This photo was taken in June 1926 during the initial lifting phases of the S-51's wreck. All of the sub's internal compartments except one (the battery room) had been closed up and dewatered. Pontoons had been attached via chains to several points on the S-51's hull and these were used to provide the extra buoyancy needed to get the boat to the surface. The first lift attempt did not go well and several of the pontoons slid out of position and the team needed to try again. In this photo the very tip of the S-51's bow can be seen above the waterline as the salvage crews scramble to stabilize the unwieldly pontoons.
USN photo in the private collection of Ric Hedman.
This photo was taken on July 7, 1926 as the water was being pumped out of the drydock at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The S-51's deck is just becoming visible and four of the lifting pontoons can be seen floating in the dock with the sub. There is a note on the photo indicating where the boat was struck by the steamship City of Rome. The sub's bridge structure has been heavily damaged during the salvage operations.
USN photo in the private collection of Ric Hedman.
Another photo taken at nearly the same time as the one above, showing details of the conning tower fairwater. The S-51's name can just be made out on the side. There is a profusion of chains, lines, and hoses draping the sub.
USN photo in the private collection of Ric Hedman.
The S-51 sitting on the blocks in drydock at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, New York City, July 7, 1926. Two of the pontoons can be seen beyond the bow. Air hoses and lines are draped over the hull. Her stern torpedo tube can be seen just above the rudder, which is turned to starboard. Her starboard side stern diving plane is turned to full rise, likely due to the salvage operations.
USN photo in the private collection of Ric Hedman.
The bow of S-51, showing heavy damage the wreck sustained during the tow to the Brooklyn Navy Yard. While in transit of the East River, the towing force unintentionally grounded the partially submerged S-51 and her pontoons on Man-O'-War Rock, near the southern tip of Roosevelt Island, directly adjacent to the site of the present-day United Nations building. It took considerable effort to free her so that the tow to the yard could continue. During this operation, a portion of the superstructure plating at the bow was torn off. The shutter doors of the four bow torpedo tubes can also be seen. Lifting chains and one of the cylindrical pontoons can be seen on the left.
Today, Man-O'-War Rock is known as U Thant Island (a.k.a. Belmont Island) and has a small navigation range marker erected on it.
USN photo in the private collection of Ric Hedman.
