l-boats

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The L -Boats

USS L-1 SS 40, USS L-3 SS 42, USS L-4 SS 43

USS L-3, USS L-11, USS L-10, USS L-4, USS L-9, USS L-2

Left to right submarines tied up next to a tender in Queenstown, Ireland. USS L-3 SS 41, USS L-11 SS 51 with bow planes rigged out,
USS L-10 SS 50, USS L-4 SS 43, USS L-9 SS 49, USS L-2 SS 41.

USS L-3, USS L-11, USS L-10, USS L-4, USS L-9

Left to right, submarines in Ireland.
USS L-3 SS 42, USS L-11 SS 51, USS L-10 SS 50, USS L-4 SS 43,
USS L-9 SS 49 which seems to be running her diesel.
You can see the smoke from her exhaust around her stern.

The US "L" class boats had the "A" added to their identifiers so as not to be confused with the British "L" class submarines that were operating at the same time.

British L-6, the reason why the American "L" boats had the "A" added to their name.

USS L-1 SS 40. I count 26 of the 28 crew up on deck in this picture.

USS L-2 SS 41
In July of 1918 while patrolling in the Irish Sea a large explosion rocked
the L-2 about 25 feet on her beam. A periscope was sighted and the
L-2 submerged and tried to ram the submarine but couldn't track the
U-boat well under water, plus the U-boat had superior under water speed.
Later it was suspected that a U-boat had fired on the L-2 but another U-boat,
the U-65, was in the way and was badly damaged and sank. Some time
later when the L-2 was dry docked her hull plating was noted to be heavily
dented from the close by explosion. The U-65 never returned to her port.

An unidentified "K" boat and the K-3 moored next to the L-11, L-2, L-3 & L-9 at Hampton Roads, VA circa 1930.
From the Private Collection of Ric Hedman

USS L-3 SS 42

USS L-4 SS 43

The L-4 spotted a German U-boat on the surface charging batteries and lying motionless. The Capt., LCdr Lewis Hancock, jr., fired a torpedo at the submarine. The Germans saw the torpedo and quickly sped forward and dove evading the torpedo. The L-4 later had almost the same situation and the same result the torpedo missed. The mark X torpedo was known to be touchy. If bumped hard the gyro would malfunction.

USS L-5 SS 44 on the building ways, Lake Torpedo Boat Co.
On the fore deck looking aft to the conning tower and bridge helm station.
April 30, 1916
Photo courtesy of The US Navy Submarine Force Museum

USS L-5 SS 44 on the building ways, Lake Torpedo Boat Co.
Starboard Bow showing the bow planes and torpedo tube shutter doors.
April 30, 1916
Photo courtesy of The US Navy Submarine Force Museum

USS L-5 SS 44 on the building ways, Lake Torpedo Boat Co.
Starboard Bow showing the torpedo tube shutter doors for tubes #1 and #3.
April 30, 1916
Photo courtesy of The US Navy Submarine Force Museum

USS L-5 SS 44 on the building ways, Lake Torpedo Boat Co.
Starboard bow planes. Above is one of the round free flood scuppers.
These could be locked shut to add surface buoyancy.
April 30, 1916
Photo courtesy of The US Navy Submarine Force Museum

USS L-5 SS 44 on the building ways, Lake Torpedo Boat Co.
Starboard stern view.
April 30, 1916
Photo courtesy of The US Navy Submarine Force Museum

USS L-5 SS 44 on the building ways, Lake Torpedo Boat Co.
Close-up of the starboard screw and rudder.
April 30, 1916
Photo courtesy of The US Navy Submarine Force Museum

USS L-5 SS 44.
Battery cell being lowered into the newly constructed L-5.
The location is the Lake Torpedo Boat Company in Bridgeport CT.
Photo courtesy of The US Navy Submarine Force Museum

USS L-5 SS 44.
Conning Tower / bridge detail the newly constructed L-5.
The bridge steering station is shown as are the rectangular view ports in the bridge access.
Photo courtesy of The US Navy Submarine Force Museum

USS L-5 SS 44.
The USS L-5 apears to be tieing up to either a dock or tender.
The year is 1918 and from the looks on the clothing the men are wearing it could be summer time.

Close up of the USS L-5 SS crew.
The USS L-5 apears to be tieing up to either a dock or tender.
The year is 1918 and from the looks on the clothing the men are wearing it could be summer time.

Close up of the USS L-5 SS crew on bow.
The USS L-5 apears to be tieing up to either a dock or tender.
The man on the right is holding a "heevy" ready for tossing.
One half of the heevy is in each of his hands.

USS L-6 SS 45. The USS L-5 was very much like the L-6

USS L-6 SS 45

USS L-6 ( on left ) and an unknown submarine, possibly an H-class boat.

USS L-7 SS 46 with a crew of 36 officers and men

Launching of the USS L-8

USS L-8 from the deck of the USS Whittemore

USS L-8 SS 48 from the deck of the USS Whittemore mother ship.
Photo contributed by Clifford Chapski, his grandfather, Alfred G. Benjamin, took this photo while serving aboard the Whittemore

The submarine L-8, designed by the Lake Torpedo Boat Company, was part of a secret project in 1918 by the U.S. Navy in WW I to trap German submarines. Along with the 4 masted schooner USS Charles Whittemore as a mother ship and decoy the pair roamed the Atlantic trying to lure German submarines to attack. The object was to use the L-8 to sink the German submarines.
The Whittemore towed the L-8 submerged so the submarine wouldn't be seen by the enemy and that the two wouldn't become separated from each other. The Whittemore carried food and fuel and torpedoes to resupply the L-8 as needed.
As it turned out by the time the Whittemore and L-8 arrived on station, all sides were using armed merchant men as decoys so the Germans and other ships would avoid any contact with the duo.
The war ended while the Whittemore and L-8 were on patrol with out firing a shot.
The L-8 ended its' life as a target off Newport, RI in 1926. She was the only ship blown up using the new top secret magnetic exploder. The Navy wouldn't allow any more tests using it due to budget constraints. This proved fatal folly early in WW II.

USS L-8 from the deck of the USS Whittemore.
Photo contributed by Clifford Chapski, his grandfather, Alfred G. Benjamin, took this photo while serving aboard the Whittemore

USS Charles Whittemore, mother ship and decoy for USS L-8 on WW I war patrols.
Photo contributed by Clifford Chapski, his grandfather, Alfred G. Benjamin, served aboard the Whittemore

USS L-8 under construction at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard circa 1917.

Torpedo tubes USS L-8.

The 4 torpedo tube doors of the 18" torpedo tubes aboard the L-8.
The hand written inscription across the front of this picture says; "Interior view of Torpedo Tubes USS L-8"

USS L-8 Control Room. The writing on the front of the picture say:
"Center Compartment USS L-8"

Close up of USS L-8 Diving Station. Ladder to the bridge on left.

USS L-10 SS 50 wearing her WW I "A".

The L-10 was heavily depth charged by the American destroyer USS Sterett in the Irish Sea after she had developed an oil leak. The Sterett thought he had found a German "U-Boat". L-10 managed to surface and identify herself before the destroyer managed to use her guns to try and sink her.

USS L-11 SS 51

The USS L-11 sighted a U-boat on the surface. Not wanting to repeat the L-4 disaster of missing the shot, the Capt., Lt. A. C. Bennett, fired two torpedoes at the German, the second torpedo was launched five seconds after the first but faulty speed controls caused the second torpedo to run faster than the first and over took it and blew both torpedoes up. The U-boat dove and got away.

USS L-11 SS 51

Racks of torpedoes for the war effort waiting to be loaded into boats. These are the Mark 7 torpedo, 17.7" in diameter and 17 feet long. This is typically the torpedo carried by all US subs into combat in WW I. The A, B and C class subs carried the Mark 7 Mod "D" that was 5 feet shorter to fit their tubes.

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