The nine V-class fleet submarines were originally authorized in 1917, but construction did not start until well after the end of the Great War. By then, the concept of what the Navy wanted in a fleet submarine had changed numerous times. The Submarine Force came away very impressed with some of the long-range German cruiser U-boats that had been developed so the design for V-5 and V-6 morphed from a fleet support unit into that of a globe spanning commerce raider. This requirement dictated a very large boat to obtain the fuel bunkerage necessary for long range, and also a heavy gun armament to finish off merchantmen quickly. Consideration was given in the original concept to include an aircraft hangar, but this idea was dropped after the very disappointing tests that had been conducted on the USS S-1 (SS-105). The final design closely mimiced the previous USS V-4 (SM-1), but with the aft minelaying gear replaced by a after torpedo room with two tubes. The gun platforms for the two huge 6"/53 caliber Mk 17 guns were raised slightly from the V-4 design, and additional torpedo stowage tubes were mounted underneath the gun platforms. These boats, like the V-4 before them, were of mostly riveted construction, but welding was used in certain non-critical areas such as support framing, pipe brackets, and deck joinery. Narwhal was built at Portsmouth Navy Yard, but Nautilus' construction was assigned to the Mare Island Navy Yard, the first submarine to be built from the keel up at that Vallejo, CA. based facility.
These two boats were renamed Narwhal and Nautilus on February 19, 1931 and redesignated into the general submarine series later that year. They were underpowered and their great size and large decks made them slow divers and rather clumsy underwater. Despite these issues, they were moderately successful during the war, sinking a number of enemy ships. Thoroughly modernized, they served the Navy well as special mission submarines, their large size allowing them to land raiding parties and running supplies to guerilla groups in the Philippines and elsewhere.
By the summer of 1945 they were thoroughly worn out and were sent back to the states for an honored retirement and decommissioning.
V-5/Narwhal (SC-1, later SS-167)
U.S. Navy photo
V-5 underway in a moderate sea, approximately summer 1930.
Nautilus & Argonaut Makin Island Raid, August 1942
This is a collection of 12 photos that were taken on Nautilus during the raid on Makin Island in August, 1942. In the company of Argonaut (SM-1), a force of 211 Marines under the command of LTC Evans Carlson landed from the two submarines, causing widespread damage and sinking two small ships in the lagoon.
