R-19

R-19 making a slow dive, possibly a trim dive to make sure the submarine is ballasted correctly. Her gangplank is lashed to her fore deck. Location is probably San Diego, approximately 1920.

Photo from the Vallejo Naval & Historical Museum via Mr. Darryl Baker. MAY NOT be reused without permission.

R-19 crew photographed at Pearl Harbor in 1921, moored next to the R-12. The officer on the left is LT Roy Kehlor Jones, captain of the R-19. Jones was to later lose his life while in command of the S-4 when she was fatally rammed and sunk with all hands on December 17, 1927.

Photo in the private collection of Ric Hedman.

Same photo as above but in a bit of chewed up condition. The "X" at the left is the Commanding Officer, LT Roy Kehlor Jones. This photo is a large file so the faces can be seen clearly.

Photo in the private collection of Ric Hedman.

R-19 seen diving in this undated photo. Based on the paint scheme this looks to be taken about 1925. Location is also unknown but is likely in Hawaiian waters. The back of the photo has a reference date of April 7, 1931. As this is from a newspaper archive it may have been used in a story about the submarines' impending decommissioning the next month on May 15, 1931. That is only a publication date, not necessarily the date the photo was taken.

Photo in the private collection of Ric Hedman.

R-19 underway in Magazine Loch just off the Submarine Base in Pearl Harbor, mid 1920s. It was common for the R-class boats to stow the 3"/50 caliber deck gun with the barrel pointed aft. There is no exhaust from the engines so at this point she is making turns on the battery. The white cross on her fairwater was part of a visual identification system in use by the Navy for the R-boats. It was easily seen at a distance and allowed other ships to quickly identify a surfaced submarine. Each R-boat had a different shape. The system fell out of use in the late 1920s. The three large towers in the background are on the Navy Yard and were for very long range communications.

Photo in the private collection of Ric Hedman.

R-19 seen from the port side, approximately 1925. The lighting on this photo makes it appear to be painted black, indicating a later date, but close examination reveals that she is still painted haze gray, and along with the presence of the Y-tube sonar at the bow this places the date in the mid 1920's.

The R-19, like many of the R-class, was destined to sit in reserve in Philadelphia for the rest of the 1930's. She was recommissioned January 6, 1941 as the war situation in Europe deteriorated. On March 9, 1942, R-19 was decommissioned from the U.S. Navy. She was transferred to the Royal Navy under the terms of the Lend-Lease Act the same day. Commissioned in the Royal Navy as HMS P514, the submarine was lost in an accident after being rammed by HMCS Georgian June 21, 1942 in the western Atlantic. She went down with all hands.

Photo NH 108241 via NHHC.

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