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USS Plunger (SS-2)
Encyclopedia
USS Plunger SS-2 was one of the earliest submarine
s of the United States Navy
. She was the lead ship
of the her class
and was later renamed A-1 when she was designated an A-type submarine.
, at Lewis Nixon
's Crescent Shipyard
. Arthur Leopold Busch
supervised the construction of the A-Class submarines built there. The prototype Fulton experimental craft was laid down at Isaac Rice
's Electric Boat Company prior to these first A-class submarines.
She was launched
on 1 February 1902, and commissioned
at the Holland Torpedo Boat Company yard at New Suffolk, New York
on 19 September 1903.
Assigned to the Naval Torpedo Station at Newport, Rhode Island
for experimental torpedo
work, Plunger operated locally from that facility for the next two years, a period of time broken only by an overhaul at the Holland yard at New Suffolk from March-November 1904. Besides testing machinery, armament and tactics, the submarine torpedo boat also served as a training ship for the crews of new submersibles emerging from the builder's yards.
In August 1905, Plunger underwent two weeks of upkeep before leaving the yard on 22 August. She was towed by the tug
to New York
, where Plunger conducted trials near the home of President Theodore Roosevelt
. Upon the submarine's arrival that afternoon, she moored alongside the tug and prepared for a visit from President
Theodore Roosevelt
.
Roosevelt's novel voyage prompted significant interest. On 6 September, Roosevelt wrote from Oyster Bay to Hermann Speck von Steinberg: "I myself am both amused and interested as to what you say about the interest excited about my trip in the Plunger. I went down in it chiefly because I did not like to have the officers and enlisted men think I wanted them to try things I was reluctant to try myself. I believe a good deal can be done with these submarines, although there is always the danger of people getting carried away with the idea and thinking that they can be of more use than they possibly could be." To another correspondent he declared that never in his life had he experienced "such a diverting day ... nor so much enjoyment in so few hours."
Chester Nimitz
, the future fleet admiral who would say he considered the submarines of the time "a cross between a Jules Verne
fantasy and a humpbacked whale
", assumed command of Plunger. That September, the submarine torpedo boat visited New York City
to take part in the Hudson
-Fulton
celebrations.
Reassigned to the Charleston Navy Yard, Plunger reached that port on 24 October and moored alongside the gunboat
, the parent ship for the Atlantic Submarine Fleet. Shortly thereafter, Castines medical officer, Assistant Surgeon Micajah Boland, inspected Plunger and two other submarine torpedo boats. His report graphically described living conditions on these boats. He found "their sanitary condition to be far from satisfactory, notwithstanding the fact that they had been at sea only about forty-five hours."
Plunger was renamed A-1 on 17 November 1911. She was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register
on 24 February 1913.
By 1916, A-1 had been authorized for use as an "experimental target, designated 'Target E'". She was ultimately hoisted on board the hulk of the former monitor and authorized for sale in 1921, on an "as is, where is" basis. She was sold for scrapping on 26 January 1922.
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
s of the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
. She was the lead ship
Lead ship
The lead ship or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable military ships and larger civilian craft.-Overview:...
of the her class
Plunger class submarine
The Plunger-class was an early class of United States Navy submarines, used primarily as training vessels for the newly formed "silent service" to familiarize navy personnel with the performance and operations of such craft. Most of these "A-class" submarines ended up being stationed in the...
and was later renamed A-1 when she was designated an A-type submarine.
Early service
Plunger was originally laid down on 21 May 1901 at Elizabethport, New JerseyElizabethport, New Jersey
A neighborhood in the City of Elizabeth, New Jersey. Formerly home of the Singer Manufacturing Company, makers of Singer Sewing Machines....
, at Lewis Nixon
Lewis Nixon (naval architect)
Lewis Nixon I was a naval architect, shipbuilding executive, public servant, and political activist. He designed the United States' first modern battleships, and supervised the construction of its first modern submarines, all before his 40th birthday. He was briefly the leader of Tammany Hall...
's Crescent Shipyard
Crescent Shipyard
Crescent Shipyard, located in Elizabeth, New Jersey, built a number of ships for the United States Navy and allied nations as well during their production run, which lasted about ten years while under the Crescent name and banner. Production of these ships began before the Spanish-American war and...
. Arthur Leopold Busch
Arthur Leopold Busch
Arthur Leopold Busch or Du Busc was a British-born American naval architect responsible for the development of the United States Navy's first submarines.-Career:...
supervised the construction of the A-Class submarines built there. The prototype Fulton experimental craft was laid down at Isaac Rice
Isaac Rice
Isaac Leopold Rice was a U.S. inventor and a chess patron and author.- Biography :...
's Electric Boat Company prior to these first A-class submarines.
She was launched
Ship naming and launching
The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...
on 1 February 1902, and commissioned
Ship commissioning
Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...
at the Holland Torpedo Boat Company yard at New Suffolk, New York
New Suffolk, New York
New Suffolk is a census-designated place that roughly corresponds to the hamlet by the same name in the town of Southold in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The CDP's population was 337 at the 2000 census.-History:...
on 19 September 1903.
Assigned to the Naval Torpedo Station at Newport, Rhode Island
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
for experimental torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
work, Plunger operated locally from that facility for the next two years, a period of time broken only by an overhaul at the Holland yard at New Suffolk from March-November 1904. Besides testing machinery, armament and tactics, the submarine torpedo boat also served as a training ship for the crews of new submersibles emerging from the builder's yards.
In August 1905, Plunger underwent two weeks of upkeep before leaving the yard on 22 August. She was towed by the tug
Tugboat
A tugboat is a boat that maneuvers vessels by pushing or towing them. Tugs move vessels that either should not move themselves, such as ships in a crowded harbor or a narrow canal,or those that cannot move by themselves, such as barges, disabled ships, or oil platforms. Tugboats are powerful for...
to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, where Plunger conducted trials near the home of President Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
. Upon the submarine's arrival that afternoon, she moored alongside the tug and prepared for a visit from President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
.
President Roosevelt's visit
The following morning, Plunger charged her batteries and made a series of five short dives before returning alongside Apache to recharge. Later that afternoon, Roosevelt boarded the Plunger and stayed aboard for almost two hours while she made another series of dives before returning to moor alongside the tug. Roosevelt spent almost another hour on board the submarine before he left.Roosevelt's novel voyage prompted significant interest. On 6 September, Roosevelt wrote from Oyster Bay to Hermann Speck von Steinberg: "I myself am both amused and interested as to what you say about the interest excited about my trip in the Plunger. I went down in it chiefly because I did not like to have the officers and enlisted men think I wanted them to try things I was reluctant to try myself. I believe a good deal can be done with these submarines, although there is always the danger of people getting carried away with the idea and thinking that they can be of more use than they possibly could be." To another correspondent he declared that never in his life had he experienced "such a diverting day ... nor so much enjoyment in so few hours."
Later service
Decommissioned on 3 November 1905, Plunger remained inactive until she was recommissioned on 23 February 1907. On 3 May 1909, EnsignEnsign (rank)
Ensign is a junior rank of a commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries, normally in the infantry or navy. As the junior officer in an infantry regiment was traditionally the carrier of the ensign flag, the rank itself acquired the name....
Chester Nimitz
Chester Nimitz
Fleet Admiral Chester William Nimitz, GCB, USN was a five-star admiral in the United States Navy. He held the dual command of Commander in Chief, United States Pacific Fleet , for U.S. naval forces and Commander in Chief, Pacific Ocean Areas , for U.S...
, the future fleet admiral who would say he considered the submarines of the time "a cross between a Jules Verne
Jules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne was a French author who pioneered the science fiction genre. He is best known for his novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea , A Journey to the Center of the Earth , and Around the World in Eighty Days...
fantasy and a humpbacked whale
Humpback Whale
The humpback whale is a species of baleen whale. One of the larger rorqual species, adults range in length from and weigh approximately . The humpback has a distinctive body shape, with unusually long pectoral fins and a knobbly head. It is an acrobatic animal, often breaching and slapping the...
", assumed command of Plunger. That September, the submarine torpedo boat visited New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to take part in the Hudson
Henry Hudson
Henry Hudson was an English sea explorer and navigator in the early 17th century. Hudson made two attempts on behalf of English merchants to find a prospective Northeast Passage to Cathay via a route above the Arctic Circle...
-Fulton
Robert Fulton
Robert Fulton was an American engineer and inventor who is widely credited with developing the first commercially successful steamboat...
celebrations.
Reassigned to the Charleston Navy Yard, Plunger reached that port on 24 October and moored alongside the gunboat
Gunboat
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.-History:...
, the parent ship for the Atlantic Submarine Fleet. Shortly thereafter, Castines medical officer, Assistant Surgeon Micajah Boland, inspected Plunger and two other submarine torpedo boats. His report graphically described living conditions on these boats. He found "their sanitary condition to be far from satisfactory, notwithstanding the fact that they had been at sea only about forty-five hours."
Plunger was renamed A-1 on 17 November 1911. She was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register
Naval Vessel Register
The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...
on 24 February 1913.
By 1916, A-1 had been authorized for use as an "experimental target, designated 'Target E'". She was ultimately hoisted on board the hulk of the former monitor and authorized for sale in 1921, on an "as is, where is" basis. She was sold for scrapping on 26 January 1922.
External links
- history.navy.mil: USS Plunger
- navsource.org: USS Plunger
- hazegray.org: USS Plunger
- http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/crescent.htm Lewis Nixon's Shipyard is acknowledged as place where first submarines were developed. Arthur Busch's role is mentioned and acknowledged as builder of Holland's submarines for Electric Boat Company.