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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive

Tarpon / C-3 (SS-14)

C Class Submarine: Laid down, 17 March 1908, at Fore River Shipbuilding Co., Quincy, MA.; Launched, 8 April 1909; Commissioned USS Tarpon, 23 November 1909; Renamed USS C-3, 17 November 1911; Decommissioned and struck from the Naval Register, 23 December 1919, at Coco Solo, C.Z.; Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 12 April 1920.

Specifications: Displacement, surfaced 238 t., submerged 275 t.; Length 105' 4"; Beam 13' 11"; Draft 10' 7"; Speed, surfaced 10.5 kts, submerged 9 kts; Depth Limit 200'; Complement 1 Officer, 14 Enlisted; Armament, two 18" torpedo tubes, four torpedoes; Propulsion, gasoline electric, Craig Shipbuilding Co. gasoline engines, 250 hp, Fuel Capacity 1,880 gal., Electro Dynamic Co, electric motors, 150 hp, Battery Cells 60, single propeller.
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SS-1436k Commemorative postal cover issued on the occassion of the Tarpon (SS-14) carrying the first mail ever by a submarine.Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
SS-13, 14 & 1781kContemporary newspaper clipping concerning the launching of the submarines Stingray (SS-13), Tarpon (SS-14) and Narwhal (SS-17) at the Fore River Shipyard on 8 April 1909. The piece also identifies the "boat"'s sponsors, Miss Elizabeth Stevens (Stingray), Miss Katherine E. Theiss (Tarpon) and Mrs. G.C. Davison (Narwhal). Collection of the Society of Sponsors of the United States Navy. Courtesy of the U.S. Naval Historical Center, Photograph # NH 99000.
SS-13 & 1471kThe Stingray's (SS-13) Sponsor, Miss Elizabeth Stevens (center, holding flowers), with Miss Amanda Bayden, standing near Stingray's bow shortly before the christening, at the Fore River Shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts, on 8 April 1909. At left is Miss Katherine E. Theiss, who christened Tarpon (SS-14) on the same day. Collection of the Society of Sponsors of the United States Navy. Courtesy of the U.S. Naval Historical Center, Photograph # NH 99001.
SS-14, 15, 16 & 17126kFrom left to right:
Snapper (SS-16);
Narwhal (SS-17);
Tarpon (SS-14); and
Bonita (SS-15);
Fitting out at the Fore River Shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts, during the summer or fall of 1909. 		Photograph # NH 99004 courtesy of the U.S. Naval Historical Center.
SS-14, 15, 16 & 17121kFrom left to right:
Bonita(SS-15);
Tarpon (SS-14);
Narwhal (SS-17); and
Snapper (SS-16);
Fitting out at the Fore River Shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts, during the summer or fall of 1909. North Dakota (BB-29) is in the right background, also fitting out. 		Photograph # NH 99005 courtesy of the U.S. Naval Historical Center.
SS-1466k Port side view of the Tarpon (SS-14). Photographed by Enrique Muller, 1909. The gunboat in the right distance is either Castine or Machias. Courtesy of the U.S. Naval Historical Center, Photograph # NH 43600.
SS-1440k C-3 (SS-14) underway, 1909.USNI photo.
SS-13-1953k Navy submarines in port, circa 1909. Possibly photographed at the Fore River Shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts, these submarines are (from left to right):
C-3 (SS-14);
either D-1 (SS-17)
or D-3 (SS-19);
C-5 (SS-16);
C-2 (SS-13);
C-4 (SS-15);
Courtesy of the U.S. Naval Historical Center, Photograph # NH 92953.
SS-13,14, & 16153k Atlantic Fleet Submarines at Baltimore, Maryland, on 30 October 1910. These submarines are (from left to right):
C-2 (SS-13);
C-3 (SS-14); and
C-5 (SS-16).
Note their 13-star "boat" flags.
 Courtesy of the U.S. Naval Historical Center, Photograph # NH 92953.
Who Am I? 528k SUBMARINE THAT TOOK PART IN GREAT RECORD SWIM 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.
E-2 1.25k In Wake of Craft That Cleaves the Depths Lie Many Dead Pioneers
Experiments That Led Up to Wonderful Feat of a Squadron of American Submarines the Other Day Have Cost Hundreds of Lives and Millions of Money.		Embedded text courtesy of U.S. Submarines Through 1945, An Illustrated Design History by Norman Friedman. Naval Institute Press.
PDF Image and text provided by Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
Photo from New-York Tribune. (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 2 July 1911, Image 17, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
SS-14 & friends136kThe Salmon (SS-19),Grayling (SS-18), Tarpon (SS-14), Octopus (SS-09), Bonita (SS-15) with the battleship Nebraska (BB-14) in the background on 28 October 1911. Digital ID # 2162989549_03ac37e6c6_o, LC-B2-2335-13. Source: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, from the George Grantham Bain Collection, courtesy of Tom Kermen.
SS-14 & friends136kBow of the tender Severn and her charges: Salmon (SS-19),Grayling (SS-18), Tarpon (SS-14), Octopus (SS-09), Bonita (SS-15) with the battleship Nebraska (BB-14) in the background on 28 October 1911. Digital ID # 2163790702_9293e5e616_o. Source: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, from the George Grantham Bain Collection, courtesy of Tom Kermen.
SS-1470kC-3 (SS-14) underway, starboard side view, at the Naval Review at New York City, 4 October 1912.US Navy photo from NARA (National Archives and Record Administration) # 19-N-13461, courtesy of Daniel Dunham.
SS-14184kC-3 (SS-14) underway, with crew relaxing on deck & enjoying the ride, possibly in the Canal Zone, circa 1913.US Navy photo from usssubvetsofwwii.org.
SS-1476k C-3 (SS-14) underway, during the early "Teens". Collection of Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, USN. Courtesy of the U.S. Naval Historical Center, Photograph # NH 43600.
Gatun 695k USING CANAL LOCK CHAMBER AS DRY DOCK FOR SUBMARINES
Five of Uncle Sams submarines which will guard the Pacific entrance to the canal are resting on the floor of the upper lock chamber of the Gatun locks. Workmen are busy overhauling, painting and repairing the vessels prior to their taking up their duties as guardians of the Pacific approach to the canal. 		Image and text provided by University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE.
Photo from The Red Cloud Chief. (Red Cloud, Webster Co., Neb.) 1873-1923, 09 April 1914, Image 7, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
PDF added 05/24/11.
SS-09 785k UNCLE SAM TESTS WORKING OF ELECTRIC TOWING LOCOMOTIVES IN PANAMA CANAL; BIG LINER PASSES THROUGH GATUN LOCKS
Top, the tender (Severn), followed by navy submarines, in lower east chamber of Gatun locks, waiting for the water to be lowered to sea level; bottom, towed by electrically-driven locomotives on lines suggesting switchbacks; the tender (Severn) entering the middle east chamber of the Gatun locks.		Image and text provided by University of Utah, Marriott Library.
Photo from The Ogden Standard. (Ogden City, Utah) 1913-1920, 13 June 1914, 4 P.M. City Edition, Image 1, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
Octopus53kC-1 (SS-09); C-2 (SS-13) & C-3 (SS-14) operating at Gatun Locks. C-Class submarines and tender (Severn). Attaching cables from towing locomotives and moving into position to enter upper locks. 14 April 1914.
NARA (National Archives and Record Administration) photo # 19-N-502, courtesy of Daniel Dunham.
SS-09,13,14,15,& 1692k C-Class submarines in the Gatun Locks, Panama Canal, circa 1914. Photograph printed on a color-tinted postal card, prior to World War I. The submarine present include (in no particular order):
C-1 (SS-09);
C-2 (SS-13);
C-3 (SS-14);
C-4 (SS-15); and
C-5 (SS-16).
 Courtesy of the U.S. Naval Historical Center, Photograph # NH 85276.
SS-09,13,14,15,& 16221kBow on view of C-Class submarines in the Gatun Locks, Panama Canal, circa 1914. Photograph printed on a color-tinted postal card, prior to World War I. The submarine present include (in no particular order):
C-1 (SS-09);
C-2 (SS-13);
C-3 (SS-14);
C-4 (SS-15); and
C-5 (SS-16).
Photo courtesy of Tommy Trampp.
SS-16, 13 & 14118kC-Class submarines alongside Charleston (C-22) in Panama Canal Zone waters, circa 1916-1917. These submarines are (from left to right):
C-5 (SS-16);
C-2 (SS-13);
and C-3 (SS-14).
Photographed by Pickard & Zell. Note the small rowboat, and Sailors washing clothing on the float between the cruiser and the submarines. 		Courtesy of the U.S. Naval Historical Center, Photograph # NH 100491.
SS-09 489k SUBMARINES HELP PROTECT CANAL ZONE
Five United States submersibles in the Gatun lock on the Atlantic side of the canal. Extraordinary precautions have been taken to guard the waterway. All Germans in the employ of the government were dismissed immediately when we broke with the kaiser.		Image and text provided by Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records; Phoenix, AZ.
Photo from Tombstone Epitaph. (Tombstone, Ariz.) 1887-current, 25 February 1917, WEEKLY EDITION, Image 1, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
View the Tarpon / C-3 (SS-14)
DANFS history entry located on the Haze Gray & Underway Web Site.
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