View source for USS O-9

{{Short description|O-class submarine of the United States}}
{{Use American English|date= October 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date= October 2025}}

{{Infobox ship
|section1={{Infobox ship/image
 |image= USS O9 SS70 Presidents Day 1928.jpg
 |image_caption=''O-9'' [[Dressing overall|dressed overall]] on [[Washington's Birthday]], 1928, in [[Coco Solo]], [[Panama Canal Zone]]
 }}

|section2={{Infobox ship/career
 |hide_header=
 |country=United States
 |flag={{USN flag|1945}}
 |name=  ''O-9''
 |ordered= 3 March 1916
 |builder= [[Fore River Shipbuilding Company]], [[Quincy, Massachusetts|Quincy]], Massachusetts
 |original_cost= $522,187.97 (hull and machinery){{sfn|Navy List|1921|p=769}}
 |laid_down= 15 February 1917
 |launched= 27 January 1918
 |sponsor= Mrs. Fanny Sherman
 |commissioned= 27 July 1918
 |decommissioned= 25 June 1931
 }}

|section3={{Infobox ship/career
 |hide_header=yes
 |recommissioned= 14 April 1941
 |decommissioned= 
 |struck= 23 October 1941
 |identification=* [[Hull classification symbol#Submarine type|Hull symbol]]: SS-70 (17 July 1920)
                 *[[Maritime call sign|Call sign]]: NAGB
                 *{{ICS|November}}{{ICS|Alpha}}{{ICS|Golf}}{{ICS|Bravo}}
 |fate= [[Foundered]], 20 June 1941
 |notes=
 }}

|section4={{Infobox ship/characteristics
 |hide_header=
 |header_caption= {{sfn|Friedman|1995|p=307}}{{sfn|Priolo|O-9}}
 |class= [[United States O-class submarine|''O-1''-class]] [[submarine]]
 |type= 
 |displacement=
*{{cvt|520|LT|lk=in|0}} surfaced
*{{cvt|629|LT|0}} submerged
 |length= {{cvt|172|ft|4|in}}
 |beam= {{cvt|18|ft}}
 |draft= {{cvt|14|ft|5|in}}
 |power=* {{cvt|880|bhp|0|lk=in}} diesel
        * {{cvt|740|hp|0}} electric
 |propulsion=
*2 × [[New London Ship and Engine Company|NELSECO]] 6-EB-14 [[diesel engine]]s
*2 × [[Electro-Dynamic Company]] [[electric motor]]s
*2 × 60-[[electrochemical cell|cell]] [[storage battery|batteries]]
*2 × [[Propeller]]s
 |speed=
*{{convert|14|kn|lk=in}} surfaced
*{{convert|10.5|kn}} submerged
 |range=*{{convert|5500|nmi|km|abbr=on}} at {{convert|11.5|kn|abbr=on}} surfaced
        *{{convert|250|nmi|km|abbr=on}} at {{convert|5|kn|abbr=on}} submerged 
 |test_depth= {{cvt|200|ft}}
 |capacity= {{cvt|21897|USgal}} fuel
 |complement=* 2 officers
             * 27 enlisted
 |armament=* 4 × [[American 18 inch torpedo|18 inch (450 mm)]] [[Bow (watercraft)|bow]] [[torpedo tube]]s (8 [[torpedo]]es)
           *1 × [[3"/23 caliber gun|{{cvt|3|in}}/23 caliber]] retractable [[deck gun]]
 |notes=
 }}
}}

'''USS ''O-9'' (SS-70)''', also known as "Submarine No. 70", was one of 16 [[United States O-class submarine|O-class]] [[submarine]]s of the [[United States Navy]] commissioned during [[World War I]]. She was recommissioned on 14 April 1941, prior to the United States entry into [[WWII]], for use as a trainer. On 20 June 1941, she sank approximately {{cvt|15|mi|km}} off [[Portsmouth, New Hampshire|Portsmouth]], New Hampshire, with the loss of 33 lives. The wreck was located in 1997.

==Design==
The ''O-1''-class submarines were designed to meet a Navy requirement for coastal defense boats.{{sfn|Friedman|1995|pp=86–87}} The submarines had a length of {{cvt|172|ft|4|in|1}} [[length overall|overall]], a [[beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{cvt|18|ft|1|in|1}}, and a mean [[draft (ship)|draft]] of {{cvt|14|ft|5|in|1}}. They [[displacement (ship)|displaced]] {{cvt|520|LT|lk=in}} on the surface and {{cvt|629|LT}} submerged. The O-class submarines had a crew of 2 officers and 27 enlisted men. They had a diving depth of {{cvt|200|ft|1}}.{{sfn|Friedman|1995|p=307}}{{sfn|Gardiner|Gray|1985|p=129}}

For surface running, the boats were powered by two {{convert|440|bhp|lk=in|0|adj=on}} [[New London Ship and Engine Company|NELSECO]] 6-EB-14 [[diesel engine]]s, each driving one [[propeller shaft]]. When submerged each [[propeller]] was driven by a {{convert|370|hp|0|adj=on}} [[Electro-Dynamic Company]] [[electric motor]].{{sfn|Priolo|O-9}} They could reach {{convert|14|kn|lk=in}} on the surface and {{cvt|10.5|kn}} underwater. On the surface, the O-class had a range of {{convert|5500|nmi|lk=in}} at {{cvt|11.5|kn}}.{{sfn|Gardiner|Gray|1985|p=129}}

The boats were armed with four [[American 18 inch torpedo|18-inch (450 mm)]]  [[torpedo tube]]s in the bow. They carried four reloads, for a total of eight [[torpedoe]]s. The O-class submarines were also armed with a single [[3"/23 caliber gun|{{cvt|3|in}}/23 caliber]] retractable [[deck gun]].{{sfn|Friedman|1995|p=307}}{{sfn|Gardiner|Gray|1985|p=129}}

==Construction==
''O-9''{{'}}s [[keel]] was [[laid down]] on 15 February 1917, at [[Fore River Shipbuilding Company]], of [[Quincy, Massachusetts|Quincy]], Massachusetts. She was [[Ship naming and launching|launched]] on 27 January 1918,{{sfn|DANFS|2015|O-9}} [[Ship sponsor|sponsored]] by Mrs. Fanny Sherman,{{sfn|Hall|1925|p=159}} the wife of [[Lieutenant Commander (United States)|Lieutenant Commander]] [[Frederick C. Sherman]], the ships commanding officer while under construction,{{sfn|Priolo|O-9}} and [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 27 July 1918.{{sfn|DANFS|2015|O-9}}

==Service history==
During the final months of [[World War I]], ''O-9'' operated on coastal patrol and protected the [[East Coast of the United States|Atlantic coast]] from [[Imperial Germany|German]] [[U-boat]]s. She departed [[Newport, Rhode Island|Newport]], Rhode Island, on 2 November 1918, with a 20-sub contingent for [[UK|Britain]], in order to conduct her first war patrol. However, the [[Armistice with Germany (Compiègne)|end of the war]] came before ''O-9'' reached [[Europe]].{{sfn|DANFS|2015|O-9}}

After the war, ''O-9'' continued in Naval service and trained submarine crews at the [[Naval Submarine Base New London|Submarine School]] at [[New London, Connecticut]].{{sfn|DANFS|2015|O-9}}

When the US Navy adopted its [[Hull classification symbol|hull classification]] system on 17 July 1920, she received the [[hull number]] '''SS-70'''.{{sfn|Priolo|O-9}}

Proceeding to [[Coco Solo]], [[Panama Canal Zone]], in 1924, the boat was reclassified to a second-line submarine during her year there. Returning to operate at New London, ''O-9'' reverted to a first-line submarine on 6 June 1928. Sailing up to [[Portsmouth, New Hampshire|Portsmouth]], New Hampshire, in January 1930, the submarine returned to New London, in March; the following February, she sailed to [[Philadelphia Navy Yard]], to decommission there on 25 June 1931.{{sfn|DANFS|2015|O-9}}

Remaining on the [[Naval Vessel Register]], ''O-9'' was recalled to training service as the US involvement in [[World War II]] became more inevitable. The 12 {{sclass|Tambor|submarine}}s were already nearing completion and 73 {{sclass|Gato|submarine|4}} boats had already been ordered when ''O-9'' was recommissioned at Philadelphia, on 14 April 1941, and went to New London on 31 May.{{sfn|DANFS|2015|O-9}}

In all, eight of the original ten O-boats were recommissioned to serve as training submarines in the Second World War. {{USS|O-5|SS-66|2}} had been sunk after a collision, in 1923, and {{USS|O-1|SS-62|2}} had been scrapped in 1938. ''O-9'', in particular, required extensive work, and still suffered mechanical problems even after being returned to service.

===Operational loss===
On the morning of 19 June 1941, ''O-9'' and two of her [[sister ship|sister]]s, {{USS|O-6|SS-67|2}} and {{USS|O-10|SS-71|2}}, left as a group from the submarine base in New London, for the submarine test depth diving area east of the [[Isles of Shoals]]. Upon reaching their designated training area the following day, some {{cvt|15|mi}} off Portsmouth, New Hampshire, ''O-6'' made the first dive, followed by ''O-10''. Finally, at 07:38, ''O-9'' began her dive; the sub did not surface thereafter but was crushed by the pressure of the water over {{cvt|400|ft}} below. The sub went down in the area where {{USS|Squalus|SS-192|2}} had been lost.{{sfn|DANFS|2015|O-9}}

Rescue ships swung into action immediately. ''O-6'' and ''O-10'', submarine {{USS|Triton|SS-201|2}}, [[submarine rescue ship]] {{USS|Falcon|ASR-2|2}}, and other ships, searched for ''O-9'',  and divers went down from 13:00, 21 June, until 11:43, 22 June. Divers went to record depths for salvage operations but could stay but a brief time at the {{convert|440|ft|m|adj=on}} depth; but nonetheless set endurance and depth records for salvage operations until those operations were cancelled, as they were considered too risky. The boat and her 33 officers and men were declared lost as of 20 June. {{sfn|DANFS|2015|O-9}} 

On 22 June, [[Secretary of the Navy]] [[Frank Knox]] conducted memorial services for the 33 officers and men lost on the boat. ''O-9'' was struck from the [[Naval Vessel Register]] on 23 October 1941.{{sfn|DANFS|2015|O-9}}

==Memorial==
A commemorative plaque, listing the officers and men of ''O-9'', is located at Albacore Park in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.{{sfn|McCool|1997|p=A8}}

==Wreck discovery==
[[File:USS O-9.jpg|thumb|right|Sonar image of USS ''O-9'' by NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research]]
[[File:O9 3daypass.jpg|thumb|A three-day pass from USS ''O-9'' dated 26 May 1930]]

In September 1997, the wreckage of ''O-9'' was located, approximately {{cvt|17|nmi}} off of Portsmouth, at a depth of approximately {{cvt|430|ft}}.{{sfn|Wreck|1997|p=6B}} [[Sonar]] equipment from Klein Associates of [[Salem, New Hampshire]], was used to find the submarine.{{sfn|Hamilton|1997|p=A1}} Her hull was seen to be crushed from just abaft the [[conning tower]] all the way to the stern, though the forward hull appeared intact. There are no plans to salvage ''O-9''. Her exact location was disclosed only to the [[Naval Historical Center]].{{sfn|Wreck|1997|p=6B}}

Wreck location: {{Coord|43|00|18|N|70|20|36|W|display=title, inline}}

==In popular culture==
In [[H. P. Lovecraft]]'s short story ''[[The Shadow over Innsmouth]]'', written in 1931, a US Navy submarine is described as firing torpedoes into the undersea habitation of [[Deep One]]s, off the fictional Innsmouth, [[Massachusetts]].{{sfn|Lovecraft|2014|p=574}}

More recently, and following Lovecraft's own pretense of presenting a pseudo-historical tale, [[Kenneth Hite]] and [[Kennon Bauman]], have depicted the submarine as being ''O-9'' in their book ''The Cthulhu Wars''. In doing so, they presented the vessel's loss in 1941, as having been related to the fictional torpedo attack on the Deep Ones.{{sfn|Hite|Bauman|2016|pp=34-35}} They even mentioned the actual commander of ''O-9'' in 1927–1928, Lieutenant J. T. Acree.{{sfn|Navy Directory|1927|p=176}}

==See also==
*[[List of disasters in New Hampshire by death toll]]

==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= 768
  |ref= {{sfnRef|Navy List|1921}} 
  }}
* {{cite web
  |last= Priolo
  |first= Gary
  |title= O-9 (SS-70)
  |url= https://www.navsource.net/archives/08/08070.htm
  |website= Navsource.net
  |access-date= 31 October 2025
  |ref= {{sfnRef|Priolo|O-9}}
  }}
* {{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
  |last1= Gardiner
  |first1= Robert
  |last2= Gray
  |first2= 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= O-9
  |url= https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/o/o-9.html
  |date= 17 August 2015
  |access-date= 3 November 2025
  |ref= {{sfnRef|DANFS|2015|O-9}}
  }}{{PD-notice}}
* {{cite book
  |last= Hall
  |first= Anne Martin
  |title= Ships of the United States navy and their sponsors, 1913-1923
  |url= https://archive.org/details/shipsofunitedsta0000unse/page/160
  |year= 1925
  |access-date= 31 October 2025
  }}
* {{cite newspaper
  |last= McCool
  |first= Joseph Daniel
  |url= https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-day-commemorative-plaque/181957422/
  |url-access= subscription 
  |title= Commemorative plaque
  |newspaper=[[The Day (New London)|The Day]]
  |location= [[New London, Connecticut|New London]], Connecticut
  |date= September 23, 1997
  |accessdate= September 28, 2025
  |via=newspapers.com
  }}
* {{cite newspaper
  |url= https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-day-sonar-discovers-us-sub-lost-56/181955741/
  |url-access= subscription
  |title= Sonar discovers U.S. sub lost 56 years ago
  |first= Robert A.
  |last= Hamilton
  |newspaper= The Day
  |location= New London, Connecticut
  |date= September 23, 1997
  |accessdate= September 28, 2025
  |via= newspapers.com
  }}
* {{cite book
  |first1= Kenneth
  |last1= Hite
  |first2= Kennon
  |last2= Bauman
  |title= The Cthulhu Wars: The United States' Battles Against the Mythos
  |location= [[Oxford]], UK
  |publisher= [[Osprey Publishing]]
  |year= 2016
  |ISBN= 978-1-4728-0787-8
  }}
* {{cite book
  |url= https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/IMVyd5p1rWoC?gbpv=1
  |title= Navy Directory: Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps
  |location= Washington, DC
  |publisher= Government Printing Office
  |year= 1927
  |ref= {{sfnRef|Navy Directory|1927}}
  }}
* {{cite news
  |url= https://www.newspapers.com/article/sun-journal-special-sonar-locates-missin/181954700/
  |url-access= subscription
  |title= Special sonar locates missing sub
  |agency=[[Associated Press|AP]]
  |newspaper= [[Sun Journal (Lewiston, Maine)|Sun Journal]]
  |location= [[Lewiston, Maine]]
  |date= September 17, 1997
  |accessdate= September 28, 2025
  |via= newspapers.com
  |ref= {{sfnRef|Wreck|1997|p=6B}}
  }}
* {{cite book
  |first= Howard Phillips
  |last= Lovecraft
  |editor-first= Leslie S.
  |editor-last= Klinger
  |title= The New Annotated H.P. Lovecraft
  |location= New York
  |publisher= Liveright Publishing Corporation
  |year= 2014
  |ISBN= 978-0-87140-453-4
  }}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-day-33-men-lost-their-lives-aboard-i/181957924/ |title=33 men lost their lives aboard ill-fated USS O-9 in 1941 |newspaper=[[The Day (New London)|The Day]] |location=[[New London, Connecticut]] |page=A8 |date=September 23, 1997 |accessdate=September 28, 2025 |via=newspapers.com}}
*{{cite web |url=https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/1991/september/forgotten-tragedy-loss-uss-0-9 |title=Forgotten Tragedy: The Loss of the USS 0-9 |first=Eric R. |last=Kennedy |website=usni.org |date=September 1991 |accessdate=September 24, 2025}}

==External links==
*{{navsource|08/08070|USS O-9}}
*[http://www.oneternalpatrol.com/uss-o-9-70.htm On Eternal Patrol: USS ''O-9'']

{{United States O class submarine}}
{{WWI US ships}}
{{June 1941 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:O-09}}
[[Category:United States O-class submarines]]
[[Category:World War I submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:United States submarine accidents]]
[[Category:Lost submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of the New Hampshire coast]]
[[Category:Ships built in Quincy, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:1918 ships]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in June 1941]]
[[Category:Warships lost with all hands]]
[[Category:Submarines lost with all hands]]
[[Category:World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean]]