S-19

S-19 ran aground off Chatham, Mass January 13, 1925 on Nauset Beach on the southern coast of Cape Cod. Foggy weather, strong winds and unusually heavy seas had pushed her far from her course. The Coast Guard Cutters Tampa and Acushnet came her assistance. Here, the searchlight from the Tampa illuminates the S-19 in the dark.

Courtesy of the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection.

A closer view of S-19 on the beach at Chatham, MA., January 13, 1925. USCGC Acushnet stands by in the background, ready to render assistance.

Photo in the private collection of Ric Hedman.

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A series of photos that show S-19's increasingly perilous position on the beach after sunrise on January 13, 1925. A flood tide and freshening winds are increasing the wave action and the S-19 is getting battered.

Photos courtesy of the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection.

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After a tremendous effort, S-19 was eventually freed from the beach and was towed to the Boston Navy Yard in Charlestown, MA. for repairs. This series of photographs show her in drydock there. The caisson has been put in place and the dock is being pumped down. Braces have been erected from the walls of the dock to ensure the boat stays upright. A diving boat is moving around while a diver is in the water inspecting the keel blocks to make sure they have not shifted and that the S-19 is resting squarely and evenly. There is heavy damage to the starboard side aft diving plane, the rudder, and the starboard side bilge keel. Most likely there is also damage to the hull plates near the keel, but this is not visible in these views..

Photos courtesy of the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection.

A long shot from the drydock caisson wall, showing S-19 firmly down on the blocks. The diver has been recovered and the boat moved to the wall.

Photo courtesy of the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection.

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A six photo sequence of S-19 in drydock with the water removed. The dive boat is eventually removed by crane, but strangely one diving suit remains on a rack like structure. The damage to S-19's rudder and aft diving planes is quite evident, likely caused during the process of pulling her off the beach. All in all, S-19 faired quite well given the circumstances.

Photos courtesy of the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection.

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Two photos of a repaired and revitalized S-19 in drydock at the Boston Navy Yard, spring 1925. The dock is cleaned up and these photos were likely taken just prior to flooding the dock so the S-19 could be pulled out.

There was a Courts Martial in the aftermath of this incident. The Commanding Officer was found guilty of negligence. He was sentenced to the loss of five precedence numbers in rank. The precedence numbers were a method to use to determine which officers of any given rank were eligible for promotion. Losing five numbers meant that five lieutenants junior to him would be promoted before him. All in all it was a light sentence, but still publicly humiliating. The Officer of the Deck (OOD) on duty at the time of the grounding, a lieutenant, was found guilty of inefficiency in performance of his duty and violation of orders in not reporting a change of course to his superior officer, i.e. the CO. He was sentenced to the loss of 25 numbers in rank. This would have essentially ended his career. The S-19's Navigator, also a lieutenant, was acquitted of charges of inefficiency and violation of orders, but the Secretary of the Navy disapproved the findings for him. Fortunately, that disapproval was not legally binding.

The S-19 returned to the fleet and served until decommissioned in February 10, 1934 and sunk as a target in December, 1938. Most of the S-19's sisters served until nearly the end of the war in 1945, so why the 19 boat was disposed of so early is a bit of a mystery. She may have suffered lingering effects from her grounding that degraded her performance.

Photos courtesy of the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection.

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