S-49

S-49 is shown here on trials, likely shortly after her commissioning, June, 1922. The location is not known for sure, but it is likely in Long Island Sound or in the Atlantic off of Block Island. The sailor on the forward deck is waving to the boat taking the picture, but given the narrowness of the deck in that spot, this is not a safe thing to be doing.

USN Photo in the private collection of Ric Hedman.

S-49 at sea in January, 1926 in a unsettled sea. The original photograph was not in good condition, and the large white spot at the bottom is a tear in the photo.

On April 20, 1926 the S-49, while moored at Submarine Base New London, suffered a hydrogen gas explosion in the battery compartment while charging, injuring 12 men. Charging a submarine's battery is always a dangerous evolution, as the lead-acid battery cells generate hydrogen while being charged. There are ventilation systems designed to remove the hydrogen buildup, but if not properly managed the situation can become critical. The crew made an attempt to fight the resulting fire, but quickly the base's fire department was called and rescuers donned gas masks and got the injured men out of the boat. Though there was some inhalation of smoke and other gases most of the injuries were concussions and bone fractures from the force of the explosion.

The injured

Greenville, Mathew Timothy, QM 1c, 15 Middle St., Saco, Maine.

Holst, Jr., Theodore, CBM, Groton, CT.*

Horn, Frederick Frances, BM 2c, 947 Walnut Street, Freeland, PA.

Ford, Daniel, SN 1c, 180 Bennington Street, East Boston, MA.

Mattlock, Sylvester Erie, FN 1c, 203 State Street, Charleston, IL.

Cooke, Ollie J., SN 1c, Danville, VA.*

Fellds, Claire Daniel, EM 1c, 18 Pine St., Reno, NV.*

Conway, Francis Leo, TM 2c, 20 Dinley Street, Dracut, MA.

McCormack, Ralph Edward, GM 1c, 51 Prospect Street, West Lynn, MA.*

Johnson, Gustave Vernon, CEM, Groton, CT.

Sloggett, Bernard Leslie, TM 1c, New London, CT.

Morris, Basil A., FN 3c, 36 Oak Street, Asheville, NC.

The Greenfield Daily Recorder newspaper reported the same day that Johnson, Sloggett and Morris suffered from minor injuries and smoke inhalation while the others were all in initially serious condition. Greenville, with a probably fractured skull and other injuries was expected to die and the condition of several of the others is extremely critical.

Those men marked with an asterisk (*) actually died from their injuries. Fellds died on April 24, 1926.

USN Photo in the private collection of Ric Hedman.

S-49 shown underway, likely in the 1922 to 1926 time frame, location unknown. Unusually, she is running "clean", without the heavy mine clearance/radio aerial strung between the bow, the bridge, and the stern.

Photo in the private collection of Ric Hedman.

A closeup of the photo above, showing details of the conning tower fairwater and bridge. Unlike the other Government design S-boats, the S-48 group had a access trunk installed at the forward end of the conning tower fairwater. This allowed access to the main deck directly from the control room. It was intended to be used by the gun crew during a surface action, and thus was called the gun access trunk.

At the top of the photo, just behind the standing men, is a section of the periscope shears that had numerous holes drilled in it. This contained the main air induction valve and piping, which was used to draw in the vast quantities of air needed for running the diesel engines. Locating it as high as possible kept it dry while running on the surface in heavy weather. Aft of this, on the very aft edge of the shears is the ship's bell.

Photo in the private collection of Ric Hedman.

S-49 underway in 1927. Location is not known for sure, but this could possibly be off west Florida or the Keys during exercises she conducted with S-50 in January and February 1927.

USN Photo in the private collection of Ric Hedman.

S-49 seen from the air in 1927. This photo was probably taken while the boat was in transit to Philadelphia for decommissioning in March.

USN Photo in the private collection of Ric Hedman.

S-49 seen from a different angle, probably in March 1927 enroute to Philadelphia and decommissioning. S-49 and S-50 were taken out of service to get the USN within compliance of the London Naval Treaty, which limited the tonnage of submarines that the USN could have. In reality, the USN was not happy with the S-48 group for several reasons, so sending them to the mothball fleet in Philadelphia upset no one.

USN Photo in the private collection of Ric Hedman.

An S-49 enlisted crewman's dress blues "flat hat". This was a traditional style of cover that was worn for inspections and formal ceremonies in place of the more recognizable white hat. The flat hat survived as part of a sailor's sea bag officially until April 1, 1963, when it was fully withdrawn from service. However, its use had tapered off considerably in the years prior and a Uniform Regulations chapter dated March 20, 1959 no longer listed it. This particular hat is privately owned by Ric Hedman.

Photo in the private collection of Ric Hedman.

S-49 as a civilian exhibit

S-49 clung to life after decommissioning in 1930, ending up as a traveling exhibit in private hands. She is seen here in her civilian guise, 1936. The "C" on the bow is the submarine's name! Owner Francis J. Chrestensen had the vessel registered as a "Yacht" to be able to take it to Canada since there was a treaty between the U.S. and Canada not to bring war ships into the Great Lakes. Note the boat's real name next to the C. She is sitting very high in the water as there is little fuel onboard, and the batteries and weapons have been removed. She has also been rendered incapable of diving. PigBoats.COM has a host of pictures of her in the era, please click click on this link for these pictures.

Photo in the private collection of Ric Hedman.

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