USS Pike (SS-173)

USS Pike underway off New London, Connecticut, 5 May 1944
History
United States
BuilderPortsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine[1]
Laid down20 December 1933[1]
Launched12 September 1935[1]
Commissioned2 December 1935[1]
Decommissioned15 November 1945[1]
Stricken17 February 1956[1]
FateSold for breaking up, 14 January 1957[1]
General characteristics
Class and typePorpoise-class diesel-electric submarine[2]
Displacement1,310 long tons (1,330 t) standard, surfaced,[3] 1,934 long tons (1,965 t) submerged[3]
Length283 ft 0 in (86.26 m) (waterline),[4] 301 ft 0 in (91.74 m)[3] (overall)[5]
Beam24 ft 11+34 in (7.614 m)[3]
Draft13 ft 10 in (4.22 m)[3]
Propulsion(as built) 4 × Winton Model 16-201A 16-cylinder two-cycle[6] diesel engines, 1,300 hp (970 kW) each,[7] driving electrical generators through reduction gears[2][8] 2 × 120-cell Exide VL31B batteries,[9] 4 × high-speed Elliott electric motors,[2] total 2,085 hp (1,555 kW) 3 × General Motors six-cylinder four-cycle 6-228 auxiliary diesels,[7] (re-engined 1942) 4 × GM two-cycle Model 12-278A diesels, 1,200 hp (890 kW) each,[7] 2 shafts[2]
Speed19 knots (35 km/h) surfaced,[3] 8 knots (15 km/h) submerged[3]
Range6,000 nautical miles (11,000 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h),[3] 22,000 nautical miles (41,000 km) at 8 knots (15 km/h) with fuel in the main ballast tanks,[3] (bunkerage 93,129 US gallons (352,530 L) maximum, 89,945 US gallons (340,480 L) typical, 1944)[10]
Endurance10 hours at 5 knots (9.3 km/h), 36 hours at minimum speed submerged[3]
Test depth250 ft (76 m)[3]
Complement5 officers, 9 chief petty officers, 42 enlisted (1944)[10]
Armament6 × 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes (four forward, two aft, 16 torpedoes),[3] (two external bow tubes added 1942),[10] 1 × 3-in (76 mm)/50 cal deck gun,[3] 2 × .30 cal (7.62 mm) machine guns[5]

USS Pike (SS–173), a Porpoise-class submarine in the United States Navy, was laid down on 20 December 1933 by Portsmouth Navy Yard, in Kittery, Maine. She was launched on 12 September 1935, sponsored by Jane Logan Snyder, and commissioned on 2 December 1935. Pike was the first all-welded submarine. The welded hull allowed Pike to submerge to much greater depths than her predecessors and at the same time provided greater protection against depth-charge attacks.

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Friedman, Norman (1995). U.S. Submarines Through 1945: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute. pp. 285–304. ISBN 1-55750-263-3.
  2. ^ a b c d Bauer, K. Jack; Roberts, Stephen S. (1991). Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775–1990: Major Combatants. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. pp. 268–269. ISBN 0-313-26202-0.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305–311
  4. ^ Lenton, H. T. American Submarines (New York: Doubleday, 1973), p.39.
  5. ^ a b Lenton, p.39.
  6. ^ Alden, John D., Commander, USN (retired). The Fleet Submarine in the U.S. Navy (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1979), p.210.
  7. ^ a b c Alden, p.210.
  8. ^ U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp.261–263
  9. ^ Alden, p.211.
  10. ^ a b c Alden, p.58.