USS K-8

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USS K-8 (SS-39), also known as "Submarine No. 39", was a K-class submarine of the United States Navy(USN). She patrolled in the Gulf of Mexico, during WWI.

Design

The K-class boats had a length of Template:Cvt, a beam of Template:Cvt, and a mean draft of Template:Cvt. They displaced Template:Cvt, on the surface, and Template:Cvt submerged. They had a diving depth of . The K-class submarines had a crew of 2 officers and 26 enlisted men.Template:Sfn

For surface running, the boats were powered by two NELSECO diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a electric motor. They could reach Template:Cvt on the surface and Template:Cvt underwater. On the surface, the boats had a range of Template:Cvt at Template:CvtTemplate:Sfn and Template:Cvt at submerged.Template:Sfn

The K-class submarines were armed with four 18 inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes in the bow. They carried four reloads, for a total of eight torpedoes.Template:Sfn

Construction

K-8Template:'s keel was laid down, on 10 May 1912, by the Union Iron Works, in San Francisco, California, under a subcontract from Electric Boat Company, of Groton, Connecticut. She was launched on 11 July 1914, sponsored by Mrs. John W. Lewis, wife of the first commanding officer, and commissioned on 1 December 1914, at the Mare Island Navy Yard.Template:Sfn

Service history

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USS K-8, middle, and two other early subs in San Diego, during World War I

K-8 departed San Francisco, on 26 December, with for training operations along the coast of southern California. Returning to Mare Island, on 4 June 1915, she sailed on 3 October, for duty in the Hawaiian Islands, arriving at Pearl Harbor, on 14 October. For more than two years she operated with , , and K-7, developing and perfecting submarine techniques in diving, torpedo firing, and underwater tactics. Ordered to return to the West Coast, on 31 October 1917, she arrived in San Pedro, California, on 12 November, and proceeded on 27 November, for patrol duty out of Key West, Florida.Template:Sfn

Arriving at Key West, 8 January 1918, she conducted patrols from Key West, to Galveston, Texas, during the remaining months of World War I. Departing Galveston, on 21 November, she returned to Key West, to continue experimental operations along the Florida coast, until she sailed for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 14 April 1919. Arriving on 21 April, K-8 underwent overhaul before sailing on 10 November, for Key West. Upon arrival on 3 December, she began seven months of operations in the Caribbean Sea.Template:Sfn

After returning to Philadelphia, on 8 June 1920, she proceeded to Annapolis, Maryland, on 19 January 1921, for training operations at the United States Naval Academy. Steaming to Hampton Roads, Virginia, on 15 February, she continued development operations along the Atlantic coast, from Norfolk, Virginia, to Cape Cod, returning to Annapolis, on 4 April through 14 April 1921, and visiting the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, from 24 May through 30 May. She conducted experimental maneuvers in the Chesapeake Bay, from 4 December 1921 to 16 May 1922; trained students out of New London, Connecticut, from 20 May to 5 September 1922; and returned to Hampton Roads, on 7 September, to resume operations in the lower Chesapeake Bay.Template:Sfn

Fate

K-8 decommissioned at Norfolk, on 24 February 1923. She was towed to the Philadelphia Navy Yard, on 2 September 1924. Stricken from the Navy Register, on 18 December 1930, she was sold for scrapping on 25 June 1931.Template:Sfn

Bibliography

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