USS R-11

USS R-11 (SS-88) was an R-class coastal and harbor defense submarine of the United States Navy.

USS R-11 with tug
History
United States
Name	USS R-11
Ordered	29 August 1916
Builder	Fore River Shipbuilding, Quincy, Massachusetts
Laid down	18 March 1918
Launched	21 July 1919
Commissioned	5 September 1919
Decommissioned	5 September 1945
Stricken	11 October 1945
Fate	Sold 13 March 1946 Scrapped 1948
General characteristics
Type	R class submarine
Displacement	569 long tons (578 t) surfaced 680 long tons (691 t) submerged
Length	186 ft 2 in (56.74 m)
Beam	18 ft (5.5 m)
Draft	14 ft 6 in (4.42 m)
Propulsion	Diesel-electric
Speed	13.5 knots (25.0 km/h; 15.5 mph) surfaced 10.5 knots (19.4 km/h; 12.1 mph) submerged
Complement	34 officers and men
Armament	4 × 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes 1 × 3"/50 caliber gun

Construction and commissioning

R-11′s keel was laid down by the Fore River Shipbuilding Company in Quincy, Massachusetts, on 18 March 1918. She was launched on 21 March 1919, sponsored by Miss Dorothy Batchelder, and commissioned on 5 September 1919.

Service history

1919–1930

R-11 remained inactive at Boston, Massachusetts, with a crew of only two men for two months following commissioning. Then, with the new year 1920, she commenced training cruises along the New England coast and, in April, to Bermuda. On completion of training cruises, she returned to New London, Connecticut, whence she sailed on 31 May for the Pacific. Given hull classification symbol SS-88 in July, she arrived at Pearl Harbor on 4 August. Homeported there for the next ten years, she conducted operations in the Hawaiian area, searched for missing ships, including the seagoing tug Conestoga (AT-54), and planes; participated in tactical exercises; and engaged in fleet maneuvers.

1931–1946

On 12 December 1930, the R-boat departed Pearl Harbor for the last time and steamed east to San Diego, California, whence she continued on through the Panama Canal, to New London. She returned to that Thames River base 9 February 1931 and for the remainder of the decade served as a training ship primarily for the Submarine School at New London and occasionally for NROTC units in the southern New England area. Transferred to Key West, Florida, on 1 June 1941, R-11 continued her training ship duties throughout the remainder of her career.

Decommissioned 5 September 1945, R-11 was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 11 October 1945; sold to Macey O. Smith Miami, Florida, 13 March 1946; and scrapped in 1948.

References

•  This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

External links

• Photo gallery of USS R-11 at NavSource Naval History