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. It 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 method of surfaced propulsion, i.e. internal combustion engines.
•Subm. Prop. - The method of submerged propulsion, i.e. electrical 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 numbers of torpedo tubes in the bow (B) or stern (S).
•Torp Load - The total number of torpedoes carried.
•Crew (O/E) - The crew size, with the numbers representing officers and enlisted.

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 Gasoline	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 Gasoline	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 Gasoline	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 Gasoline	2xElectro Dynamic	1x120	11	9	200	2/0	18	4	No	1/14
D-class	134-10	13-10	288	337	2xEB/Craig Gasoline	2xElectro Dynamic	1x120	13	9.5	200	4/0	18	4	No	1/14
E-class	135-2	14-7	287	342	2xNELSECO Diesel	2xElectro Dynamic	1x120	13	11	200	4/0	18	8	No	1/19
F-class	142-7	15-5	330	400	2xNELSECO Diesel	2xElectro Dynamic	1x120	13	11.5	200	4/0	18	8	No	1/21
G-1	161-0	13-1	400	516	4xWhite-Middleton Gasoline	2xDiehl	1x120	14.7	10.6	200	2/0	18	6	No	1/23
G-2	161-0	14-4	375	481	4xWhite-Middleton Gasoline	2xDiehl	1x120	14	10.5	200	3/1	18	8	No	1/23
G-3	161-0	14-4	393	468	2xSulzer Diesel	2xElectro Dynamic	1x120	14	9.5	200	4/2	18	10	No	2/23
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)
G-4	157-5	17-4	370	352	4x Fiat Gasoline	2xDiehl	1x124	14.4	9.5	200	2/2	18	8	No	2/18

All submarines after this point are equipped with diesel engines. The engine model number is listed if known

H-class	150-3	15-9	358	434	2xNELSECO 240V8FS	2xElectro Dynamic	1x120	14	10.5	200	4/0	18	8	No	2/23
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
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)
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16

Page created by:
Ric Hedman & David Johnston
1999 - 2023 - PigBoats.COM^©
Mountlake Terrace, WA, Norfolk, VA
webmaster at pigboats dot com