USS S-5 (SS-110) was GOVERNMENT design She was built by Portsmouth Naval Shipyard; Her keel was laid 4 December, 1917; She was launched 10 November, 1919; Her sponsor was Mrs. G. S. Burrell; She was Commissioned 6 May, 1920; Her first Skipper was LCDR C. M. Cooke, Jr.; Final Fate: 1 September, 1920 while en route from Boston to Baltimore on a recruiting cruise, at 1350 hours, S-5 submerged with the air induction open and the boat sank in 170 feet of water about forty miles east by south of the Delaware Capes; LCDR "Savvy" Cooke commanding. 3 September, 1920 - after blowing the after main ballast tanks, which accomplished a down-angle of about 70 degrees, with the nose in the mud the stern was in the clear. A hole was cut in the hull in the tiller room allowing all hands to escape. As a result of this accident, the hull opening indicator panel, better known as the CHRISTMAS TREE, came into being. This was the first loss of the S-CLASS, a class that would suffer heavy losses in war and peace. USS S-6 (SS-111) was GOVERNMENT design She was built by Portsmouth Naval Shipyard; Her keel was laid 29 January, 1916; She was launched 23 December, 1919; Her Sponsor was Miss E. Westcott; She was Commissioned 17 May, 1920; Her first Skipper was LCDR George B. Junkin; She was decommissioned 10 April, 1931; Final fate - Stricken 1937 and sold. NOTES: S-6 was one of eleven new S-Boats that participated in a seven month voyage from the east coast of the USA to Manila in the Philippine Islands while under command of Joe Nielson. USS S-7 (SS 112) was GOVERNMENT design She was built by Portsmouth Naval Shipyard; Her keel was laid 29 January, 1918; She was launched 5 February, 1920; Her Sponsor was Mrs. H. L. Wyman; She was commissioned 1 July, 1920; Her first Skipper was LCDR Sherwood Picking; She was decommissioned 3 April, 1931; Final fate - Stricken 1937 and sold. NOTE: S-7 was one of eleven new S-boats that participated in the seven month voyage from the east coast of the USA to Manila in the Philippines under command of LCDR Picking. Standard 3"/50cal deck gun. Normally mounted on the after deck on American submarines to fire at attackers while departing a combat scene; while the deck guns were normally mounted on the foredeck of the German U-Boats. USS S-8 (SS 113) was GOVERNMENT design She was built at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard; Her keel was laid 9 November, 1918; She was launched 21 April, 1920; Her Sponsor was Mrs. R. W. Ryden; She was commissioned 1 October, 1920; Her first Skipper was LCDR Eric F. Zemke; She was decommissioned 11 April, 1931; Final fate - Stricken 1937 and sold. NOTE: S-8 was one of eleven new S-boats that participated in the seven month voyage from the east coast of the USA to Manila in the Philippines. Back to KTB #104 Table of Contents Back to KTB List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1999 by Harry Cooper, Sharkhunters International, Inc. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com Sharkhunters International, Inc., PO Box 1539, Hernando, FL 34442, ph: 352-637-2917, fax: 352-637-6289, e-m: sharkhunters@hitter.net