USS Plunger (1895)
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name: | USS Plunger |
| Namesake: | Plunger, a diver or daring gambler |
| Ordered: | 13 March 1895 |
| Builder: | Holland Torpedo Boat Company |
| Commissioned: | Never |
| Fate: | Cancelled April 1900 prior to completion |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Submarine |
| Displacement: |
|
| Length: | 85 ft 3 in (25.98 m) |
| Beam: | 11 ft 6 in (3.51 m) |
| Draft: | 11 ft (3.4 m) |
| Propulsion: | Steam engine |
| Speed: |
|
| Complement: | 7 |
| Armament: | 2 × 18 in (460 mm) torpedo tubes |
USS Plunger, ordered in 1895, was the first submarine built for the United States Navy, but she was never commissioned thus the "USS" appelation is in error.
On 3 March 1893, the United States Congress authorized the first "submarine torpedo boat" to be built for the U.S. Navy. John P. Holland won a Navy design competition in 1895 to build it with his design for a submarine powered by a steam engine. The Navy ordered Holland's design as USS Plunger, and awarded a contract for her construction to Holland's firm, the Holland Torpedo Boat Company, on 13 March 1895.
While building Plunger, Holland concluded that steam power would never be suitable in a submarine, and he abandoned construction of Plunger in favor of the construction of another submarine, Holland, powered by a gasoline engine, which he funded personally.[1]
Accordingly, the Navy cancelled the contract for Plunger's construction in April 1900; the money paid towards her was credited to her successor, USS Plunger (SS-2).[2] That same month, it purchased Holland and commissioned her as its first submarine, USS Holland (SS-1).
Notes
References
- Bauer, K. Jack; Roberts, Stephen S. (1991). Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775-1990: Major Combatants. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-26202-0.
- Friedman, Norman (1995). U.S. Submarines Through 1945: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. pp. 285–304. ISBN 1-55750-263-3.
- Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1906-1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
- This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.