S-18

S-18 sliding down the launch ways at the Bethlehem Quincy yard in Quincy, MA., April 29, 1920. The stern has just touched the water, but the boat is not yet buoyant. The conning tower fairwater is not yet complete, the bridge and other structures will be added later. In the center of the fairwater is the large main induction pipe, used to channel air into the engine rooms for use by the diesels. Just aft of the induction pipe is a smaller pipe that is used to run radio aerial antenna wires down to the radio room.

Photo in the private collection of Dave Johnston.

S-18 moored at an unknown location, mid 1920's. She is sitting high in the water and her rudder is exposed on the far right. The superstructure skeg normally ran all the way down to the rudder, but on many of the S-boats it was found that the skeg was too lightly built, and it often rusted to the point that it had to be removed. That has been done in this case. Compare this photo to the one on the previous page and you can see the difference.

This photo is privately owned and MAY NOT BE USED OR REPOSTED WITHOUT PERMISSION.

A close up of the photo above, showing details of the S-18's conning tower fairwater. The three circles above the "18" are the deadlight windows for the conning tower. These let into a watertight vertical cylinder that has a periscope station and torpedo firing controls. The ship's bell can be seen on the forward edge of the fairwater. When compared to the photo on the previous page, it can be seen that the aft end of the fairwater has been raised. It was found that the original low design that housed an access hatch to the after battery compartment and a ventilation intake was too wet in a heavy sea. It was decided to raise this platform in an attempt to keep the hatch and intake drier at sea.

This photo is privately owned and MAY NOT BE USED OR REPOSTED WITHOUT PERMISSION.

Another close up showing details of the S-18's forward deck. The open hatch is to the torpedo room. There is a pipe frame erected above it that was used in conjunction with a canvas cover. It helped to keep rain out of the torpedo room while in port. A triple wired radio aerial is attached to a davit post on the starboard side of the gun deck. At the far right the tip of the gun barrel can be seen, along with the deck mounted gun barrel lock post.

This photo is privately owned and MAY NOT BE USED OR REPOSTED WITHOUT PERMISSION.

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