Submarine Specifications

Submarine Specifications

The table below lists the major specifications of all of the submarine classes of the pigboats era. This data was taken from Norman Friedman's U.S. Submarines Through 1945: An Illustrated Design History, Appendix D, pages 306-311, John D. Alden's The Fleet Submarine in the U.S. Navy: A Design and Construction History, and Lyle Cummins' Diesels for the First Stealth Weapon: Submarine Power 1902-1945, Carnot Press, 2007. The data represents the configuration of the boat when it was first commissioned into the USN. Subsequent modifications and updates can alter the specifications greatly. Some notes concerning the table are below:

•Displ. - Displacement, the amount of water a submarine displaces, analogous to weight.
•Surf. Prop. - The number and type of surface propulsion internal combustion engines.
•Subm. Prop. - The number and manufacturer of submerged propulsion electric motors.
•Battery Cells - The number represents the number of batteries and the number of cells in each battery.
•Kts - Knots, or one nautical mile per hour.
•Test Depth - The maximum depth at which the submarine can routinely operate without damage. Most USN submarines have a safety factor of 1.5 built into its design, meaning that the collapse depth of the hull (implosion depth) is 1.5 times test depth.
•Tubes (B/S) - The number of torpedo tubes in the bow (B) or stern (S).
•Torp Load - The total number of torpedoes carried.
•Gun - If present, listed numbers represent bore diameter in inches and the barrel length in calibers.
•Crew (O/E) - The crew size, with the numbers representing officers and enlisted.

For the Surfaced Propulsion column, the number of engines, the manufacturer, and the type of engine are listed. If the exact engine model number is known, it is listed as well.

The early boats had gasoline or diesel direct drive (GD or DD) engines, i.e. the engine was connected to the propeller shaft and directly turned the propeller. Motors and generators were connected to the same shaft via clutches. Boats with more than one engine on a shaft had those engines arranged in tandem (GDT or DDT).

Later boats used diesel electric (DE) engines that drove only generators. Motors attached to the shaft turned the propellers. Some boats had DD main propulsion diesels and one or more DE engines that were used to charge batteries.

Salmon and Sargo-class fleet boats used diesel electric direct composite plants (DEDC) with both DD engines and DE engines in one engine room.

Other abbreviations used in this table:

•EB - Electric Boat
•NELSECO - New London Ship and Engine Company (an EB subsidiary)
•BuENG - The U.S. Navy's Bureau of Engineering
•M.A.N. - Maschinenfabrik-Augsburg-Nurnberg, a German engine company that sold manufacturing leases to the USN & EB
•GM - General Motors Winton Division
•HOR - Hooven, Owens, Rentschler
•FM - Fairbanks Morse Company
•ALCO - American Locomotive Company

Submarine Specifications 1900-1941

Class	Length (Ft-In)	Beam (Ft-In)	Surf. Displ. (Tons)	Subm. Displ. (Tons)	Surf. Prop.	Subm. Prop.	Battery Cells	Surf. Speed (Kts)	Subm. Speed (Kts)	Test Depth (Ft)	Tubes (B/S)	Tube Size (In)	Torp Load	Deck Gun	Crew (O/E)
Holland	53-10	10-3	64	74	1xOtto (GD)	1xElectro Dynamic	1x60	6	5.5	75	1/0	18	3	No	1/6
A-class	63-10	11-10	105.5	122.5	1xOtto (GD)	1xElectro Dynamic	1x60	8.5	7.2	150	1/0	18	3	No	1/6
B-class	82-5	12-5	145	170	1xEB/Craig (GD)	1xElectro Dynamic	1x60	9.2	8.2	150	2/0	18	4	No	1/9
C-class	105-3	13-10	240	273	2xEB/Craig (GD)	2xElectro Dynamic	1x120	11	9	200	2/0	18	4	No	1/14
D-class	134-10	13-10	288	337	2xEB/Craig (GD)	2xElectro Dynamic	1x120	13	9.5	200	4/0	18	4	No	1/14
E-class	135-2	14-7	287	342	2xEB/Vickers (DD)	2xElectro Dynamic	1x120	13	11	200	4/0	18	8	No	1/19
F-class	142-7	15-5	330	400	2xEB/Vickers (DD)	2xElectro Dynamic	1x120	13	11.5	200	4/0	18	8	No	1/21
G-1	161-0	13-1	400	516	2xWhite-Middleton (GD)	2xDiehl	1x120	14.7	10.6	200	2/0	18	6	No	1/23
G-2	161-0	14-4	375	481	4xWhite-Middleton (GDT)	2xDiehl	1x120	14	10.5	200	3/1	18	8	No	1/23
G-3	161-0	14-4	393	468	2xSulzer 6U32 (DD)	2xElectro Dynamic	1x120	14	9.5	200	4/2	18	10	No	2/23
G-4	157-5	17-4	370	352	4x Fiat (GDT)	2xDiehl	1x124	14.4	9.5	200	2/2	18	8	No	2/18
Class	Length (Ft-In)	Beam (Ft-In)	Surf. Displ. (Tons)	Subm. Displ. (Tons)	Surf. Prop.	Subm. Prop.	Battery Cells	Surf. Speed (Kts)	Subm. Speed (Kts)	Test Depth (Ft)	Tubes (B/S)	Tube Size (In)	Torp Load	Deck Gun	Crew (O/E)
H-class	150-3	15-9	358	434	2xNELSECO 240V8FS (DD)	2xElectro Dynamic	2x60	14	10.5	200	4/0	18	8	No	2/23
K-class	153-6	16-8	392	520	2xNELSECO 240V8FS (DD)	2xElectro Dynamic	2x60	14	10.5	200	4/0	18	8	No	2/26
L-class EB	168-5	17-4	450	548	2xNELSECO (DD)	2xElectro Dynamic	2x60	14	10.5	200	4/0	18	8	3"/23 (1917)	2/26
L-class Lake	165-0	14-9	451	527	2xBusch-Sulzer 6M100 (DD)	2xDiehl	1x120	14	10.5	200	4/0	18	8	No	2/26
M-1	197-0	19-0	488	676	2xNELSECO 70/6MS (DD)	2xElectro Dynamic	2x60	14	10.5	150	4/0	18	8	3"/23	2/26
N-class EB	147-3	15-9	347	414	2xNELSECO 240V8FS (DD)	2xElectro Dynamic	2x60	13	11	200	4/0	18	8	No	2/23
N-class Lake	155-0	14-6	331	385	2xBusch-Sulzer 6M50 (DD)	2xDiehl	1x120	13	11	200	4/0	18	8	No	3/26
O-class EB	172-4	18-0	520	629	2xNELSECO 6-EB-14 (DD)	2xElectro Dynamic	2x60	14	10.5	200	4/0	18	8	3"/23	2/27
O-class Lake	175-0	16-7	485	566	2xBusch-Sulzer 6M85 (DD)	2xDiehl	1x120	14	11	200	4/0	18	8	3"/23	2/27
R-class EB	186-3	18-0	574	685	2xNELSECO 6-EB-14 (DD)	2xElectro Dynamic	2x60	12.5	9.3	200	4/0	21	8	3"/50	3/26
R-class Lake	175-0	16-7	497	652	2xBusch-Sulzer 6M85 (DD)	2xDiehl	1x120	14	11.4	200	4/0	18?	8	3"/50	3/23
Class	Length (Ft-In)	Beam (Ft-In)	Surf. Displ. (Tons)	Subm. Displ. (Tons)	Surf. Prop.	Subm. Prop.	Battery Cells	Surf. Speed (Kts)	Subm. Speed (Kts)	Test Depth (Ft)	Tubes (B/S)	Tube Size (In)	Torp Load	Deck Gun	Crew (O/E)
S-1 & S-18 to S-41	219-3	20-8	930	1094	2xNELSECO 8-EB-15 (DD)	2xRidgeway	2x60	13	9	200	4/0	21	12	4"/50	4/39
S-2	207-0	19-7	800	977	2xBusch-Sulzer 6M150 (DD)	2xDiehl	1x120	15	11	200	4/0	21	12	4"/50	4/34
S-3 & S-14 groups	231-0	21-10	876	1088	2xNELSECO 8-EB-16 (DD) or 2xBusch-Sulzer 6M150 (DD)	2xWestinghouse	1x120	15	11	200	4/0	21	12	4"/50	4/34
S-10 group	231-0	21-10	930	1138	2xBuENG M.A.N. S6V45/42 (DD)	2xWestinghouse	1x120	14	11	200	4/1	21	14	4"/50	4/34
S-42 group	225-4	20-11	963	1135	2xNELSECO 8-EB-15 (DD)	2xElectro Dynamic	2x60	12.5	9.5	200	4/0	21	12	4"/50	4/39
S-48 group	240-0	21-11	903	1230	2xBusch-Sulzer 6M150 (DD)	2xRidgeway	1x120	14.8	11	200	4/1	21	16	4"/50	4/34
T-class	268-9	22-4	1106	1487	4xNELSECO 6-EB-19 (DDT)	2xElectro Dynamic	2x60	20	10.5	150	4/0 (4 deck T-1 only, later removed)	18	12 (16 on T-1)	No (later 4"/50 on T-1 only)	4/50
Barracuda class	341-6	27-6	2119	2506	2xBusch-Sulzer 6M375 (DD) & 2xBusch-Sulzer (DE)	2xElliot	2x60	21	9	200	4/2	21	18	5"/51	7/80
Argonaut	381-0	33-9	3046	4164	2xBuENG 6A20 ⅞-R (DD) & 1xBuENG 6A13 ¾-N (DE)	2xRidgeway	2x120	15	8	300	4/2 stern mine	21	14+60 mines	2x6"/53	7/80
Narwhal class	371-0	33-3	2730	3900	2xBuENG 10A20 ⅞-R (DD) & 2xBuENG 6A13 ¾-N (DE)	2xWestinghouse	2x120	17	8	300	4/2	21	18	2x6"/53	9/80
Class	Length (Ft-In)	Beam (Ft-In)	Surf. Displ. (Tons)	Subm. Displ. (Tons)	Surf. Prop.	Subm. Prop.	Battery Cells	Surf. Speed (Kts)	Subm. Speed (Kts)	Test Depth (Ft)	Tubes (B/S)	Tube Size (In)	Torp Load	Deck Gun	Crew (O/E)
Dolphin	319-3	27-11	1718	2240	2xBuENG 6A20 ⅞-R (DD) & 2xBuENG 6A13 ¾-N (DE)	2xElectro Dynamic	2x120	17	8	300	4/2	21	18	4"/50	7/56
Cachalot class	274-0	24-1	1110	1650	2xBuENG M.A.N. M9V (DD) & 1xBuENG M.A.N. (DE)	2xWestinghouse	2x120	17	8	250	4/2	21	16	3"/50	6/39
Porpoise group	301-0	24-11	1310	1934	4xGM 16-201A (DE)	4xElliot	2x120	19	8	250	4/2	21	16	3"/50	5/49
Shark group	298-0	25-0	1316	1968	4xGM 16-201A (DE)	4xElliot	2x120	19.5	8.25	250	4/2	21	16	3"/50	5/49
Perch Group	300-6	25-0	1350	1997	4xGM 16-201A, FM 38A8, or HOR 89DA (DE)	4xGeneral Electric	2x120	19.25	8.75	250	4/2	21	16	3"/50	5/49
Salmon group	308-0	26-1	1435	2198	4x HOR 99DA or GM 16-248 (DEDC)	4xElliot	2x120	21	9	250	4/4	21	24	3"/50	5/54
Sargo/Seadragon group	310-6	26-10	1450	2350	4x HOR 99DA or GM 16-248 (DEDC or DE)	4xGeneral Electric	2x126	21	8.75	250	4/4	21	24	3"/50	5/54
Tambor/Gar class	307-2	27-3	1475	2370	4xFM 38D8⅛ or GM 16-248 (DE)	4xGeneral Electric	2x126	20.4	8.75	250	6/4	21	24	3"/50	6/54
Mackerel	243-1	22-1	825	1190	2xEB 16VM1 (DD)	4xGeneral Electric	2x60	14.5	9	250	4/2	21	12	3"/50	4/33
Marlin	238-11	21-7	800	1165	2xAlco Model 540 (DD)	4xGeneral Electric	2x60	14.5	9	250	4/2	21	12	3"/50	4/34

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