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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive
Contributed by Don McGrogan, BMCS, USN (ret.)

Moccasin / A-4 (SS-5)

Radio Call Sign: November - Kilo - Golf
Adder Class Submarine Torpedo Boat: Laid down as Moccasin, 8 November 1900, at Crescent Shipyard, Elizabethport, NJ; Launched, 20 August 1901; Commissioned USS Moccasin, 17 January 1903, at the Holland yard at New Suffolk, NY; Decommissioned, 15 June 1904; Laid up at Norfolk, VA.; Recommissioned, 10 February 1910, in the Philippines; Renamed USS A-4 (Submarine Torpedo Boat No.4), 17 November 1911; Decommissioned, 12 December 1919, at Cavite Navy Yard, PI; Designated (SS-5), 17 July 1920; Struck from the Naval Register, 16 January 1922; Final Disposition, fate unknown.

Specifications: Displacement; Surfaced, 107 t., Submerged, 123 t.; Length 63' 10"; Beam 11' 11"; Draft 10' 7"; Speed, Surfaced, 8 kts, Submerged, 7 kts; Depth Limit 150'; Complement, 1 Officer, 6 Enlisted; Armament, one 18" torpedo tube, 5 torpedoes; Propulsion, Otto Gas Engine Works gasoline engine, HP 160; Fuel Capacity 767 gal.; Electro Dynamic electric motors, HP 150; Battery Cells 60; single screw.
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For Full Size		Size Image Description Source
Moccasin 126k Moccasin (SS-5) launching, at the Crescent Shipyard, Elizabethport, New Jersey, 20 August 1901. USNHC photograph # NH 45933.
Moccasin 107k Moccasin (SS-5) Electric Boat Company/Holland Torpedo Boat Company facility, New Suffolk, Long Island, New York.
Submarines in the facility basin, circa 1903. Boats in the front group are (from left to right): Plunger (SS-2); Porpoise (SS-7); and Adder (SS-3). In the background, by the breakwater are (left-right): Shark (SS-8) and Moccasin (SS-5). Photographed by Legendre & Levick, New York. 		USNHC photograph # NH 45937.
Moccasin 54k Moccasin (SS-5) cruising off New Suffolk, Long Island, New York, circa 1903. USNHC photograph # NH 45934.
Moccasin 75k Moccasin (SS-5) underway, circa 1903, probably off New Suffolk, Long Island, New York. USNHC photograph # NH 45936.
Moccasin 101k Moccasin (SS-5) fitting out at the Electric Boat Company/Holland Torpedo Boat Company facility, New Suffolk, Long Island, New York, circa 1903. The incomplete submarine Plunger (of 1895) is in the background. USNHC photograph # NH 45935.
Adder Class Diag.514k Tank layout of the Adder class submarine by Bureau of Construction and Repair, Navy Department August 1904.USN photo courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.
Moccasin 79k Norfolk Navy Yard, Virginia Waterfront scene, Autumn 1907. Ships at left are (from front to rear): Hopkins (DD-6); Lawrence (DD-8); Hull (DD-7); Talbot (Torpedo Boat # 15) and Moccasin A-4 (SS-5). The latter two are hauled out on the marine railway. Stewart (DD-13) is in the right foreground. Ahead of her are a torpedo boat, a barge and the tug Mohawk. Three battleships are docked beyond them, with Iowa (BB-04) furthest to the right. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives. USNHC photograph # 19-N-60-10-20.
Holland 755k Norfolk VA, Brown Avenue 26 October 1908. On the left is an Arkansas class monitor. Moving right there are several torpedo boats, then an A-class submarine, probably Moccasin (SS-5) along with the Holland (SS-01). Photo & text i.d. courtesy of David Johnston from NARA.
Philippines 892k From R to L: Moccasin (SS-5) & Adder (SS-3) during an overhaul at Norfolk Naval Shipyard. National Archives Identifier: 52555777
Local Identifier: 181-V-0332
Photo courtesy of catalog.archives.gov
Adder 1.29k Workmen prepare the Moccasin (SS-5) & Adder (SS-3) during an overhaul, possibly in readiness for voyage to the Phillippines. From R to L: Moccasin (SS-5) & Adder (SS-3) during an overhaul at Norfolk Naval Shipyard. National Archives Identifier: 52555775
Local Identifier: 181-V-0331
Photo courtesy of catalog.archives.gov
Who Am I? 528k SUBMARINE THAT TOOK PART IN GREAT RECORD SWIM Photo i.d. courtesy of David Johnston
Image and text provided by University of Hawaii at Manoa; Honolulu, HI.
Photo from Evening Bulletin. (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii) 1895-1912, 22 July 1911, 3:30 EDITION, Image 17, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
Moccasin 461k Moccasin (SS-5) in the Philippines (probably at the Cavite Navy Yard), circa 1911-1917. Note the "E" award painted on her conning tower. The original image is printed on post card stock. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph # NH 107060, Donation of Dr. Mark Kulikowski, 2010, via Robert Hurst.
Moccasin 1.14k It's Like the Hot Room of a Turkish Bath When a Submarine Goes Down In Tropical Waters
THIS IS ALL THAT IS VISIBLE OF A SUBMARINE WHEN IT IS UNDER WAY ON THE SURFACE OF THE WATER.		 Image and text provided by Washington State Library; Olympia, WA.
Newspaper text courtesy of The Tacoma Times. (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 13 August 1912, Image 3, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
Moccasin 88k Crewmen of the Moccasin (SS-5) pose on deck, circa 1910-1911. Probably taken at the Cavite Navy Yard, Philippine Islands. This submarine was renamed (A-4) in November 1911. USNHC photograph # NH 98656.
Moccasin 83k Moccasin (A-4) (SS-5) & A-6 (SS-7) underway in Manila Bay, Philippine Islands, circa 1912. A-4 (SS-5) and a Bainbridge class destroyer are in the background. USNHC photograph # NH 90187.
Moccasin 122k Dewey Drydock, Olongapo Naval Station, Philippines. Submarines A-6 (SS-7), A-4 (SS-5) and A-2 (SS-3) in the Dewey Drydock, circa 1912. The boats show standard features: a single tall periscope abaft the conning tower; a conning tower fairing; and a bridge structure atop the conning tower, with the surface wheel atop it. This photo was taken before the boats had been fitted with forward periscopes.
The bow of their tender, Mohican, is at left, with an anchor suspended from her starboard cathead. 		Photo courtesy of USNHC photograph # NH 90185. Partial text courtesy of U.S. Submarines Through 1945, An Illustrated Design History by Norman Friedman. Naval Institute Press.
Moccasin 87k Submarines and their tender, Mohican, in the drydock, circa 1912. The submarines are (from left to right): A-6 (SS-7) , A-4 (SS-5) and A-2 (SS-3). USNHC photograph # NH 90181.
Moccasin 96k View of the Moccasin (SS-5) superstructure, circa 1912. Probably taken at the Cavite Navy Yard, Philippine Islands. USNHC photograph # NH 98655.
Moccasin 103k Some of the Moccasin's (SS-5) crew on deck, circa 1912. Probably taken at the Cavite Navy Yard, Philippine Islands. Note her 13-star "boat" flag. USNHC photograph # NH 98657.
Moccasin 72k The Moccasin's (SS-5) crew pose with a life ring, circa 1912. Probably taken at the Cavite Navy Yard, Philippine Islands. USNHC photograph # NH 90197.
Moccasin 95k View in the Moccasin's (SS-5) interior, showing her electrical switchboard and other controls. Taken at Manila, Philippine Islands, circa 1912. USNHC photograph # NH 90180.
Moccasin 85k Moccasin's (SS-5) with her crew on deck in Manila Bay, Philippine Islands, circa 1912. USNHC photograph # NH 57700-A.
Moccasin 118k View in the Moccasin's (SS-5) interior, showing two eighteen-inch torpedos and her torpedo tube door. Taken at Manila, Philippine Islands, circa 1912. Note: The torpedoes are on wooden skids. It appears that, like the loading trays of modern nuclear submarines, the skids slid across for loading. Photo courtesy of USNHC photograph # NH 57729-A. Partial text courtesy of U.S. Submarines Through 1945, An Illustrated Design History by Norman Friedman. Naval Institute Press.
Moccasin 80k Moccasin (SS-5) preparing to moor, Manila Bay, circa 1912. Note the casual nature of the uniforms of the crew, and the generally diminutive size of the craft. USN photo # NH 90186 from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, courtesy of Joseph M. Radigan (of blessed memory)
Moccasin 181k Moccasin (SS-5) tied up to a wharf, probably in the Phillipines, circa 1912. USN photo courtesy of ussubvetsofwwii.org.
Philippines 455k Submarine base at Cavite. Manila, Philippine Islands.
It looks as if all 4 boats appear in this circa 1917 photo.		 Photographer: Committee on Public Information
National Archives Identifier: 45511423
Local Identifier: 165-WW-328E-5
Photo courtesy of catalog.archives.gov
Moccasin 19k Commemorative post mark on the occasion of the 100th year of the Moccasin's (SS-5) commissioning, 17 January 1903 - 17 January 2003. Courtesy of Jack Treutle (of blessed memory).
View the Moccasin / A-4 (SS-5)
DANFS history entry located on the Haze Gray & Underway Web Site.
Crew Contact And Reunion Information
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