USS R-8

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USS R-8 (SS-85), also known as "Submarine No. 85", was an R-1-class coastal and harbor defense submarines of the United States Navy commissioned after the end of World War I.

Due to space constraints, the boats built at the Fore River Shipbuilding Company yard, were laid down much later than the boats built at the Union Iron Works and the Lake Torpedo Boat Company yards. Because of this, none were commissioned before the end of WWI.

Design

The R-boats built by the Fore River Shipbuilding Company, through , and the Union Iron Works, through , are sometimes considered a separate class, R-1-class, from those built by the Lake Torpedo Boat Company, through , R-21-class.Template:Sfn

The submarines had a length of overall, a beam of Template:Cvt, and a mean draft of Template:Cvt. They displaced on the surface and Template:Cvt submerged. The R-1-class submarines had a crew of 2 officers and 27 enlisted men. They had a diving depth of Template:Cvt.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

For surface running, the boats were powered by two NELSECO 6-EB-14 diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a Electro-Dynamic Company electric motor. They could reach on the surface and Template:Cvt underwater. On the surface, the R-1-class had a range of at Template:Cvt, or Template:Cvt if fuel was loaded into their main ballast tanks.Template:Sfn

The boats were armed with four torpedo tubes in the bow. They carried four reloads, for a total of eight torpedoes. The R-1-class submarines were also armed with a single [[3"/50 caliber gun|Template:Cvt/50 caliber]] deck gun.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Construction

R-8Template:'s keel was laid down on 4 March 1918, by the Fore River Shipbuilding Company, Quincy, Massachusetts. She was launched on 17 April 1919,Template:Sfn sponsored by Miss Penelope Potter,Template:Sfn and commissioned on 21 July 1919.Template:Sfn

Service history

1919–1929

R-8 fitted out at Boston, Massachusetts, during the fall of 1919, proceeded to New London, Connecticut, on 5 December, joined other boats of Submarine Division 9 (SubDiv 9), and continued south for winter exercises in the Gulf of Mexico. She operated out of Pensacola, Florida, until returning to New England, in April.Template:Sfn

When the US Navy adopted its hull classification system on 17 July 1920, she received the hull number SS-84.Template:Sfn

She departed Newport, Rhode Island, on 13 September 1920, and two days later arrived at the Norfolk Navy Yard, for overhaul prior to transfer to the Pacific Fleet. Sea trials, in early April 1921, followed, and on 21 April, she headed south. Transiting the Panama Canal, in May, she arrived at San Pedro, California, her new homeport, on 30 June, and for the next two years conducted exercises, individual, divisional, and fleet, off the coasts of California and Mexico.Template:Sfn

On 16 July 1923, R-8 sailed west for Pearl Harbor, her base for almost eight years, during which she engaged in training and operations with fleet units.Template:Sfn In late October 1925, she collided with the minesweeper , suffering the loss of her periscopes, the destruction of her bridge, and damage to her radio antenna supports.Template:Sfn In August 1927, she searched for missing Dole Air Race aviators.Template:Sfn

1930–1936

Ordered back to the East Coast, for inactivation in 1930, R-8 departed Pearl Harbor, on 12 December, transited the Panama Canal, in mid-January 1931, and arrived at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, on 9 February 1931. Decommissioned on 2 May 1931, she was berthed at Philadelphia, as a unit of the Reserve Fleet, until 1936.Template:Sfn

Fate

On 26 February 1936, while still in a state of preservation, she sank. Later raised, she was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 12 May 1936, and on 19 August 1936, she was used as a target vessel for an aerial bombing test. Four near-misses with Template:Cvt bombs sank her off Cape Henry, Virginia.Template:Sfn

Wreck

Her wreck was initially not found.

Our research effort began to bear fruit after several iterations of requests to the National Archives. Station logs for the Philadelphia Navy Yard identified the [sic] as the vessel that towed the 1936 Sub out to be scuttled. CORMORANTTemplate:'s log provided the sinking location as being far offshore from the VA-NC border in ~Template:Cvt of water: nearly Template:Cvt south of where it was previously thought to be.

— Template:Comma separated entries

However, in December 2020, the remains of R-8 were discovered off the coast of Ocean City, Maryland.Template:Sfn

Bibliography

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