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| USS S-51 (SS-162) | |
|---|---|
| Ship country | United States |
| Ship flag | United States |
| Ship name | USS S-51 (SS-162) |
| Ship ordered | United States Navy |
| Ship builder | Lake Torpedo Boat Company |
| Ship laid down | 5 May 1918 |
| Ship launched | 10 March 1919 |
| Ship commissioned | 24 December 1920 |
| Ship decommissioned | 20 June 1921 |
| Ship fate | Sunk in collision 1925; salvaged and scrapped 1930 |
| Ship tonnage | 854 LT (surfaced) |
| Ship length | 219 ft |
| Ship beam | 20 ft 6 in |
| Ship draft | 15 ft 1 in |
| Ship propulsion | Diesel engines; electric motors |
| Ship speed | 14.5 kn (surface) |
| Ship complement | 38 officers and enlisted |
| Ship armament | 4 × 21 in torpedo tubes, 1 × 3"/50 caliber gun |
USS S-51 (SS-162) was an S-class submarine of the United States Navy built by the Lake Torpedo Boat Company following World War I. Commissioned in late 1920, she served in operations along the United States East Coast, the Caribbean Sea, and the Panama Canal Zone before her loss in 1925 after a collision with the Merchant vessel City of Rome was struck by the commercial steamer City of Rome (operated by United Fruit Company transport lines). The sinking precipitated courts-martial, advances in submarine rescue and salvage techniques, and influenced United States Navy submarine safety doctrine.
S-51 belonged to the Lake-built subgroup of the S-class submarine program initiated by the United States Navy during and just after World War I. Designed to improve on earlier Holland Torpedo Boat Company and Electric Boat Company concepts, the Lake boats emphasized a distinctive hull form and internal arrangements developed by the Lake Torpedo Boat Company at their Bridgeport, Connecticut yard. Keel-laying occurred on 5 May 1918, and she was launched on 10 March 1919 with sponsor Mrs. Thomas P. Magruder presiding at the ceremony attended by officials from the Bureau of Construction and Repair and observers from Submarine Division 12.
Her engineering plant combined diesel engines for surface propulsion with electric motors for submerged runs, reflecting contemporary practice adopted from Royal Navy and Imperial German Navy submarine developments during World War I. Armament fitted included four 21-inch torpedo tubes forward and a single 3"/50 caliber deck gun, enabling both anti-ship actions and surface patrols inspired by wartime patrols in the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean. The S-51's design parameters—length, beam, draft, and surfaced displacement—aligned with United States Naval Institute recommendations of the period for ocean-going coastal submarines.
After commissioning on 24 December 1920 under Lieutenant Commander Caspar F. Yerkes, S-51 joined Submarine Division 4 for shakedown and training along the New England coast, operating from bases at Newport, Rhode Island, New London, Connecticut, and Hampton Roads. During 1921–1922 she conducted exercises with surface units of the Atlantic Fleet, participated in torpedo practice with destroyers of Destroyer Squadron Two, and took part in fleet problems influenced by lessons from the Washington Naval Conference and interwar naval planning debates.
In the mid-1920s S-51 deployed to the Caribbean Sea and the Panama Canal Zone, operating from Coco Solo and engaging in combined maneuvers with battleships such as USS Pennsylvania (BB-38) and cruisers including USS Raleigh (CL-7). Port visits included Guantanamo Bay and training stops at Havana, Cuba and Kingston, Jamaica. Her peacetime activities emphasized submerged endurance trials, navigation exercises, and coordination with surface escorts informed by interwar submarine doctrine.
On the evening of 25 September 1925, while en route from New London, Connecticut to Newport, Rhode Island with a crew of 37 under Lieutenant Commander Charles M. Adams, S-51 was transiting near Block Island Sound in heavy fog. At approximately 21:15 she was struck on the port side by the British-built steamship SS City of Rome (registered to a commercial line operating transatlantic and coastal services). The collision produced catastrophic flooding; S-51 settled by the stern and sank in about 100 feet of water within minutes.
Rescue efforts were mounted from nearby surface units including USS R-14 (SS-91), cutters of the United States Coast Guard, and fishing vessels from Point Judith. Despite prompt action by New England mariners and Navy tugs, 33 crewmen perished; four survivors were rescued from the conning tower and topside. The loss triggered immediate inquiries by the Naval Court of Inquiry and civil authorities, sparking controversies over navigation in fog, use of sound signals, lookout practices, and responsibility of merchant shipping under the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea.
The sinking of S-51 prompted an extensive salvage operation combining Navy contracting, civilian expertise, and pioneering engineering methods. The United States Navy awarded contracts to companies experienced in deep lifting and caisson work, referencing techniques developed during salvage of HMS H47 and commercial wreck recoveries. Divers from Submarine Service salvage units and civilian diving teams employed hard-hat diving apparatus, airlocks, and compressed-air lifts to establish contact with the hull.
Over the course of months, pontoons, hawsers, and cofferdams were applied to refloat S-51. The submarine was raised in 1926, towed to New London Navy Yard, and studied to determine failure modes and crew survivability. Courts-martial followed, resulting in findings against the master of the City of Rome for navigation errors; the incident influenced subsequent United States Navy regulations on restricted waters transit, fog navigation, and mandated improvements in submarine emergency escape training.
Ultimately, after inspection and partial repairs, S-51 was deemed uneconomical to restore to frontline service. She was decommissioned on 5 July 1926 and sold for scrap in 1930. Salvaged fittings and hatches informed development of later submarine rescue apparatus, contributing to designs adopted for Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle research decades later.
The sinking of S-51 became a touchstone in interwar naval safety reform, commemorated in memorials near New London, Connecticut and at maritime museums including exhibits at the Submarine Force Library and Museum and local Block Island historical societies. Annual remembrance services involve families of the dead and veterans from Submarine Veterans of World War II chapters, and plaques list the names of the lost alongside those of other peacetime submarine casualties such as the crews of USS S-4 (SS-109) and USS O-5 (SS-66).
Lessons learned from the S-51 disaster shaped United States Navy training syllabi, submarine design standards, and salvage doctrine, influencing post-World War II developments in submarine rescue and undersea engineering. The wreck, raised and scrapped, left a legacy carried in reforms to navigational rules, search-and-rescue coordination between the Navy and the United States Coast Guard, and in the institutional memory preserved by naval historians and memorial organizations.
Category:United States S-class submarines Category:Shipwrecks of the Rhode Island coast Category:1920 ships