S-50 on her launch day, June 18, 1921 at the Lake Torpedo Boat Company yards, Bridgeport, CT. The heavy cable attached to her bullnose with shackles is part of a launch arresting system. It prevented the boat from gaining too much momentum as it slid down the ways and prevented it from gliding all the way to the opposite side of Bridgeport Harbor once it was waterborne.
USN photo in the private collection of Ric Hedman.
This photo shows S-50 underway in Long Island Sound, NY in 1923. S-50 spent most of 1923 undergoing a refit at the Brooklyn Navy Yard and testing in the Long Island and Block Island Sounds. She and her sisters were fine looking boats that epitomized the design aesthetic of the U.S. Navy of the 1920's.
USN photo in the private collection of Ric Hedman.
S-50 in the company of a small boat, January 1924. The location was most likely in the Caribbean, as she was involved in major fleet exercises that also took her to Coco Solo, Panama.
USN photo in the private collection of Ric Hedman.
S-50 is shown here alongside a pier at what is likely the Brooklyn Navy Yard, late 1924 or early 1925. Earlier in 1924 she had suffered a serious battery fire that required several months of repair and refitting at Portsmouth and Groton. In this picture an awning has been erected on the forward deck over the gun. This would indicate that this photo was taken in the summer.
USN photo in the private collection of Ric Hedman.
A view of S-50's gun deck, likely taken at the same time as the photo above, at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, late 1924 or early 1925. Details of the Mk 9 gun's breech mechanism can be seen. The watertight cover that is normally in place over the breech has been removed. Below and to the right of the gun the deck cover over one of the ship's small boats has been removed, likely for boat maintenance. This boat is fairly small, and was probably used as a utility boat for over-the-side repairs or painting. A second, larger boat was also carried that would have been used for running the crew ashore for liberty when the submarine had to anchor out.
Photo NH 42835 courtesy of the NHHC.
A view of the S-50's forward deck, taken from the bridge. The date and location is unknown, but is circa 1925. The three sailors are having a game of catch.
