D Class Submarine: Laid down, 16 April 1908, at Fore River Shipbuilding Co., Quincy, MA.; Launched, 16 June 1909; Commissioned USS Grayling, 23 November 1909; Renamed USS D-2, 17 November 1911; Decommissioned and struck from the Naval Register, 18 January 1922, at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Philadelphia, PA.; Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 25 September 1922.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.
| Click On Image For Full Size | Size | Image Description | Source | |
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 | 360k | Launching of the Grayling (SS-18) at the Fore River shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts, 16 June 1909. The tug Irving Fros is coming alongside to bring her dockside. | NARA (National Archives and Record Administration) photo # 19-N-14891, courtesy of Daniel Dunham. Text courtesy of USNHC photograph # NH 53773. |
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 | 91k | Port side view of the Grayling (SS-18) underway, probably during builder's trials, circa 1909. Note the striped poles near the submarine's bow and stern, possibly for evaluating trim angles while partially submerged. | USNHC photograph, # NH 53774. | |
 | 558k | Grayling (SS-18) appears here # 31 on her conning tower as a crewman is about to signal, circa 1909-11. | National Archives Identifier: 45513737 Local Identifier: 165-WW-338B-023 Photo courtesy of catalog.archives.gov | |
 | 140k | The internal helm stand of a voice tube on a D-class boat (SS-17/18/19). The watertight door to the torpedo room is seen to the right of the helm wheel. The helm wheel motor is attached via gearing to the transmission shaft, which ran aft to the rudder linkage. Directly above the helm wheel is a mirror into which the helmsman looked to obtain a view of the magnetic compass repeater above. Normal steering was by an electric switch that operated the motor. | The photo is on page 42 of "United States Submarines" by the Naval Submarine League. Photo submitted by Darryl L. Baker. | |
 | 116k | Snapper (SS-16); outboard; and Grayling (SS-18), by the dock, fitting out at the Fore River Shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts, during the summer or fall of 1909. | USNHC photograph, # NH 99006. | |
 | 53k | Navy submarines in port, circa 1909. Possibly photographed at the Fore River Shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts, these submarines are (from left to right): Tarpon (SS-14); either Narwhal (SS-17); or Salmon (SS-19); Snapper (SS-16); Stingray (SS-13); Bonita (SS-15); and Grayling (SS-18). | Photograph # NH 53776, courtesy of the U.S. Naval Historical Center. | |
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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. | |
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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. | |
 | 1.44k | The Salmon (SS-19),Grayling (SS-18), Tarpon (SS-14), Octopus (SS-9), 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. | |
 | 1.44k | Bow of the tender Severn and her charges: Salmon (SS-19),Grayling (SS-18), Tarpon (SS-14), Octopus (SS-9), 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. | |
 | 102k | Grayling (SS-18) at her moorings, between November 1909 & November 1911 prior to her name change to D-2. She appears to be testing the use of bow planes prior to the building of the E boats, (they were just D's but had bow planes). | Text i.d. courtesy of Ric Hedman. USN photo from The World Encyclopedia of Submarines, by John Parker, courtesy of Robert Hurst. |
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399k | Submarines Grayling (SS-18) in tandem (in no order) Narwhal (SS-17) & Salmon (SS-19), probably summer 1910 or 1911. | Photo i.d. courtesy of Ric Hedman. Photographer: Enrique Muller Jr. National Archives Identifier: 45513797 Local Identifier: 165-WW-338B-052. Photo courtesy of catalog.archives.gov | |
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2.19k | Submarines and their tender The time frame is circa pre-November 1911. Location is possibly New York Harbor. The picture shows the Severn with 4 of the C class submarines lying along her port side, Tarpon (SS-14), Octopus (SS-9), Bonita (SS-15), and Stingray (SS-13) and what are most likely all the D class (in no particular order) on her starboard side: Narwhal (SS-17), Grayling (SS-18) & Salmon (SS-19). | Photo i.d. & text courtesy of Ric Hedman. Photo from loc.gov | |
 | 263k | D-2 (SS-18) underway, starboard side view, at the Naval Review at New York City, 4 October 1912. | USN photo from NARA # 19-N-13647, courtesy of Daniel Dunham. | |
 | 249k | A D-class (SS-18) makes her way through the 1910's. | USN photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com. | |
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62k | A number of boats home-ported in Key West had squadron numbers in the "2" over some number sequence. Identifiable boats are: (2nd from the left) D-2 (SS-18), (middle) D-3 (SS-19), (2nd from the right) E-2 (SS-25). |
Photo courtesy of The US Navy Submarine Force Museum via Ric Hedman. | |
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710k | A C or D-class boat diving, not surfacing, in spite of what the caption says, circa 1913. | Photo & text i.d. courtesy of Dave Johnston. Photos courtesy of Sponsors of the United States navy; Benham, Edith Wallace, comp; Hall, Anne Martin, comp 1797-1913, pg. 94, courtesy of Boston Public Library. |
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 | 377k | "U.S. Submarines awaiting Orders" Halftone reproduction, printed on a postal card, of a photograph of five submarines nested together prior to World War I. The three "boats" at right are (from center to right): D-2 (SS-18); D-1 (SS-17); and D-3 (SS-19). The two at left are probably (in no particular order) E-1 (SS-24) and E-2 (SS-25). | Photograph # NH 78926 from the U.S. Naval Historical Center, courtesy of Commander Donald J. Robinson, USN (Medical Service Corps), 1973. Photo courtesy of ussnewyork.com. |
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1.04k | A D class submarine loading torpedoes, circa 1915-20. | Photo courtesy of loc.gov, courtesy of the Bain News Service. Reproduction Number LC-DIG-ggbain-24779. | |
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2.35k | Canvas bridge over # 33. | Photo courtesy of loc.gov, courtesy of the National Photo Company. Reproduction Number LC-DIG-npcc-19751. | |
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626k | Photograph shows US submarines moored at the 135th street pier on the Upper West Side of New York City as part of the Presidential review of the Atlantic Fleet. The picture shows the Tonopah (M-8) in the center, with the submarines E-1 (SS-24), E-2 (SS-25), D-2 (SS-18), D-1 (SS-17) and D-3 (SS-19) lying from left to right alongside the dock at 135th street. | Digital Source: Bain News Service. LOC photo # LC-B2-3481-14 / 19118v from lcweb2.loc.gov. |
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520k | VANGUARD OF ATLANTIC FLEET FOR PRESIDNTIAL REVIEW IN NEW YORK These vessels led the Atlantic fleet which arrived in New York for the big review by President Wilson. The picture shows the Tonopah (M-8) in the background, with the submarines E-1 (SS-24), E-2 (SS-25), D-2 (SS-18), D-1 (SS-17) and D-3 (SS-19) lying from left to right alongside the dock at 135th street. On recount of the activities of the submarines in the European War, these little under-the-water craft of the United States navy are coming in for a great deal of interest by the public. | Image and text provided by Penn State University Libraries; University Park, PA. Photo from Evening Public Ledger. (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 08 May 1915, Night Extra, Image 18, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov. | |
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520k | BUILDING NEW SUBMARINES TO DEFEND AMERICAN COAST Submarine G-2 (SS-27) laid up for repairs. Submarine commanders—(a) K. Robottem, D-2 (SS-18),(b) C. M. Cooke, E-2 (SS-25), (c) T.Withers, commander second division of submarines, (d) Yates Stirling, commander, Atlantic squadron of submarines)(e), R. S. Fay, D-3 (SS-19), (f)E. C. Metz, D-1 (SS-17). | Image and text provided by State Historical Society of North Dakota. Photo from Grand Forks Daily Herald. (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1914-1916, 02 August 1915, Image 11, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov. | |
 0801806 | 3.38k | Sail away! A sailboat appears off the D-2's (SS-18) stern not far off shore. | Photo by Waterman, courtesy of digitalcommonwealth.org via the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection. | |
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549k | U.S. submarine going to sea for practice, circa 1918: From right to left, two subs in the photo to the right, You can just see the sterns and a flag. Class/s unknown. D-boat in mid-river. She is ballasted down aft so that her props, rudder, and aft diving planes clear the ice in the river. Next to pier is the G-3 (SS-31), the other two boats alongside the pier are actually EB design N-class boats, ( N-1, 2 & 3). The arrangement of the towing fairlead bullnose, the towing shackle, and the bow plane arrangement all match EB design N-boats. You can see Conn College on the hill in the background. |
Photo & text i.d. courtesy of David Johnston & Ric Hedman. Photographer: Western Newspaper Union. National Archives Identifier: 45512000 Local Identifier: 165-WW-331E-7. Photo courtesy of catalog.archives.gov | |
 | 483k | U.S. SUBMARINE READY TO start its regular morning practice trip. New London, Conn. Unknown D-boat underway. | Photo i.d. courtesy of Ric Hedman. Photographer: Western Newspaper Union. National Archives Identifier: 45513803 Local Identifier: 165-WW-338B-055 Photo courtesy of catalog.archives.gov | |
 | 832k | D-3 (SS-19), at left, and D-2 (SS-18) center at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania, 5 March 1919, with shipyard workmen on board. Note the ventilating fans on D-3's deck. A derrick barge is alongside D-2. Among the four submarines visible in the background are L-1 (SS-40), L-4 (SS-43) and L-10 (SS-50). A motorcycle is parked at the far left. | USNHC photograph # NH 51157. | |
 | 115k | Port side view of the D-2 (SS-18) underway, date and location unknown. | USN photo courtesy of ussubvetsofwwii.org. | |
View the Grayling / D-2 (SS-18)
DANFS history entry located on the Haze Gray & Underway Web Site.
Crew Contact And Reunion Information
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Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
PigBoats.COM TM, a Historic Look at Submarines
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