USSS-15

	USSS-15atBridgeport,Connecticut,on 3 January 1921, twelve days before hercommissioning.
History
United States
Name	USSS-15
Builder	Lake Torpedo BoatCompany
Laid down	13 December 1917
Launched	8 March 1920
Sponsored by	Mrs.Simon Lake
Commissioned	15 January 1921
Decommissioned	26 April 1935
Recommissioned	3 January 1941
Decommissioned	11 June 1946
Fate	Sold for scrap, 4 December 1946
General characteristics
Class and type	S-classsubmarine
Displacement	876 long tons (890 t) surfaced; 1,092 long tons (1,110 t) submerged;
Length	231 ft (70 m)
Beam	21 ft 10 in (6.65 m)
Draft	13 ft 1 in (3.99 m)
Speed	15knots(17 mph; 28 km/h) surfaced; 11 knots (13 mph; 20 km/h) submerged;
Complement	38 officers and men
Armament	1 ×4 in (100 mm)/50deck gun; 4 ×21 inch (533 mm)torpedo tubes;

USSS-15(SS-120)was a second-group (S-3or "Government" )S-class submarineof theUnited States Navy.Her keel was laid down on 13 December 1917 by theLake Torpedo BoatCompany inBridgeport, Connecticut.She waslaunchedon 8 March 1920 sponsored by Mrs.Simon Lake,andcommissionedon 15 January 1921.

Pre-war service

Attached to SubDiv 18,S-15departedNew London, Connecticut,on 31 May 1921, and sailed via thePanama Canal,California,Hawaii,andGuamto thePhilippines.She arrived atCavite,Luzon,on 1 December. In 1922, she sailed from Cavite on 11 October, visited Hong Kong from 14 October to 28 October, and returned to Cavite on 1 November. Sailing fromManilaon 15 May 1923,S-15visitedShanghai,Yantai,andQinhuangdaobefore returning viaWusongandAmoytoCaviteon 11 September. In the summer of 1924, she again visitedChinaand returned toOlongapoon 23 September.

Departing Cavite on 29 October, she arrived atMare Island Naval Shipyard,California,on 30 December. Remaining at Mare Island in 1925 and 1926, she operated along the west coast through 1927. From February 1928 into 1935,S-15served in the Panama Canal area, although she visitedBaltimore, Maryland,from 15 May to 5 June 1933. She departedCoco Soloon 11 January 1935 forPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania,where she decommissioned on 26 April 1935.

World War II

S-15was recommissioned on 3 January 1941 at Philadelphia. Following voyages toBermuda,she operated atSaint Thomas, United States Virgin Islands,from 31 October to 9 December 1941; in thePanama Canalarea from January 1942 into December 1943; atGuantanamo Baythrough May 1944; in the Panama Canal area from June through September; atTrinidadfor the rest of the year; and at Guantanamo from January into March 1945.

S-15departed Guantanamo on 23 March 1945 and reported at New London for inactivation. She was decommissioned on 11 June 1946 at Philadelphia and was struck from theNaval Vessel Register.On 4 December 1946 she was sold for scrapping to thePotomac ShipwreckingCompany ofMaryland.

Trivia

Following the decommissioning ofS-23in November 1945,S-15was the last S Class submarine in commission. Following the decommissioning ofO-4in September 1945,S-15was the oldest submarine in commission in the U.S. Navy.

S-15was one of the only five submarines (along with her sistersS-14,S-16,S-17andS-48) built by the Lake Torpedo Boat Company to see service in World War II. She was last submarine built by the Lake Torpedo Boat Company in service when she was decommissioned in June 1946.

Awards

References

This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.The entry can be foundhere.