The SC-1 class was a large class of submarine chasers built during World War I for the United States Navy. They were ordered in very large numbers in order to combat attacks by German U-boats, with 442 boats built from 1917 to 1919.
In 1916, the then Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered the US Navy to design a small anti-submarine vessel that could be built quickly in small civilian boatyards, as if war came, larger shipyards would be busy building larger warships.[1] Consideration was given to adopting an 80 ft (24 m) wooden Motor Launch built in large numbers by ELCO for the British Royal Navy, but the General Board of the United States Navy thought that these boats were too small to be effective seaboats. The task of designing the new type was given to an experienced designer of small boats, Albert Loring Swasey.[N 1] He drew up a design for a 100 ft (30 m) wooden boat, emphasizing seaworthiness over speed. At first it was intended to use two 300 brake horsepower (220 kW) engines, but a shortage of these engines resulted in the design being changed to use three 220 hp (160 kW) gasoline engines.[1][2]
Diagram of SC-1-class submarine chaser
Armament was initially planned to be two 3-inch (76.2 mm) guns, but the aft gun was usually replaced by a depth charge thrower to attack submerged submarines,[1] with two Colt machine guns completing the armament. Many boats were fitted with hydrophones for detecting underwater noises, with either a K-tube fish-type device of 30-nautical-mile (56 km; 35 mi) range or SC and MB tubes of 5-nautical-mile (9.3 km; 5.8 mi) range.[3]
An initial order of 345 SC boats placed in 1917 was planned to be delivered by the end of 1917, with further orders for the French Navy pushing the total ordered up to 448.[2]
Operational historyedit
Deliveries started in July 1917,[2] with deliveries continuing into 1919,[3] with 441 boats built, and the remaining seven boats canceled.[2] One hundred were sold to France,[4] and a further 121 US Navy SC boats were deployed to Europe to operate off Britain and France and in the Mediterranean, where they supported the Otranto Barrage with the remaining US Navy boats operating off the East Coast of the United States.[1]
The US Navy lost six SC boats during World War I;[3] USS SC-60 lost in collision with the tanker Fred M. Weller on 1 October 1918,[5][6] USS SC-117 in a fire on 22 December 1917,[7] USS SC-132 was lost in collision on 5 June 1918,[7] USS SC-187 in a collision on 4 August 1918,[7]USS SC-209 by friendly fire from the cargo shipSS Felix Taussig on 27 August 1918[8][9][10] and USS SC-219 by fire on 19 February 1918.[8][11] France lost three SC-boats.[4]
Submarine chaser SC-405 at Brest, France, December 1918
Following the end of the war, four boats (USS SC-274, USS SC-302, USS SC-311 and USS SC-312) were transferred to Cuba, while 14 boats were transferred to the United States Coast Guard in 1919–1920.[2] Eight of the French SC boats remained in service at the outbreak of World War II.[12]
In 1920 SC 292 sold commercial becoming Trawler "Chief Seattle", SC 293 becoming Trawler " George L. Harvey", and SC 300 becoming Trawler "Joseph Kildall'.[13]
By December 1941, only 11 boats remained in US Navy service, with two continuing in use until at least April 1945.[14]
^"American Marine Engineer August-September, 1920". National Marine Engineers Beneficial Association of the United States. Retrieved 24 August 2020 – via Haithi Trust.
Friedman, Norman. U.S. Small Combatants. Annapolis, Maryland, USA: Naval Institute Press, 1987. ISBN0-87021-713-5.
Gardiner, Robert and Randall Gray (eds). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press, 1985. ISBN0-85177-245-5.
Gardiner, Robert; Chesneau, Roger, eds. (1980). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN0-85177-146-7.
Halpern, Paul G. A Naval History of World War I. London: UCL Press, 1995. ISBN1-85728-498-4.
Halpern, Paul G. The Naval War in the Mediterranean 1914–1918. Annapolis, Maryland, USA: Naval Institute Press, 1987. ISBN0-87021-448-9.
Moore, John. Jane's Fighting Ships of World War I. London: Studio, 1990. ISBN1-85170-378-0.
External linksedit
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (print), v. VI, Appendix 1, "Submarine Chasers (SC)" (General description p. 711-713, list following)
Subchaser.org
January 01, 1970
class, submarine, chaser, class, large, class, submarine, chasers, built, during, world, united, states, navy, they, were, ordered, very, large, numbers, order, combat, attacks, german, boats, with, boats, built, from, 1917, 1919, 2class, overview, operatorsun. The SC 1 class was a large class of submarine chasers built during World War I for the United States Navy They were ordered in very large numbers in order to combat attacks by German U boats with 442 boats built from 1917 to 1919 SC 2Class overview OperatorsUnited States Navy United States Coast Guard United States Army French Navy Cuban Navy Bulgarian Navy Built1917 1919 Planned448 Completed441 Cancelled7 Lost9 General characteristics TypeSubmarine chaser Displacement85 tons full load 77 tons normal load Length110 ft 34 m oa 105 ft 32 m pp Beam14 ft 9 in 4 50 m Draft5 ft 7 in 1 70 m PropulsionThree 220 bhp 160 kW gasoline engines 2400 gallons fuel Speed18 kn 33 km h Range1 000 nmi 1 900 km at 12 kn 22 km h Complement27 Sensors and processing systemsOne Submarine Signal Company S C C Tube M B Tube or K Tube hydrophone Armament1 3 in 76 mm 23 caliber gun mount 2 Colt 30 caliber 7 62 mm machine guns 1 Y gun depth charge projector Contents 1 Development 2 Operational history 3 Ships 4 See also 5 Footnotes 5 1 Notes 5 2 Citations 6 Bibliography 7 External linksDevelopment editIn 1916 the then Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin D Roosevelt ordered the US Navy to design a small anti submarine vessel that could be built quickly in small civilian boatyards as if war came larger shipyards would be busy building larger warships 1 Consideration was given to adopting an 80 ft 24 m wooden Motor Launch built in large numbers by ELCO for the British Royal Navy but the General Board of the United States Navy thought that these boats were too small to be effective seaboats The task of designing the new type was given to an experienced designer of small boats Albert Loring Swasey N 1 He drew up a design for a 100 ft 30 m wooden boat emphasizing seaworthiness over speed At first it was intended to use two 300 brake horsepower 220 kW engines but a shortage of these engines resulted in the design being changed to use three 220 hp 160 kW gasoline engines 1 2 nbsp Diagram of SC 1 class submarine chaser Armament was initially planned to be two 3 inch 76 2 mm guns but the aft gun was usually replaced by a depth charge thrower to attack submerged submarines 1 with two Colt machine guns completing the armament Many boats were fitted with hydrophones for detecting underwater noises with either a K tube fish type device of 30 nautical mile 56 km 35 mi range or SC and MB tubes of 5 nautical mile 9 3 km 5 8 mi range 3 An initial order of 345 SC boats placed in 1917 was planned to be delivered by the end of 1917 with further orders for the French Navy pushing the total ordered up to 448 2 Operational history editDeliveries started in July 1917 2 with deliveries continuing into 1919 3 with 441 boats built and the remaining seven boats canceled 2 One hundred were sold to France 4 and a further 121 US Navy SC boats were deployed to Europe to operate off Britain and France and in the Mediterranean where they supported the Otranto Barrage with the remaining US Navy boats operating off the East Coast of the United States 1 The US Navy lost six SC boats during World War I 3 USS SC 60 lost in collision with the tanker Fred M Weller on 1 October 1918 5 6 USS SC 117 in a fire on 22 December 1917 7 USS SC 132 was lost in collision on 5 June 1918 7 USS SC 187 in a collision on 4 August 1918 7 USS SC 209 by friendly fire from the cargo ship SS Felix Taussig on 27 August 1918 8 9 10 and USS SC 219 by fire on 19 February 1918 8 11 France lost three SC boats 4 nbsp Submarine chaser SC 405 at Brest France December 1918 Following the end of the war four boats USS SC 274 USS SC 302 USS SC 311 and USS SC 312 were transferred to Cuba while 14 boats were transferred to the United States Coast Guard in 1919 1920 2 Eight of the French SC boats remained in service at the outbreak of World War II 12 In 1920 SC 292 sold commercial becoming Trawler Chief Seattle SC 293 becoming Trawler George L Harvey and SC 300 becoming Trawler Joseph Kildall 13 By December 1941 only 11 boats remained in US Navy service with two continuing in use until at least April 1945 14 Two boats were sold to the Bulgarian Navy and saw action in World War II sinking one Soviet submarine Ships editList of SC 1 class subchasers SC 1 to SC 50 List of SC 1 class subchasers SC 51 to SC 100 List of SC 1 class subchasers SC 101 to SC 150 List of SC 1 class subchasers SC 151 to SC 200 List of SC 1 class subchasers SC 201 to SC 250 List of SC 1 class subchasers SC 251 to SC 300 List of SC 1 class subchasers SC 301 to SC 350 List of SC 1 class subchasers SC 351 to SC 400 See also editList of patrol vessels of the United States Navy Wooden boats of World War IIFootnotes editNotes edit Swasey also designed the similar SC 497 class submarine chasers of World War II 2 Citations edit a b c d Treadwell Theodore R Subchasers of World War I Splinter Fleet Retrieved 4 March 2011 a b c d e f Gardiner and Gray 1985 pp 132 133 a b c Moore 1990 p 152 a b Moore 1990 p 197 Hull Number SC 60 The Subchaser Archives Retrieved 4 March 2011 SC 1 through SC 100 Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships Retrieved 5 June 2015 a b c SC 101 through SC 200 Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships Retrieved 5 June 2015 a b SC 201 through SC 300 Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships Retrieved 5 June 2015 Hull Number SC 209 The Subchaser Archives Retrieved 4 March 2011 Doughty Leonard Jr Lieutenant Commander Mistaken Attacks in the World War Proceedings October 1934 Hull Number SC 209 The Subchaser Archives Retrieved 4 March 2011 Gardiner and Chesneau 1980 p 259 American Marine Engineer August September 1920 National Marine Engineers Beneficial Association of the United States Retrieved 24 August 2020 via Haithi Trust Friedman 1987 p 32 Bibliography editFriedman Norman U S Small Combatants Annapolis Maryland USA Naval Institute Press 1987 ISBN 0 87021 713 5 Gardiner Robert and Randall Gray eds Conway s All The World s Fighting Ships 1906 1921 London Conway Maritime Press 1985 ISBN 0 85177 245 5 Gardiner Robert Chesneau Roger eds 1980 Conway s All The World s Fighting Ships 1922 1946 London Conway Maritime Press ISBN 0 85177 146 7 Halpern Paul G A Naval History of World War I London UCL Press 1995 ISBN 1 85728 498 4 Halpern Paul G The Naval War in the Mediterranean 1914 1918 Annapolis Maryland USA Naval Institute Press 1987 ISBN 0 87021 448 9 Moore John Jane s Fighting Ships of World War I London Studio 1990 ISBN 1 85170 378 0 External links editDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships print v VI Appendix 1 Submarine Chasers SC General description p 711 713 list following Subchaser org Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title SC 1 class submarine chaser amp oldid 1188708190, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
