USS M-1

USS M-1
Class overview
Name	M class
Builders	Electric Boat Company (design) Fore River Shipbuilding
Operators	United States Navy
Preceded by	L class
Succeeded by	AA-1 class
Built	1914
In service	1915-1922
In commission	1918–1922
History
United States
Name	USS M-1
Builder	Electric Boat (design), Fore River Shipbuilding, Quincy, Massachusetts
Laid down	2 July 1914
Launched	14 September 1915
Commissioned	16 February 1918
Decommissioned	15 March 1922
Stricken	16 March 1922
Fate	Sold for scrap, 25 September 1922
General characteristics
Class and type	Submarine
Displacement	488 long tons (496 t) (surfaced) 676 long tons (687 t) (submerged)
Length	197 ft (60 m)
Beam	19 ft (5.8 m)
Draft	11 ft (3.4 m)
Propulsion	Diesel-electric NELSECO diesel engines, 840 hp (630 kW) 2 × Electro Dynamic electric motors, 680 hp (510 kW) 2 × 60-cell batteries (in one compartment) 2 × shafts, 28,422 US gal (107,590 L; 23,666 imp gal) fuel
Speed	14 kn (16 mph; 26 km/h) surfaced 10.5 knots (19.4 km/h; 12.1 mph) submerged
Range	2,750 nmi (5,090 km) at 11 kn (20 km/h; 13 mph) (surfaced)
Test depth	150 ft (46 m)
Complement	2 officers, 26 enlisted
Armament	1 × 3 in (76 mm)/23 caliber retractable deck gun 4 × 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes, 8 torpedoes[1]
Notes	Followed by AA-1-class submarines

USS M-1 (SS-47) was a unique submarine of the United States Navy. Although built as a fully operational boat, M-1 was built with a radically different double-hulled design.^[2] This was in marked contrast to Simon Lake's and Electric Boat's single-hulled concepts. Ultimately shown to be unsuccessful, no other submarines of this class were built, although future advances in construction and metallurgy science made the double hull design a standard one for the USN.^[3]

A double hull design moves most of the fuel and ballast tanks out of the pressure hull and into the spaces between the outer and inner hulls. Electric Boat had built only one other double hull design (EB31A for Russia)^[4] and thus lacked experience in this hull type. Due to the boat's still fairly small size the tankage space was very tight and difficult to maintain. It also resulted in a complicated venting and flooding arrangement that at times led to an uneven distribution of ballast water. This led to serious problems in stability when making the transition from submerged to surface.^[5][6] To save weight in the pressure hull the structural strength was reduced, making her test depth only 150 feet (46 m).^[7] M-1 was built with the same armament and speed as the preceding L-class, but she was larger due to the double hull design. Her battery was also in one large compartment forward of the control room, as opposed to two compartments fore and aft of control room as in other Electric boat designs. She also had heaters to keep the crew warm in northern waters and an icebox for food storage.^[8] The partially retractable 3 in (76 mm)/23 caliber deck gun designed for submarines and intended for incorporation in the L-class was installed on M-1 prior to installation on any of the L-class.

Her keel was laid down on 2 July 1914 by Fore River Shipbuilding Company in Quincy, Massachusetts, as a subcontractor to the Electric Boat Company of Groton, Connecticut, the designer. She was launched on 14 September 1915 sponsored by Ms. Sara Dean Roberts, and commissioned on 16 February 1918.

Following commissioning, M-1 was assigned to Submarine Division 2 (SubDiv2), and was homeported at Newport, Rhode Island. Unlike most other US submarines, she was not deployed overseas in World War I. For the next three years, she operated off the East Coast, training submariners. During her last year of active service, she was under the operational control of SubDiv 5 and SubDiv 3.

After four years of testing and training service, M-1 was decommissioned at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard on 15 March 1922, struck from the Naval Vessel Register the following day, and was sold for scrap on 25 September to Joseph G. Hitner in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

• Alden, John D., The Fleet Submarine in the U.S. Navy: A Design and Construction History, Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1979, ISBN 0-87021-187-0.
• Gardiner, Robert and Gray, Randal, 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, Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1995, ISBN 1-55750-263-3.
• Navsource.org early diesel submarines page
• PigBoats.COM M-class page
• DiGiulian, Tony Navweaps.com 3"/23 caliber gun
•  This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to USS M-1 (SS-47).

• Photo gallery of USS M-1 at NavSource Naval History