USS S-51 (SS-162)

USS S-51 (SS-162) was an S-class submarine of the United States Navy constructed in the aftermath of World War I. Her brief service career was dramatically cut short by a catastrophic collision with a merchant ship in 1925, an event that resulted in significant loss of life. The subsequent, highly complex salvage operation, led by then-Lieutenant Commander Edward Ellsberg, became a landmark achievement in naval engineering and salvage history, profoundly influencing future procedures within the U.S. Navy.

Construction and commissioning

The contract for the vessel was awarded to the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation's Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts, with her keel laid down on 22 December 1919. She was launched on 20 August 1921, sponsored by Mrs. Henry S. Gore, and was commissioned into the Atlantic Fleet on 24 June 1922 under the command of Lieutenant John R. Burnes. As a member of the S-1-type, her design reflected the technological standards of the immediate post-World War I era, intended for coastal defense and fleet reconnaissance duties.

Service history

Following commissioning and shakedown exercises, S-51 was assigned to Submarine Division 4 and operated along the East Coast of the United States, conducting routine training and tactical development missions. Her service was unremarkable but for participation in various fleet problems and exercises designed to test the capabilities of the United States Submarine Force in the early interwar period. In September 1925, she was operating out of New London, Connecticut, her home port, preparing for a scheduled naval review.

Sinking and salvage

On the evening of 25 September 1925, while running on the surface in a heavy fog southeast of Block Island, S-51 was struck amidships by the merchant steamer SS ''City of Rome'', a vessel of the American Diamond Lines. The collision was catastrophic, tearing a large hole in the submarine's pressure hull; she sank in less than a minute in approximately 130 feet of water, taking 33 of her 36-man crew to the bottom. Only three men, who were on the bridge at the time, survived. The United States Congress authorized a salvage attempt, and the daunting task was given to Lieutenant Commander Edward Ellsberg of the United States Navy Reserve. Using innovative techniques, including specially designed salvage pontoons and meticulous underwater work by divers from the United States Navy Experimental Diving Unit, Ellsberg and his team succeeded in raising the wreck on 5 July 1926 after ten months of grueling effort. The operation was a monumental feat, documented in Ellsberg's bestselling book On the Bottom, and provided critical lessons that reshaped the U.S. Navy's Salvage diving and Ship salvage doctrines.

Legacy

The raised hulk of S-51 was formally decommissioned on 5 July 1930 and was subsequently used as a gunnery target before being sold for scrap to the Boston Iron & Metal Company of Baltimore on 25 June 1931. The tragedy directly led to major reforms in maritime safety, including mandatory running lights and whistle signals for submarines operating on the surface. The pioneering salvage work under Edward Ellsberg earned him the Distinguished Service Medal and established foundational principles for deep-sea recovery operations, later applied to salvages like that of USS ''Squalus''. The loss is memorialized at the United States Naval Academy and within the history of the United States Submarine Force.

Category:S-class submarines of the United States Navy Category:Ships built in Quincy, Massachusetts Category:1921 ships Category:Maritime incidents in 1925 Category:Shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean