АҚШ-тың O классына жататын теңіз асты қайығы (USS O-5) тарихы

O class submarine of the United States

USS O 5 (SS 66) was one of 16 O class submarines built for the United States Navy during World War I.

The O class submarines were designed to meet a Navy requirement for coastal defense boats. The submarines had a length of 172 feet (52 m) overall, a beam of 18 feet (5 m) and a mean draft of 14 feet (4 m). They displaced on the surface and submerged. The O class submarines had a crew of 29 officers and enlisted men. They had a diving depth of 200 feet (61 m). For surface running, the boats were powered by two NELSECO diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a New York Navy Yard electric motor. Power for the two electric motors is provided by a pair of 60 cell batteries. They could reach on the surface and underwater. On the surface, the O class had a range of at O 5 departed Newport, Rhode Island on 3 November 1918 with a 20 submarine contingent bound for European waters; however, hostilities had ceased before the vessels reached the Azores. After the Armistice with Germany, O 5 operated from the Submarine School at New London, Connecticut until 1923. O 5 then sailed to Coco Solo, Panama Canal Zone, for a brief tour. On 28 October, as O 5 entered Limon Bay, preparatory to transiting the Panama Canal, she was rammed by the United Fruit Company steamer Abangarez and sank in less than a minute. Three men died; 16 others escaped Two crewmembers, Henry Breault and Lawrence Brown, were trapped in the forward torpedo room, which they sealed against the flooding of the submarine. Local engineers and divers were able to rig cranes and other equipment and lift O 5 far enough off the bottom that the bow broke the surface, exposing a hatch which led to the compartment where the two men were trapped, allowing them to be freed. Henry Breault was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions. Struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 28 April 1924, she was raised and later sold as a hulk to R. K. Morris in Balboa, Panama, on 12 December 1924. The sinking made O 5 valueless for future naval service. She was stripped of valuable fittings and equipment when sold for $3,125. Her original cost had been $638,000.

On 28 October 1923, O 5 was operating with other units of the U. S. Atlantic Fleet under the command of Commander Submarine Force, Coco Solo, Canal Zone. At approximately 0630, O 5, under the command of Lieutenant Harrison Avery, was underway across Limon Bay toward the entrance to the Panama Canal. The steamship SS Abangarez, owned by the United Fruit Company and captained by Master W. A. Card, was underway toward Dock No. 6 at Cristobal. Through a series of maneuvering errors and miscommunication, the SS Abangarez collided with the O 5 and struck the submarine on the starboard side of the control room, opening a hole some ten feet long and penetrating the number one main ballast tank. The submarine rolled sharply to port – then back to starboard – and sank bow first in 42 feet of water.

Breault and I separated to pound on each of the boat’s sides. In this way, the rescuers would know that there were two of us. Breault played a kind of tune with his hammer, indicating to the diver that we were in good shape and cheerful. Neither of us knew Morse Code. We had no food or water, and only a flashlight. We were confident we could stay alive for forty eight hours. The high pressure and foul air gave us severe headaches. We did very little moving or talking; it excited our hearts too much. We heard scraping on the hull for hours. A couple of times we felt the O 5 being lifted, and then we got tossed roughly when the slings broke. We knew they were hard after us. This buoyed our hopes for rescue tremendously. Finally, the sub began to be tilted upward slowly. We felt we would escape this time, but it seemed like forever. The last 20 minutes were unbearable. We heard our comrades walking on deck. Breault opened the hatch and we could see daylight. We were saved!! !

Lieutenant Harrison Avery was held responsible for the collision on 26 November 1923, but a later Court of Naval Inquiry cleared the O 5 of blame for the collision. At the time of his death, in October 1934, Lieutenant Commander Avery commanded the Isabel of the Asiatic Fleet. United States vs. United Fruit Company (Submarine O 5 – SS Abangarez) continued in the courts. Federal Judge Wayne G. Borah, New Orleans, on 20 August 1932, ruled O 5 was at fault in the collision. O 5 was sticken from the Navy List on 28 April 1924 and sold for scrap on 12 December 1924.