S-20

Exterior Photos

S-20 on one of her visits to the Panama Canal, in one of the lock systems designed to raise or lower the boat to match the different heights of the canal. There is just enough detail to show this is Panama. At the top left of the photo can be seen one of the "donkey" locomotives used to pull the vessels into and through the locks.

A lock gate can be seen on the left and behind the submarine is another gate. The lock behind is higher than the shown lock which means the submarine is descending to sea level. She may be in a center lock or the last lock. It is unclear which direction she is proceeding.

The time frame is prior to her March 1924 to February 1925 conversion, when she became an engineering test platform, testing a variety of engine configurations. Her standard S-class bow was replaced with a radical new bow to test the sea keeping and submerged abilities of the new design. This type bow was to be used in the next class of submarines, the V-class and in a modified version was used in the later WWII boats and became known as a "fleet bow".

Photo from an original post card in the private collection of Ric Hedman

S-20 alongside at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD., late 1920's after her conversion. The radically altered bow and different shape of the superstructure is apparent in this photo. In the background on the right is the training and barracks ship USS Cumberland (IX-8). She was a long-term resident at the Academy. In this configuration she was unable to get underway and was used for pierside services only.

U.S. Navy photo

S-20 underway in the Canal Zone, late 1920's. As part of her conversion S-20 was also fitted with "saddle" style fuel tanks, attached to the outside of the outer hull. These provided her with an additional 5889 gallons of fuel. The saddle tanks are just visible in this photograph, amidships just above the wave and below the superstructure.

USN photo # NH 94167 via NHHC.

In 1934-1935 the Navy made a force wide change to a flat black paint scheme for all submarines. This photo shows S-20 in the 1935 to 1939 time frame, with the exact location unknown, but we suspect it to be in the Severn River near Annapolis, MD.

Note that the submarine is anchored. The anchor chain can be seen running out the anchor housing fairing. There are crew in both whites and dungarees on deck. A guess would be that liberty has been granted and the men are waiting for a launch to take them to the shore. Those not in whites are probably the duty section. This is just a theory since the real story is not known nor does it explain why there are so many officers on the bridge. Maybe the crew is returning from liberty and the sub is about to get underway.

Photo in the private collection of Ric Hedman

S-20 underway later in her career, possibly during WWII. The location is not known.

U.S. Navy photo

The aft end of the S-20's fairwater, location is unknown, but this is a WWII era picture. In 1939 the Navy standardized on using the boat's hull number on the conning tower for identification purposes. S-20 spent the entire war operating out of New London engaged in training duties. Submarines permanently stationed stateside during the war retained their hull numbers on the conning tower to reduce the risk of friendly fire incidents. Submarines in the war zone in the Pacific carried no external identification at all.

Photo provided by Stan Lintner, from the Lintner Family Collection. Used with permission.

S-20 bow viewed through the periscope. A fairly choppy sea can be seen running. This is a WWII era photo.

Photo provided by Stan Lintner, from the Lintner Family Collection. Used with permission.

S-20 underway in the Atlantic, in 1945 near the end of the war. The S-20 had been engaged in engineering test work for over 15 years. She was chosen to test a prototype shape for snorkel technology then just being developed by the USN, based on a Dutch design. The prototype can be seen mounted on a thin mast just aft of the fairwater. This particular prototype was not connected to the engine room ventilation in any way. It was intended to test water flow around the snorkel head and test the operation of an early design of the head valve, which was intended to shut when the head dipped below the waves. The data gained from the S-20 tests was incorporated into a working design, which was installed for initial testing on the USS R-6 (SS-83) in August, 1945 in Florida waters. Much more work was needed to refine the design for fleet use, and the first operational model was installed on the USS Irex (SS-482) in 1947. The snorkel was a key piece of technology that came into heavy use during the post-war era, but was just a little too late for WWII.

The S-20 is almost unrecognizable from her original configuration, having been heavily modified in the late 1920's when she became an engineering and concept development boat.

USN photo in the private collection of Ric Hedman.

Internal Photos

This and all of the following photos were taken aboard the S-20 during her operations out of New London during WWII. This photo shows the torpedo room looking forward. Crewmen are loading a torpedo. This process involved chain falls, roller skids, and a lot of old fashioned elbow grease.

Photo provided by Stan Lintner, from the Lintner Family Collection. Used with permission.

An officer entering S-20's torpedo room by stepping through the watertight door from the forward battery compartment. An awkward procedure at first, with practice it becomes routine.

Photo provided by Stan Lintner, from the Lintner Family Collection. Used with permission.

S-20's control room. A Quartermaster and the Navigator plot a position.

Photo provided by Stan Lintner, from the Lintner Family Collection. Used with permission.

The diving station in the control room. The Diving Officer keeps track of the bow and stern planesmen as they hold depth. The deep calibrated depth gauge is on the left, the shallow calibrated depth gauge is on the right. The S-20's maximum operating depth was 200 feet.

Photo provided by Stan Lintner, from the Lintner Family Collection. Used with permission.

The after battery berthing compartment, with sleeping men. The bunks in the center would trice up towards the overhead when not used, so that messing tables could be set up.

Photo provided by Stan Lintner, from the Lintner Family Collection. Used with permission.

Chow time on the S-20. This is the after battery berthing and messing compartment. You can see the bunk in the center has been triced up into the overhead to make way for the messing tables.

Photo provided by Stan Lintner, from the Lintner Family Collection. Used with permission.

The maneuvering room, in the forward end of the engine room. This panel is used to send electrical power from the generators to/from the batteries to the main motors for propulsion or charging the batteries.

Photo provided by Stan Lintner, from the Lintner Family Collection. Used with permission.

The other side of the maneuvering space, showing additional electrical distribution panels.

Photo provided by Stan Lintner, from the Lintner Family Collection. Used with permission.

S-20's engine room looking aft. The large object in the foreground is the ballast trim pump.

Photo provided by Stan Lintner, from the Lintner Family Collection. Used with permission.

Another view inside the S-20's engine room, this being outboard of the engines, probably the port side looking aft. The curve of the hull can be seen on the right.

Photo provided by Stan Lintner, from the Lintner Family Collection. Used with permission.

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