USS H-1 (SS-28)
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| Career |
|---|---|
| Ordered: | |
| Laid down: | |
| Launched: | 6 May 1913 |
| Commissioned: | 1 December 1913 |
| Decommissioned: | |
| Fate: | run aground, lost during salvage |
| Stricken: | 12 April 1920 |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 358 tons |
| Length: | 150 feet 4 inches (46 m) |
| Beam: | 15 feet 10 inches (4.8 m) |
| Draft: | 12 feet 5 inches (3.8 m) |
| Propulsion: | |
| Speed: | 14 knots (26 km/h) |
| Range: | |
| Depth: | 200 feet |
| Complement: | 25 officers and men |
| Armament: | four 18-inch (457 mm) torpedo tubes |
| Motto: | |
USS H-1 (SS-28), the lead ship of the her class of submarine of the United States Navy, was originally named Seawolf, making her the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the seawolf, a solitary fish with strong, prominent teeth and projecting tusks that give it a savage look. Her keel was laid down by the Union Iron Works of San Francisco, California. She was renamed on 17 November 1911, launched 6 May 1913 sponsored by Miss Lesley Jean Makins, and commissioned at Mare Island Navy Yard on 1 December 1913 with Lieutenant Henry M. Jensen in command.
The new submarine was attached to the Second Torpedo Flotilla, Pacific Fleet, and operated along the West Coast out of the submarine base at San Pedro, California. On various exercises and patrols she traveled the coast from Los Angeles, California, to lower British Columbia, often in company with H-2 (SS-29) and sometimes H-3 (SS-30).
Sailing from San Pedro, California, on 17 October 1917, she reached New London, Connecticut, 22 days later via Acapulco, Balboa, Panama, Key West, Florida, Charleston, South Carolina, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. For the remainder of World War I, she was based there and patrolled Long Island Sound, frequently with officer students from the submarine school on board.
H-1 and H-2 sailed for San Pedro, California, on 6 January 1920, transiting the Panama Canal on 20 February via Norfolk, Virginia, Key West, Florida, and Havana, Cuba. On 12 March 1920, as H-1 made her way up the coast of Mexico's Baja California peninsula, the submarine went aground on a tricky shoal off Santa Margarita Island.
Four men, including the commanding officer, Lieutenant Commander James R. Webb, died as they tried to reach shore. Vestal (AR-4), a repair ship, pulled H-1 off the rocks in the morning of 24 March, only to have her sink 45 minutes later in some 50 feet of water. Salvage was abandoned. Her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 12 April 1920. Her hulk sold for salvage scrap in June 1920, but was never recovered.
The wreck of H-1 was found again in 1992.
See USS Seawolf for other ships of the same name.
References
This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.