USS Pike (SS-6)

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The first USS Pike/A-5 (SS-6) also known as "Submarine Torpedo Boat No. 6", was one of seven s built for the United States Navy (USN) in the first decade of the 20th century. She was the first boat of the USN named for the pike. She was stationed on the West Coast, assisting in the relief efforts after the San Francisco earthquake of 1906, and was later transported to the Philippines, serving as harbor defense during WWI.

Design

File:EB1911 Ship Fig. 126 -US 'Adder'.png

Plan of Plunger-class. A, storage batteries; B, gas-engine; C, dynamo and motor; D, water-tight compartments; E, main ballast tanks; F, air-flasks; G, gasolene tank; H, expulsion tube.

The s were enlarged and improved versions of the preceding Holland, the first submarine in the USN. They had a length of Template:Cvt overall, a beam of Template:Cvt and a mean draft of Template:Cvt. They displaced Template:Cvt on the surface and Template:Cvt submerged. The Plunger-class boats had a crew of one officer and six enlisted men. They had a diving depth of .Template:Sfn

For surface running, they were powered by one gasoline engine that drove the single propeller. When submerged the propeller was driven by a electric motor.Template:Sfn The boats could reach Template:Cvt on the surface and Template:Cvt underwater.Template:Sfn

The Plunger-class boats were armed with one torpedo tube in the bow. They carried four reloads, for a total of five torpedoes.Template:Sfn

Construction

Pike was laid down on 10 December 1900, in San Francisco, California, by the Union Iron Works, a subcontractor for the Holland Torpedo Boat Company, of New York City. She was launched on 14 January 1903; sponsored by Mrs. Frank Baker Zahm, the wife of the naval constructor at Union Iron Works; and commissioned on 28 May 1903 at the Mare Island Navy Yard.Template:Sfn

Service history

File:USS Pike (SS-6) Under way.jpg

Pike underway

Pike operated out of the Mare Island Navy Yard, for over three years, operating principally in experimental and training roles. Following the earthquake and subsequent fire at San Francisco, on 18 April 1906, members of PikeTemplate:'s crew took part in the relief efforts in the wake of the disaster.Template:Sfn

Decommissioned on 28 November 1906, Pike remained inactive until 8 June 1908, when she was recommissioned for local operations with the Pacific Torpedo Flotilla, off the Pacific coast. She remained attached to this unit into June 1912. Pike was renamed A-5, on 17 November 1911.Template:Sfn

A-5 arrived at the Puget Sound Navy Yard, on 26 June 1912, and was placed in reserve two days later. Following two and a half years of inactivity there, A-5 was loaded onto the collier , on 15 February 1915, her sister ship A-3, ex-, was loaded the next day. A-5 made the voyage to the Philippines as deck cargo. She arrived at Olongapo, on 26 March. Relaunched on 13 April, she was recommissioned on 17 April 1915, and assigned to the Asiatic Fleet.Template:Sfn

Shortly after the United States entered World War I, A-5 sank while moored at the Cavite Navy Yard, on 15 April 1917; her sinking was attributed to a slow leak in a main ballast tank. She was raised on 19 April, and following reconditioning, returned to active service. Like her sister ships, she patrolled the waters off the entrance to Manila Bay, during the course of the war with the Central Powers.Template:Sfn

Fate

A-5, was given the alphanumeric hull number SS-6 on 17 July 1920. She was decommissioned on 25 July 1921. Earmarked as a target vessel, she was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 16 January 1922.Template:Sfn

Bibliography

1. REDIRECT Template:Source-attribution

Further reading

• Pigboats Template:Webarchive (retrieved 27 February 2018)