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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive

Sea Wolf / H-1 (SS-28)

Radio Call Sign: November - Yankee - Charlie

H Class Submarine: Laid down, as Sea Wolf, 22 March 1911, at Union Iron Works, San Francisco, CA.; Renamed H-1, 17 November 1911; Launched, 6 May 1913; Commissioned USS H-1, 1 December 1913 at Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA.; Grounded on a shoal off Santa Margarita Island, off the coast of Baja California, Mexico, 12 March 1920; Sunk 24 March 1920; Struck from the Naval Register, 12 April 1920; Final Disposition, hulk sold for scrapping in June 1920.

Specifications: Displacement, surfaced 358 t., submerged 467 t.; Length 150' 4"; Beam 15' 10"; Draft 12' 5"; Speed, surfaced 14 kts, submerged 10.5 kts; Depth Limit 200'; Complement 2 Officer 23 Enlisted; Armament, four 18" torpedo tubes, eight torpedoes; Propulsion, diesel electric, New London Ship & Engine Co, diesel engines, 950 hp, Fuel Capacity 11,800 gals., Electro Dynamic Co. electric motors, 600 hp, Battery Cells 120, twin propellers.

Size	Image Description	Contributed By
142k	H-1 (SS-28), underway, circa 1913.	U.S. Navy photograph courtesy of Darryl Baker.
102k	H-1 (SS-28) & H-2 (SS-29) are berthed at Union Iron Works, San Francisco on 7 Oct 1913 after being launched at that shipyard in May and June of 1913.	U.S. Navy photograph courtesy of Darryl Baker.
81k	Cheyenne(BM-10) with H-3 (SS-30), H-1 (SS-28) and H-2 (SS-29) alongside, probably at San Diego, California, circa 1914-1917. Note the submarines' 13-star "boat" flags, and the numbers "23", "21" and "22", on their periscope housings. The first digit of these numbers represents the Second Torpedo Flotilla, to which they were assigned. The second digit represents the individual submarine's name. Also note the Sailor seated on *Cheyenne's* port anchor.	Courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1972. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 76004.
74k	H-1 (SS-28) off the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, 30 January 1914.	U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 69853.
174k	Submarines H-1 (SS-28), H-2 (SS-29) & H-3 (SS-30) are berthed together at an unknown location in January 1914. They possibly could be nested alongside of the *Cheyenne* which was the tender for the three subs.	U.S. Navy photograph courtesy of Darryl Baker.
75	Cheyenne(BM-10) in a West Coast port prior to World War I, while serving as a submarine tender. H-2 (SS-29) and H-1 (SS-28) are tied up alongside. All three ships are dressed with flags, probably for a holiday.	Collection of Thomas P. Naughton, 1973.U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 92168.
120k	The submarine H-1 (SS-28) is show with Stewart (DD-13) on the West coast in 1914.	U.S. Navy photograph courtesy of Darryl Baker.
103k	The submarine H-1 (SS-28) is shown under way in San Francisco bay in January of 1914.	U.S. Navy photograph courtesy of Darryl Baker.
97k	H-1 (SS-28) is shown of Mare Island Naval Shipyard on 20 January 1914.	U.S. Navy photograph courtesy of Darryl Baker.
49k	Submarines alongside Cheyenne(BM-10): At San Pedro, California, circa 1914-1916. The submarines are (from left to right): H-1 (SS-28); H-2 (SS 29),; F-4 (SS-23), & H-3 (SS-30).	US Navy photo # NH 101606, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center. Courtesy of H.R. ("Ed") Coffer, 1986.
46k	N-1 (SS-53), alongside H-1 (SS-28), off of Cristobal, C.Z., circa December 1917.	US Navy photo courtesy of John Hummel.
35k	N-3 (SS-55) & N-7 (SS-59) are outboard abd closest to the camera in this Winter 1918 photo at New London, CT. Other boats are H-1 (SS-28), G-2 (SS-27), & E-2 (SS-25).	Courtesy of John Hummel.
102k	H-1 (SS-28) is shown as modified during WW I, with a permanent (chariot) bridge and a Y-tube sound gear (visible above and below her hull, forward). U.S. sound gear was installed on H-boats completed for Britian after the U.S. entered WW I. For example, early in 1918 *H-1* had a C-tube installed on her upper deck but not on her keel. Her British CO liked this position for its easier access. He also argued, incorrectly, that a keel location was noisier, because even when the propellers were stopped,their shafts conducted hull noises into the water. Although few such boats were built for the U.S., E.B. built many during WW I for Britian, Italy & Russia; some were transferred to Chile in payment for ships taken over by Britian.	Drawing by Jim Christley. Photo & text courtesy of U.S. Submarines Through 1945, An Illustrated Design History by Norman Friedman. Naval Institute Press.
55k	Electric Boat's H-1 (SS-28) off the Naval Submarine Base New London, Groton, Connecticut, circa 1919.	Photographed by LaTour, Philadelphia. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 41955.
75k	H-1 (SS-28) off the Naval Submarine Base New London, Groton, Connecticut, circa 1919.	Photographed by LaTour, Philadelphia. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 41954.
87k	H-1 (SS-28) off the Naval Submarine Base New London, Groton, Connecticut, with her crew on deck, circa 1919.	Photographed by LaTour, Philadelphia. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 41956.
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. Photo added 05/13/07.
31k	Commemorative photo in memory of the crew of the H-1 (SS-28). In memorium: In the Second Book of Shmuel (Samuel), 22nd chapter, 5th through the 19th 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..."	Photo courtesy of Tom Kermen.