View source for United States L-class submarine

{{Short description|United States Navy submarine class}}
{{other ships|British L-class submarine}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin|sclass=2}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=[[File:NH-51152 USS L-1 running trials.jpg|300px|USS L-1 running trials]]
|Ship caption=USS ''L-1'' (SS-40) lead ship of her class during running trials.
}}
{{Infobox ship class overview
|Name=L class
|Builders=*[[Electric Boat]] (EB),
*[[Fore River Shipbuilding]] Company, [[Quincy, Massachusetts]] (''L-1'' to ''L-4'', ''L-9'' to ''L-11'')
*[[Lake Torpedo Boat]] Company, [[Bridgeport, Connecticut]] (''L-5'')
*California Shipbuilding Co., [[Long Beach, California]] (''L-6'' & ''L-7'')
*[[Portsmouth Navy Yard]], [[Kittery, Maine]] (''L-8'')
|Operators={{naval|United States}}
|Class before=[[United States K-class submarine|K class]]
|Class after= {{USS|M-1|SS-47|6}}
|Subclasses=
|Cost=
|Built range=1914–1917
|In service range=   
|In commission range= 1916–1923
|Total ships building= 
|Total ships planned=
|Total ships completed=11
|Total ships cancelled=
|Total ships active=
|Total ships laid up=
|Total ships lost=
|Total ships retired=11
|Total ships preserved=0
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption= 
|Ship type=[[Submarine]]
|Ship displacement=*''EB design'':
*{{convert|450|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} surfaced
*{{convert|548|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} submerged
*''Lake design'':
*{{convert|451|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} surfaced
*{{convert|527|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} submerged
|Ship length=*''EB design'': {{convert|168|ft|5|in|m|abbr=on}}
*''Lake design'': {{convert|165|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam=*''EB design'': {{convert|17|ft|4|in|m|abbr=on}}
*''Lake design'': {{convert|14|ft|9|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship height=
|Ship draft=*''EB design'': {{convert|13|ft|7|in|m|abbr=on}}
*''Lake design'': {{convert|13|ft|3|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship depth=
|Ship hold depth=
|Ship decks=
|Ship deck clearance=
|Ship power=*''EB design'':
*{{convert|1300|hp|kW|lk=in|abbr=on}} (diesel engines),
*{{convert|800|hp|kW|abbr=on}} (electric motors)
*''Lake design'':
*{{convert|1200|hp|kW|lk=in|abbr=on}} (diesel engines),
*{{convert|800|hp|kW|abbr=on}} (electric motors)
|Ship propulsion=*[[Diesel-electric]]
*''EB design'':
*2 × [[New London Ship and Engine Company|NELSECO]] [[Diesel engine]]s,
*2 × [[Electro-Dynamic Company|Electro Dynamic]] [[electric motor]]s,
*2 × 60-[[electrochemical cell|cell]] [[battery (electrical)|batteries]],
*2 × shafts
*''Lake design'':
*2 × [[Busch-Sulzer]] Diesel engines,
*2 × [[Philip Diehl (inventor)|Diehl]] electric motors,
*1 × 120-[[electrochemical cell|cell]] [[battery (electrical)|batteries]],
*2 × shafts
|Ship speed=*{{convert|14|kn|lk=in}} surfaced
*{{convert|10.5|kn}} submerged
|Ship range=*{{convert|4500|nmi|km|abbr=on}} at {{convert|7|kn|abbr=on}} (surfaced)
*{{convert|150|nmi|km|abbr=on}} at {{convert|5|kn|abbr=on}} (submerged)
|Ship endurance=
|Ship test depth={{convert|200|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship complement=28 officers and men
|Ship armament=*4 × [[American 18 inch torpedo|18 inch (450 mm)]] [[torpedo tube]]s, 8 [[torpedo]]es
*1 × [[3"/23 caliber gun|3"/23 caliber]] retractable [[deck gun]] (gun on EB design only)<ref>[https://pigboats.com/index.php?title=Submarine_Specifications All statistics from PigBoats.COM Submarine Specifications page]</ref>
|Ship armor=
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
The United States '''L-class submarines''' were a class of 11 coastal defense [[submarine]]s built 1914–1917, and were the most modern and capable submarines available to [[United States Navy]] when the country entered [[World War I]]. Despite being considered a successful design by the USN, war experience in European waters demonstrated that the boats lacked the range, speed, and endurance to conduct extended patrols in the North Atlantic.<ref>[https://pigboats.com/index.php?title=L-class PigBoats.COM L-class page]</ref>

==Design==
These submarines were built to two distinctly different designs at four separate shipyards.<ref>Ibid</ref> The [[Electric Boat Company]] (EB) of [[New York City]] (later [[Groton, Connecticut]]) went the route they followed with previous designs and simply scaled up their standard [[submarine hull|single hull]], spindle shaped, twin [[propeller]], axial [[rudder]] design to meet the requirements of the Navy. They were contracted for ''L-1'' through ''L-4'' and ''L-9'' through ''L-11'', and these would be built at EB's sub-contractor [[Fore River Shipyard|Fore River Shipbuilding Co.]] in [[Quincy, Massachusetts]].<ref>Ibid</ref> For the first time EB did away with the rotating bow cap for the torpedo tube muzzle doors. It was replaced by individual faired-in shutter doors that would later become a standard design feature.<ref>Friedman pp. 84-85</ref> Simon Lake's [[Lake Torpedo Boat|Lake Torpedo Boat Company]] returned to the fold and submitted a very different design that would become ''L-5'' through ''L-8''. These boats were similar in size and capability to the EB design, but they had a ventrally mounted rudder and propeller shafts, a watertight superstructure to aid in surface buoyancy, and different engines and motors. They also had three sets of amidships mounted [[diving plane]]s, as opposed to EB's standard bow and stern planes.<ref>Friedman, pp. 85</ref> The only one of the four that would actually be built at Lake's [[Bridgeport, Connecticut]] yard was ''L-5''. The Navy wanted some of the boats built at a [[West Coast of the United States|west coast]] shipyard, so Lake sub-contracted with the [[Craig Shipbuilding Company]] of [[Long Beach, California]] to build ''L-6'' and ''L-7''. Desirous of creating their own in-house submarine construction capability, the Navy's [[Bureau of Construction and Repair]] obtained a license from Lake to build the ''L-8'' at the government owned [[Portsmouth Naval Shipyard|Portsmouth Navy Yard]] in [[Kittery, Maine]]. ''L-8'' would be the first of many submarines built at government Navy Yards.<ref>[https://pigboats.com/index.php?title=L-class PigBoats.COM L-class page]</ref>

As in previous U.S. designs, the conning tower and [[Sail (submarine)|fairwater]] was kept small for reduced drag when submerged. For extended surface runs, the fairwater was augmented with a temporary piping-and-canvas structure (see photo) which took considerable time to deploy and dismantle. Experience in [[World War I]] showed that this was inadequate in the North Atlantic weather, and these boats, along with other submarines serving overseas in that war ([[United States E-class submarine|E-class]] and [[United States K-class submarine|K-class]]) had their [[Bridge (nautical)|bridge]] structures replaced with a permanent steel "chariot" shield on the front of the bridge. Chariot style bridges became standard on later U.S. submarines.<ref>Friedman, pp. 84</ref>

This was the first U.S. submarine class equipped with a [[deck gun]], in this case a [[3"/23 caliber gun|3-inch/23 caliber]] (76&nbsp;mm) partially retractable design. The gun was installed on the EB design boats only, the Lake design never received one.<ref>Friedman, pp. 307</ref> The gun was retracted vertically, with a round shield that fit over the top of a well in the superstructure that projected into the pressure hull. Most of the barrel protruded from the deck, resembling a stanchion. The round shield doubled as a blast deflector for the gun crew, and as the watertight top of the well.<ref>[https://pigboats.com/index.php?title=L-class PigBoats.COM L-class page]</ref><ref>[http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNUS_3-23_mk13.htm DiGiulian, Tony Navweaps.com 3"/23 caliber gun]</ref> This gun was roundly disliked by the submarine crews because it lacked range, hitting power, and had the tendency to retract back into the well when fired, presenting a great hazard to the gun crew.<ref>[https://pigboats.com/images/5/52/Christley_guns.pdf Christley, Jim, ''U.S. Submarine Deck Guns'', 2010, PigBoats.COM]</ref>

==Service==
After service in the [[Atlantic]] [[Flotilla]] by the Electric Boat design submarines, most required extensive refits at [[Philadelphia]] after the USA's entry into the [[First World War]], which reflected the U.S. Navy's then-limited experience in submarine ocean operations. In December 1917, the seven boats were sent to [[Bantry Bay]] as Submarine Division 5 for [[U-boat Campaign (World War I)|convoy escort]] and anti-[[U-boat]] patrols. The four new Lake design L-boats later deployed to the [[Azores]] in November 1918 as Division 6 to reinforce four [[United States K-class submarine|K-class submarines]] sent there in October 1917. While forward deployed, U.S. L-class submarines had the letter "A" added to the name displayed on the fairwater (i.e. AL-1) to avoid confusion with [[British L-class submarine]]s.<ref>[https://pigboats.com/index.php?title=L-class PigBoats.COM L-class page]</ref>

U.S. submarines did not sink any U-boats in [[World War I]], despite the immense effort of getting them to the war zone. Many lessons were learned and these were poured into the design of follow-on submarines.<ref>Ibid</ref> After the war, the L-class were involved in trials of new [[torpedoes]] and [[hydrophone]] equipment on both the east and west coasts before decommissioning in 1922 and 1923. At least ''L-3'', ''L-9'', and ''L-11'' were re-engined with [[Busch-Sulzer]] diesels removed from Lake-built [[United States N-class submarine|N-boats]] in 1921.<ref>[http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/03idx.htm NavSource Naval History N-class page]</ref> Three EB design boats were scrapped in 1922, the four Lake design boats were scrapped in 1925, and the remainder were scrapped in 1933 under the [[London Naval Treaty]] limiting naval armament.
[[File:Torpedo Exploder Mark 6 NH-88457.jpg|thumb|left|''L-8'' acting as a target for torpedo testing off Newport Rhode Island May 26,1926. This was obviously a miss. Another shot later that day sank her.<ref>[https://pigboats.com/index.php?title=L-8 PigBoats.COM L-8 page]</ref>]]


{{clear}}

==Boats in class==
The 11 submarines of the L class were:

[[Electric Boat]] design
{| class="sortable wikitable"
|-
! Ship name and Hull no.
! Builder
! Laid Down
! Launched
! Commissioned
! Decommissioned
! Fate
|- 
| {{USS|L-1|SS-40}}
| rowspan="7" | [[Fore River Shipbuilding]]
| 13 April 1914
| 20 January 1915
| 11 April 1916
| 7 April 1922
| Scrapped 1922
|- 
| {{USS|L-2|SS-41}}
| 19 March 1914
| 11 February 1915
| 29 September 1916
| 4 May 1923
| Scrapped 1933
|-
| {{USS|L-3|SS-42}}
| 18 April 1914
| 15 March 1915
| 22 April 1916
| 11 June 1923
| Scrapped 1933
|-
| {{USS|L-4|SS-43}}
| 23 March 1914
| 3 April 1915
| 4 May 1916
| 14 April 1922
| Scrapped 1922
|-
| {{USS|L-9|SS-49}}
| 2 November 1914
| 27 October 1915
| 4 August 1916
| 4 May 1923
| Scrapped 1933
|-
| {{USS|L-10|SS-50}}
| 17 February 1915
| 16 March 1916
| 2 August 1916
| 5 May 1922
| Scrapped 1922
|-
| {{USS|L-11|SS-51}}
| 17 February 1915
| 16 May 1916
| 15 August 1916
| 28 November 1923
| Scrapped 1933
|-
|}

[[Lake Torpedo Boat]] Company design
{| class="sortable wikitable"
|-
! Ship name and Hull no.
! Builder
! Laid Down
! Launched
! Commissioned
! Decommissioned
! Fate
|- 
| {{USS|L-5|SS-44}}
| [[Lake Torpedo Boat]] Company
| 14 May 1914
| 1 May 1916
| 17 February 1918
| 5 December 1922
| Scrapped 1925
|-
| {{USS|L-6|SS-45}}
| rowspan="2" | [[Craig Shipbuilding Company]]
| 27 May 1914
| 31 August 1916
| 7 December 1917
| 25 November 1922
| Scrapped 1925
|-
| {{USS|L-7|SS-46}}
| 2 June 1914
| 28 September 1916
| 7 December 1917
| 15 November 1922
| Scrapped 1925
|-
| {{USS|L-8|SS-48}}
| [[Portsmouth Navy Yard]]
| 24 February 1915
| 23 April 1917
| 30 August 1917
| 15 November 1922
| Sunk as target 1926
|-
|}

==See also==
* [[List of submarine classes of the United States Navy]]

==References==

===Notes===
{{Reflist|30em}}

===Sources===
* {{cite book |last1=Hutchinson |first1=Robert |title=Jane's submarines : war beneath the waves from 1776 to the present day |date=2001 |publisher=HarperCollins |location=London |isbn=978-0007105588}}
* Gardiner, Robert, ''Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921'' Conway Maritime Press, 1985. {{ISBN|0-85177-245-5}}.
* Friedman, Norman "US Submarines through 1945: An Illustrated Design History", Naval Institute Press, Annapolis:1995, {{ISBN|1-55750-263-3}}.
* Silverstone, Paul H., ''U.S. Warships of World War I'' (Ian Allan, 1970), {{ISBN|0-71100-095-6}}.
*[http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/03idx.htm Navsource.org early diesel submarines page]
*[https://pigboats.com/index.php?title=L-class PigBoats.COM L-class pages]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20150502094107/http://www.shipbuildinghistory.com/history/shipyards/2large/inactive/craig.htm ShipbuildingHistory.com Craig Shipbuilding page]
*[http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNUS_3-23_mk13.htm DiGiulian, Tony Navweaps.com 3"/23 caliber gun]
*{{DANFS}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|L class submarines of the United States}}

{{United States L class submarine}}
{{WWI US ships}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:L class submarines, United States}}
[[Category:United States L-class submarines| ]]
[[Category:World War I submarines of the United States| L class]]
[[Category:Submarine classes]]