A-7
U.S. Navy photo
This image is only tiny part of a much larger photo, that being the reason for the lower resolution. The information written on the back of this photo state that this is the "Submarine Shark maneuvering on Manila Bay, November 1909".
Shark is traveling at a slow speed, possibly on battery. The whole crew appears to be on deck. We count 10 people, officers and men. From the looks of this photo the torpedo loading hatch has been opened, (rectangle to the left of the men).
Initially it was thought that the smoke that is seen near the center of the photo was coming from the submarine, indicating some sort of serious problem below. In actuality, the smoke is coming from the horizon from another ship. It is a trick of photography that makes the smoke appear close. In addition, the flag at the stern shows the wind to be blowing from the bow to the stern, which would make it impossible for the smoke to be drifting to the left.
Photo in the private collection of Ric Hedman.
USS Shark (Submarine No. 8) crew muster for April 15, 1910. Data is incomplete due to lost records.
| Jensen, Henry M. - Ensign - age 26 - Born: Minnesota |
| Beaudford, Thomas S. - EM 2c - age 30 - Born: Maryland |
| Dowd, John J. - CEM - age 29 - Born: New Jersey |
| Draper, Harry - CMM - age 33 - Born: New York |
| Greensmith, Joe - CGM - age 38 - Born: England |
| Grimes, Chester J. - GM 2c - age 25 - Born: Idaho |
| Harris, William E. - CGM - age 29 - Born: Virginia |
| Hershey, Orville S. - MM 2c - age 25 - Born: Maryland |
| Heslar, Fred O. - EM 1c - age 22 - Born: Indiana |
| Miller, Thomas M. - EM 2c - age 23 - Born: Indiana |
| McGains, Joseph E. - GM 1c - age 24 - Born: Arizona |
| Sicer, Leonard - MM 1c - age 24 - Born: Pennsylvania |
| Streiff, Robert J. - MM 2c - age 22 - Born: Minnesota |
Thank you to Linda Talbott of the US GenWeb Census Project® for providing this information.
Shark alongside at Naval Station Cavite, Manila Bay, Philippines, approximately 1910. Note that the rectangle shaped torpedo loading hatch is open on the forward deck. The only other hatch for the boat is the one on top of the conning tower. She has lifting padeyes on the hull to enable the quick connection of lifting chains should the boat come to grief. There is at least one other A-class submarine moored on the other side of the pier.
Photo in the private collection of Ric Hedman.
A-7 maneuvering at high speed in Manila Bay near Cavite, circa 1912. Her entire crew is on deck, inches from the water. These small boats were nearly awash in this condition. A false bow has been attached to the front of the boat, the aft edges can be seen here. Why they used a false bow on these boats is readily apparent here. It helped to push the bow wave away from the boat, keeping the small main deck somewhat dry.
Photo in the private collection of Ric Hedman.
A-7 at Cavite, Manila Bay, Philippines. Time frame is circa 1915. Note the changes in the boat's exterior appearance is the 4-5 years since the photo above was taken. She is moored to a pier that has booms for loading torpedoes incorporated to it. A carriage for torpedo transport can be seen just right of center of the photo. Maybe A-7 has just completed loading torpedoes.
The A-7 has had the bow modification of a superstructure fairing slipped over her existing hull configuration. This kept the sub and crews on deck drier in a seaway. This false bow is a slightly different configuration from the one shown in the photo above. They may have been altering the design to find the optimum setup. She has two deck ventilators installed to help bring fresh air and cooling to the interior of the submarine.
The raised "bridge" deck is surrounded by a single pipe rail. The vertical mounted helm for steering on the surface can be seen. Its shaft can be seen under the bridge area penetrating the deck to the port of the conning tower to merge with the interior drive rod leading to the rudder aft.
The submarine's single periscope is seen rising aft of the conning tower and bridge. Just aft of that is the magnetic compass binnacle and aft of those is the Allied Signal Bell used for underwater signaling.
Photo in the private collection of Ric Hedman.
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