United States L class submarine

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Class overview
General characteristics
Displacement:

Group 1 Surfaced:450 tons Submerged: 542 tons

Group 2 Surfaced: 456 tons Submerged: 548 tons
Length:

Group 1: 167.4ft

Group 2: 165.0ft
Beam:

Group 1: 17.5ft

Group 2: 14.75ft
Propulsion:

Group 1 2x650hp Niseco, Diesel? 600hp electric

Group 2 2x600hp Busch Sulzer, Diesel? 600hp electric
Speed:

Surface: 14knts

Submerged: 10.5knts
Range:

Group 1+2 Surface: 4500nm at 7knts

Submerged: 150nm at 5knts
Complement: Group 1+2 28
Armament: Group 1+2 1x3 tube, 4x18 tubes (3 reloads), 1x3 AA Gun


The United States L class submarine was the US Navy's first attempt at designing and building ocean going submarines, which at the time was a yawning gap in capability compared with other major navies. The first hulls were laid down 6 months before the European hostilities but they were not commissioned until 2 years later because of long fitting out peroids.

After service in the Atlantic Flotilla by the group 1 boats, most required extensive refits at Philadelphia after the USA's entry into theFirst World War which reflected the US Navy's then limited experience in ocean operations.

In November 1917, the class was sent to the Bantry Bay and the Azores for anti U boat patrols. The class did not sink any U boats.

The class was generally under powered but they enjoyed good endurance for patrols in the North Atlantic and in British waters.

After the war, the L class were invovled in trials of new torpedoes and hydrophone equipment on both the east and west coasts before decommissioning in 1922 and 1923 and were used in the US scrapping quota in 1933 under the London Treaty limiting naval armament.

Group 1

Group 2

[edit] References

Submarines, War Beneath The Waves, From 1776 To The Present Day, By Robert Hutchinson

[edit] Further reading

Not to be confused with the British L class submarine

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