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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive

L-1 (SS-40)

Radio Call Sign: November - Yankee - November
L Class Submarine: Laid down, 13 April 1914, at Fore River Shipbuilding Co., Quincy, MA.; Launched, 20 January 1915; Commissioned, USS L-1, 11 April 1916; Designated (SS-40), 17 July 1920; Decommissioned, 7 April 1922, at Hampton Roads (Submarine Base); Struck from the Naval Register, (date unknown); Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 31 July 1922, to Pottstown Steel Co.

Specifications: Displacement, Surfaced: 450 t., Submerged: 548 t..; Length 167' 5"; Beam 17' 5"; Draft 13' 7"; Speed, Surfaced 14 kts, Submerged 10.5 kts; Depth Limit 200'; Complement 2 Officers, 26 Enlisted; Armament, four 18", torpedo tubes, 8 torpedoes, one 3"/23 deck gun; Propulsion, diesel-electric, New London Ship and Engine Co. diesel engine, HP 900, Fuel Capacity, 18,977 gal., Electro Dynamic Co. electric motor, HP 680, Battery Cells 120, single propeller.
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L-1 65k L-1 (SS-40), port side view, underway off Provincetown, Mass. March 1915. Note her canvas enclosed bridge, which was standard feature until the advent of the N-Class.
 		US Navy photo # 19-N-11481, from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), courtesy of Daniel Dunham.
L-1 82k L-1 (SS-40), starboard side view, underway off Provincetown, Mass, March 1915 underway at 14 knots.
US Navy photo # 19-N-39-17-2A, from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), courtesy of Daniel Dunham.
L-1 85k L-1 (SS-40), starboard side view, underway off Provincetown, Mass, March 1915 underway at 14 knots.
US Navy photo # 19-N-39-17-3A, from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), courtesy of Daniel Dunham.
L-1 76k L-1 (SS-40), starboard side view, underway off Provincetown, Mass, March 1915 underway at 14 knots.
US Navy photo # 19-N-39-17-4A, from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), courtesy of Daniel Dunham.
L-1 166k Starboard side view of the L-1 (SS-40) off Hampton Roads, 13 December 1916.
 		US Navy photo courtesy of ussubvetsofwwii.org.
L-1 118k L-1 (SS-40) port side view anchored off of Hampton Roads, 13 December 1916.
 		US Navy photo # 19-N-9263, from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), courtesy of Daniel Dunham.
L-1 112k L-1 (SS-40), starboard view, underway at Hampton Roads, 13 December 1916.
US Navy photo # 19-N-1891, from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), courtesy of Daniel Dunham.
L-1 106k L-1 (SS-40), port side view anchored off of Hampton Roads, 13 December 1916.
 		US Navy photo # 19-N-1892, from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), courtesy of Daniel Dunham.
L-1 & 3 109k L-1 (SS-40) and L-3 (SS-42) port side view anchored off of Hampton Roads, 13 December 1916.
 		US Navy photo # 19-N-1893, from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), courtesy of Daniel Dunham.
SS-40 & 4273k Scoter (American Motor Boat, 1916) passing L-1 (SS-40) while underway, probably in 1916. L-3 (SS-42) and Monaghan (DD-32) are in the background. This pleasure craft, built by George Lawley & Son of Neponset, Massachusetts, became Scoter (SP-20) in 1917.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph, # NH 65071.
L-boats46k"Officials of the City of Havana leaving the submarine L-2 (SS-41) after a ceremonious visit to a group of L-boats of the U.S. submarine division on it's recent visit to the Cuban capital. Said to have been the first time American submarines have visited that city."
Photo by Underwood & Underwood, courtesy of memory.loc.gov. Text courtesy of N.Y. Times, 14 January 1917, Page 3. Photo added 02/16/08.
SS-4087kL-1 (SS-40) in Bantry Bay, Ireland, with crew members standing in formation on her foredeck, 1918.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph, # NH 51156.
SS-4074kL-1 (SS-40) comes to the surface after submerged runs at Berehaven, Ireland, 1918.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph, # NH 51163.
SS-40114kL-1 (SS-40) alongside Bushnell (AS-2) at Portland, England, 1918. Note L-1's 3"/23 retracting deck gun trained out to starboard, and "Y-tube" hydrophone immediately behind her open foredeck hatch. Also note the boat boom attached to Bushnell's side, with pivoting mechanism at its end and walkway board on its upper surface.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph, # NH 51159.
SS-51,50,40, 49 & 4189k L-boats alongside Bushnell (AS-2) at Bantry Bay, Ireland, in 1918. These submarines are, from left to right:
unidentified submarine;
L-11 (SS-51),
L-10 (SS-50),
L-1 (SS-40),
L-9 (SS-49)&
L-2 (SS-41).
Identification marks painted on these "boats"' fairwaters include the letter "A", to distinguish them from British L-boats .
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph, # NH 51172.
SS-51,50,40, 49 & 4184k L-boats alongside Bushnell (AS-2) at Bantry Bay, Ireland, in 1918. These submarines are, from left to right:
unidentified submarine;
L-11 (SS-51),
L-10 (SS-50),
L-1 (SS-40),
L-9 (SS-49)&
L-2 (SS-41).

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph, # 80-G-1024919.
SS-50,40, 49 & 4380k L-boats alongside Bushnell (AS-2) at Bantry Bay, Ireland, in 1918. These submarines are, from left to right:
unidentified submarine;
L-1 (SS-40),
L-10 (SS-50),
L-4 (SS-43)&
L-9 (SS-49).
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph, # NH 51171.
SS-50,40, 49 & 4387k L-boats alongside Bushnell (AS-2) at Bantry Bay, Ireland, in 1918. These submarines are, from left to right:
unidentified submarine;
L-1 (SS-40),
L-10 (SS-50),
L-4 (SS-43)&
L-9 (SS-49).
Note the smoke from the submarines' engines.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph, # NH 51170.
SS-50,40, & 4383k These submarines are, from left to right:
L-4 (SS-43)&
L-10 (SS-50),
L-1 (SS-40).
At the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania, soon their 1 February 1919 return to the U.S. from European waters. Note what appears to be a very long "homeward bound" pennant flying from the top of L-1's (SS-40), periscope.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph, # NH 51158.
SS-50,40, & 4383k These submarines are, from left to right:
L-4 (SS-43)&
L-10 (SS-50),
L-1 (SS-40).
At the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania, soon their 1 February 1919 return to the U.S. from European waters. Note chevrons painted on the submarines' fairwaters, signifying World War I overseas service.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph, # NH 51144.
SS-50,40, & 4383k These submarines are, from left to right:
L-4 (SS-43),
L-10 (SS-50),
L-1 (SS-40).
At the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania, soon their 1 February 1919 return to the U.S. from European waters. Ship in the immediate background is either Quinnebaug (ID # 1687) or Saranac (ID # 1702), with the other of the two beyond her.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph, # NH 51142.
SS-50,40, & 43104k These submarines are, from left to right:
L-4 (SS-43),
L-10 (SS-50),
L-1 (SS-40).
At the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania, soon their 1 February 1919 return to the U.S. from European waters. Ship in the immediate background is either Quinnebaug (ID # 1687) or Saranac (ID # 1702), with the other of the two beyond her.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph, # NH 51143.
L-1 90k E.B.'s L-1 (SS-40) is shown as designed (inboard, top) and during WW I (outboard & plan views, middle & bottom), when she served in British waters as AL-1 . Wartime modifications include installation of a disappearing mount for the 3in/23 gun and sound gear (Y-tubes on deck, on the keel & a T-shaped SC tube on deck forward of the deck Y-tube), as well as a permanent sheltered bridge. The disappearing gun mount was inspired by a German 3.5-in (88-mm)gun seen on board prewar U-Boats. This was E.B.'s first class to use independent torpedo tube shutters, rather than a single-rotating bow cap.
Drawing by Jim Christley. Text courtesy of U.S. Submarines Through 1945, An Illustrated Design History by Norman Friedman.Naval Institute Press.
L-1 69k WW I taught the U.S. Navy to order submarine priorities differently. At Berehaven, Ireland, in late 1918, L-1 (SS-40) displays her disappearing-mount 3 in/23 gun. The battleship Nevada (BB-36) is in the background.
Photo & text courtesy of U.S. Submarines Through 1945, An Illustrated Design History by Norman Friedman. Naval Institute Press.
L-1 61k L-1 (SS-40) & an unidentified L-boat lay alongside their tender at Berehaven, Ireland, late 1918. The battleship Nevada (BB-36) is in the background.
Photo & text courtesy of U.S. Submarines Through 1945, An Illustrated Design History by Norman Friedman. Naval Institute Press.
SS-40122k Crew member posing atop L-1's (SS-40) starboard diving plane, at Berehaven, Ireland, 1918. Note line coiled on the submarine's deck.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph, # NH 51162.
SS-18, 19, 40, 43 & 5091k 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.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph, # NH 51157.
SS-4070kL-1 (SS-40) tied up alongside Kalmia (AT-23) off Lewes, Delaware, on 5 February 1921. L-1's after ballast tanks have been partially filled, raising her bow.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph, # NH 51164, data courtesy of Gary Priolo.
View the L-1 (SS-40)
DANFS history entry located on the Haze Gray & Underway Web Site.
Crew Contact And Reunion Information
Not Applicable to this Vessel
Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
Through the Looking Glass, a Historic Look at Submarines
HISTORIC SUBMARINE DOCUMENTARY AND TRAINING FILMS
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