O-3

O-3 and O-2 alongside the pier at Submarine Base New London, Groton, CT. in the early 1920's. Looking closely at the photo, it can be seen that O-3's 3"/23 caliber gun is retracted into it's housing, while O-2 has the gun raised into firing position. The circular gun shield also forms the watertight top of the gun tub when the gun is retracted, leaving only a portion of the barrel (closed by a tampion) outside the boat.

Also, note the differences in the forward edge of the conning tower fairwater. Both boats were built to the same EB design, but O-2 was built under license by the Puget Sound Navy Yard in Bremerton, Washington and O-3 by EB's contractor Fore River Shipbuilding in Massachusetts. The bridge mounted radio aerial stanchions are also different. The riveted construction is very apparent.

The large building on the opposite side of the Thames River is Connecticut College, popularly known today as "Conn College". The college was founded in 1911 as the "Connecticut College for Women". In 1969 it was made Co-Ed.

Photo in the private collection of Ric Hedman

A crew photo of the USS O-3 taken at Panama circa 1924 when all the boats in the picture were assigned to Coco Solo. The O-10 (SS-71) in the foreground, the O-3 with its crew on deck, an unidentified boat, (possibly the O-6, 7 or 9; all were there at that time) and the O-7 (SS-68) in the back. A small boat of some type is mooring up to the O-7 at the far right. The Submarine Tender USS Alert (AS-4) is seen in the background. It is uncertain if the port is Coco Solo or another port in the Canal Zone.

There are 30 men in the crew. Three officers, a Lieutenant Commander (LCDR), a Lieutenant (LT), and a Lieutenant Junior Grade (LTjg). There are four Chief Petty Officers seen, one most likely a Gunners Mate (Torpedoman) and three possibly Machinist Mates and Electricians. We are unable to see the rates clearly. At the far left is a man wearing leggings who is likely the duty topside watch.

Note that none of the men, even the officers, are wearing the Submarine Qualification insignia. This aids in dating the photo because the Dolphins were officially approved for use on 20 March 1924 by the Acting Secretary of the Navy, Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. Allowing for production distribution issues to be resolved, it is likely that the Dolphins would not have begun to appear in the force prior to the summer of 1924. This photo was most likely taken in the months preceding that.

Photo in the private collection of Ric Hedman

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