine # 109)
View on deck, looking aft from the bow, 25 December 1919. Taken
at the Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, Maine.
USS Israel (Destroyer # 98) is partially visible at right.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
Online Image: 108KB; 595 x 765 pixels |
 |
Photo #: NH 41840
USS S-4 (Submarine # 109)
View on deck, looking forward from the stern, 25 December 1919.
Taken at the Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, Maine.
USS Israel (Destroyer # 98) is partially visible at left.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
Online Image: 102KB; 590 x 765 pixels |
 |
Photo #: NH 41837
USS S-4 (Submarine # 109)
One of the ship's officers and several crew members pose on deck,
at the Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, Maine, on 26 December 1919.
Destroyer in the immediate background is USS Israel (Destroyer
# 98).
Note that S-4's 4"/50 deck gun has not yet been installed.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
Online Image: 104KB; 740 x 615 pixels |
 |
Photo #: NH 41859
USS S-4 (Submarine # 109)
Outline plan showing the general arrangement of S-4 and
other submarines of her type.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
Online Image: 90KB; 1200 x 625 pixels |
 |
For more images related to this submarine, see:
USS S-4 -- In Groups with
Other Submarines;
USS S-4 -- Interior Views,
1919;
USS S-4 -- As a Test Ship,
1928-1933;
Loss
and Recovery of of USS S-4, 17 December 1927 - March 1928.
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Historical Center home page.
Page made 16 October 2005