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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive

Carp / F-1 (SS-20)

F Class Submarine: Laid down, as Carp, 23 August 1909, at Union Iron Works, San Francisco, CA; Launched, 6 September 1911; Renamed F-1, 17 November 1911; Commissioned USS F-1, 19 June 1912; Placed in ordinary, 15 March 1916; Placed in full commission, 13 June 1917; Sunk by collision with submarine F-3, 17 December 1917, off Point Loma, CA.; Struck from the Naval Register, (date unknown).

Specifications: Displacement, surfaced 330 t., submerged 400 t.; Length 142' 7"; Beam 15' 5"; Draft 12' 2"; Speed, surfaced 13.5 kts, submerged 11.5 kts; Depth Limit 200'; Complement 1 Officer 21 Enlisted; Armament, four 18" torpedo tubes, four torpedoes; Propulsion, diesel electric, New London Ship & Engine Co., engines, 780 hp, Fuel Capacity 11,500 gal., Electro Dynamic Co. motors, 620 hp, Battery Cells 120, twin propellers.

Size	Image Description	Contributed By
210k	U.S. submarines (SS-20) through (SS-23). General plans prepared by the Fore River Shipbuilding Company, Quincy, Massachusetts, 18 June 1910. This sheet features inboard and outboard profile drawings. These submarines were constructed by the Union Iron Works, San Francisco, California. Initially named Carp (SS-20), Barracuda (SS-21), Pickerel (SS-22) and Skate (SS-23), they were renamed F-1 (SS-20) through F-4 (SS-23) in November 1911, while under construction. The original plan is in Record Group 19 at the U.S. National Archives.	U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 84383. Courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1976.
201k	U.S. Submarines (SS-20) through (SS-23). General plans prepared by the Fore River Shipbuilding Company, Quincy, Massachusetts, 18 June 1910. This sheet features a table of dimensions, deck plans and hull section drawings. These submarines were constructed by the Union Iron Works, San Francisco, California. Initially named Carp (SS-20), Barracuda (SS-21), Pickerel (SS-22) and Skate (SS-23), they were renamed F-1 (SS-20) through F-4 (SS-23) in November 1911, while under construction. The original plan is in Record Group 19 at the U.S. National Archives.	U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 84382. Courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1976.
24k	In the F class (SS-20 - 23) the conning tower is shown in dashed vertical lines between the two periscopes. This class & the E class (SS-24 - 25) introduced bow planes into Electric Boat practice.	Drawing by Jim Christley. Photo & text courtesy of U.S. Submarines Through 1945, An Illustrated Design History by Norman Friedman. Naval Institute Press.
178k	Bow view of the F-1 (SS-20), in a West Coast harbor, 1912.A barge loaded with lumber is in the left distance.	USN photo courtesy of ussubvetsofwwii.org.
52k	F-1 (SS-20), aground off Watsonville, Ca, 11 Oct. 1912 Two men were killed in the accident. *F-1* was salvaged only to later sink in a collision with her sister ship F-3 (SS-22). Photo had been previously misidentified as the H-3 (SS-30).	USN photo courtesy of Ric Hedmen / rddesign@rddesigns.com
84k	F-1 (SS-20), aground at Watsonville, California, in October 1912. She went ashore on 11 October and was refloated on 18 October.	U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 84994. Courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1976
84k	F-1 (SS-20) aground at Watsonville, California, in October 1912. She went ashore on 11 October and was refloated on 18 October.	U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 79744. Courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1976.
106k	F class (SS-20 - 23) submarines at the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, before World War I. This view shows the bows of F-1 (SS-20), F-2 (SS-21), & F-3 (SS-22).	U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 92187. Collection of Thomas P. Naughton, 1973.
994k	F class (SS-20 - 23) submarines and their tender are in DD#2 at Mare Island on 21 January 1913. Left to right: F-3 (SS-22), F-2 (SS-21), F-1 (SS-20) and Alert (AS-4) in the background.	US Navy photo / MINSY # 01211913-01 courtesy of Darryl Baker. Photo added 06/16/08.
985k	The submarine F-2 (SS-21) (left) and F-1 (SS-20), (right) and the *USRC McCullock* are seen in Mare Island Navy Yard Dry Dock #1 on 7 March 1914.	US Navy photo / MINSY # 1486-3-1914 courtesy of Darryl Baker. Photo added 06/16/08.
124k	F-2 (SS-21) in drydock in 1914, with her sister F-1 (SS-20) alongside.	U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 79746. Courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1976.
81k	From front to back: F-4 (SS-23),F-2 (SS-21), & F-3 (SS-22) and F-1 (SS-20), in port Honolulu 1914. The US Army Transport *Dix* is in the background. Note the "fish" flags and 13-star "boat" ensigns flown by these submarines. Photographed by Noggle.	US Navy photo # NH 63259, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
53k	Commemorative photo honoring the F-1(SS-20).	Photo courtesy of Tom Kermen.
70k	Wreck of F-1 (SS-20). "A view of the deck hatch and after sail of the *F-1* submarine that sank after a collision on December 17, 1917. The submarine was located and filmed by the U.S. Navy oceanographic research ship De Steiguer (T-AGOR-12) during a routine search for an aircraft that crashed into the ocean three years ago." (quoted from the original photo caption, dated October 1975). *F-1* sank off the coast of California, with the loss of 19 of her crew, after colliding with her sister, *F-3*.	U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 99235. Collection of Thomas P. Naughton, 1973.
50k	F-1 (SS-20), holed and at the bottom. Sketch by Jim Cristley produced from photos taken by a Navy research vessel and published in The Subcommittee Report.	Photo & text courtesy of Beneath the Surface: World War I Submarines Built in Seattle and Vancouver by Bill Lightfoot. Photo from Kerrick, Military & Naval America.
91k	Memorial plaque at Independence Seaport Museum, Philadelphia PA, July 2006 for the crews of United States submarines lost during peace time accidents: F-1 (SS-20), F-4 (SS-23), G-2 (SS-27), H-1 (SS-28), O-5 (SS-66), O-9 (SS-70), S-4 (SS-109), S-51 (SS-162), Squalus (SS-192), Scorpion (SSN-589) & Thresher (SSN-593).	Photo courtesy of Wendell Royce McLaughlin Jr.
40k	F-1 (SS-20) on the bottom off the California coast where she sank after being rammed by the *F-3* on Dec 17, 1917. 19 crew were lost in the ramming. First US war time loss of a submarine during World War I. Accident happened 4 ½ miles West of La Jolla Light. This photo is one taken by the DSRV in 1986. In Memorium: In the Second Book of Shmuel (Samuel), 22nd chapter, 5th through the 20th verses, translated from the original in Hebrew and published by the Koren Publishers of Jerusalem, Israel, 1982, can perhaps aptly describe the fate of the crew and all other U.S. submariners who died defending their county: "When the waves of death compassed me / the floods of ungodly men made me afraid; / the bonds of She'ol encircled me; / the snares of death took me by surprise; / in my distress I called upon the Lord, / and cried to my G-D: / and he heard my voice out of his temple, / and my cry entered into his ears. / Then the earth shook and trembled; /the foundations of heaven moved / and shook because of his anger /...the heavy mass of waters, and thick clouds of the skies /... And the channels of the sea appeared, / the foundations of the world were laid bare, / at the rebuking of the Lord, at the blast at the breath of his nostrils. / He sent from above, he took me; / he drew me out of many waters; / he delivered me from my strong enemy, and from those who hated me; for they were too strong for me. / They surprised me in the day of my calamity: / but the Lord was my stay / He brought me forth also into a large place: / he delivered me because he delighted in me./"	Photo provided by Rick Larson MMCM (SS) (ret.) Courtesy of Ric Hedmen / rddesign@rddesigns.com