<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color:#00008B">S-18 moored to the Electric Boat owned engine repair barge Isaac L. Rice in the Thames River at Groton, CT., June 2, 1922. This was a frustrating time for the S-18. She had been launched on April 29, 1920 from the Bethlehem Quincy shipyard in Quincy, MA., and during the fitting out phase it was found that the NELSECO 8-EB-15 engines that had been installed had very serious problems that prevented them from being run at high speeds. The Navy refused to accept the boat until a fix had been made, so S-18 was sailed up to Groton by EB personnel and moored to the Isaac L. Rice where her engines were rebuilt. Finally, nearly four years after being launched, S-18 was commissioned into the U.S. Navy on April 3, 1924. All of the Electric Boat design S-boats were affected by the engine problems, greatly delaying their entry into USN service. See the article [https://pigboats.icci.llc/images/b/b9/The_Devil_in_the_Details_TSR_version.pdf '''at this link'''] for the details.
<small>U.S. Navy photo</small>
[[File:Red bar sub new.jpg]]
[[File:S-18 A.jpg|left|500px]]
[[File:S-18 A.jpg|left|500px]]
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color:#00008B">S-18 moored at an unknown location, mid 1920's. She is sitting high in the water and her rudder is exposed on the far right. The superstructure skeg normally ran all the way down to the rudder, but on many of the S-boats it was found that the skeg was too lightly built, and it often rusted to the point that it had to be removed. That has been done in this case. Compare this photo to the one below and you can see the difference.
<small>This photo is privately owned and '''MAY NOT BE USED OR REPOSTED WITHOUT PERMISSION.'''</small>
[[File:Red bar sub new.jpg]]
[[File:S-18 B.jpg|left|500px]]
[[File:S-18 B.jpg|left|500px]]
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color:#00008B">A close up of the photo above, showing details of the S-18's conning tower fairwater. The three circles above the "18" are the deadlight windows for the conning tower. These let into a watertight vertical cylinder that has a periscope station and torpedo firing controls. The ship's bell can be seen on the forward edge of the fairwater. When compared to the first photo on this page, it can be seen that the aft end of the fairwater has been raised. It was found that the original low design that housed an access hatch to the after battery compartment and a ventilation intake was too wet in a heavy sea. It was decided to raise this after platform in an attempt to keep the hatch and intake drier at sea.
<small>This photo is privately owned and '''MAY NOT BE USED OR REPOSTED WITHOUT PERMISSION.'''</small>
[[File:Red bar sub new.jpg]]
[[File:S-18 C.jpg|left|500px]]
[[File:S-18 C.jpg|left|500px]]
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color:#00008B">Another close up showing details of the S-18's forward deck. The open hatch is to the torpedo room. There is a pipe frame erected above it that was used in conjunction with a canvas cover. It helped to keep rain out of the torpedo room while in port. A triple wired radio aerial is attached to a davit post on the starboard side of the gun deck. At the far right the tip of the gun barrel can be seen, along with the deck mounted gun barrel lock post.
<small>This photo is privately owned and '''MAY NOT BE USED OR REPOSTED WITHOUT PERMISSION.'''</small>
<small>Photo in the private collection of Ric Hedman</small>
[[File:Red bar sub new.jpg]]
[[File:Red bar sub new.jpg]]
Revision as of 13:46, 16 July 2023
S-18 moored to the Electric Boat owned engine repair barge Isaac L. Rice in the Thames River at Groton, CT., June 2, 1922. This was a frustrating time for the S-18. She had been launched on April 29, 1920 from the Bethlehem Quincy shipyard in Quincy, MA., and during the fitting out phase it was found that the NELSECO 8-EB-15 engines that had been installed had very serious problems that prevented them from being run at high speeds. The Navy refused to accept the boat until a fix had been made, so S-18 was sailed up to Groton by EB personnel and moored to the Isaac L. Rice where her engines were rebuilt. Finally, nearly four years after being launched, S-18 was commissioned into the U.S. Navy on April 3, 1924. All of the Electric Boat design S-boats were affected by the engine problems, greatly delaying their entry into USN service. See the article at this link for the details.
U.S. Navy photo
S-18 moored at an unknown location, mid 1920's. She is sitting high in the water and her rudder is exposed on the far right. The superstructure skeg normally ran all the way down to the rudder, but on many of the S-boats it was found that the skeg was too lightly built, and it often rusted to the point that it had to be removed. That has been done in this case. Compare this photo to the one below and you can see the difference.
This photo is privately owned and MAY NOT BE USED OR REPOSTED WITHOUT PERMISSION.
A close up of the photo above, showing details of the S-18's conning tower fairwater. The three circles above the "18" are the deadlight windows for the conning tower. These let into a watertight vertical cylinder that has a periscope station and torpedo firing controls. The ship's bell can be seen on the forward edge of the fairwater. When compared to the first photo on this page, it can be seen that the aft end of the fairwater has been raised. It was found that the original low design that housed an access hatch to the after battery compartment and a ventilation intake was too wet in a heavy sea. It was decided to raise this after platform in an attempt to keep the hatch and intake drier at sea.
This photo is privately owned and MAY NOT BE USED OR REPOSTED WITHOUT PERMISSION.
Another close up showing details of the S-18's forward deck. The open hatch is to the torpedo room. There is a pipe frame erected above it that was used in conjunction with a canvas cover. It helped to keep rain out of the torpedo room while in port. A triple wired radio aerial is attached to a davit post on the starboard side of the gun deck. At the far right the tip of the gun barrel can be seen, along with the deck mounted gun barrel lock post.
This photo is privately owned and MAY NOT BE USED OR REPOSTED WITHOUT PERMISSION.
