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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive

L-2 (SS-41)

Radio Call Sign: November - Yankee - Oscar
L-1 Class Submarine: Laid down, 19 March 1914, at Fore River Shipbuilding Co., Quincy, MA.; Launched, 11 February 1915; Commissioned, USS L-2, 29 September 1916; Designated (SS-41), 17 July 1920; Placed in reduced commission, 1 May 1922; Decommissioned, 4 May 1923, at Hampton Roads, VA.; Laid up in the Reserve Fleet; Struck from the Naval Register, 18 December 1930; Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 28 November 1933.
Partial data submitted by Yves Hubert.

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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For Full Size		Size Image Description Source
SS-411.16kL Class Profile Inboard; Profile Outboard.National Archives Identifier: 78116763
Photo courtesy of catalog.archives.gov
SS-411.36k Superstructure Deck; Battery Deck for the L-2 (SS-41).National Archives Identifier: 78116844
Photo courtesy of catalog.archives.gov
L-2
0804116		99kAugustine H. Gray, the 1st Co of L-2 (SS-41). Photo courtesy of findagrave.com
SS-4176k L-2 (SS-41), afloat immediately after her launching, at the Fore River Shipbuilding Company, Quincy, Massachusetts, on 11 February 1915. USNHC photograph, # NH 51122.
SS-4180k L-2 (SS-41) making 14 knots while running trials off Provincetown, Massachusetts. Though the original print bears a date of March 1915, this photograph was probably taken later, perhaps in March 1916. Official USN photo # NH 51153, now in the collections of the National Archives, courtesy of U.S. Naval Historical Center.
L-4 297k L-2 (SS-41), off Provincetown, Mass., circa 1915-16. USN photo courtesy of ussubvetsofwwii.org.
SS-4164k Bow view of the L-2 (SS-41) off Provincetown, Mass., circa 1915-16.Official USN photo courtesy of USNI.
M-1 743k All the news that's fit to misprint, #1.
UNITED STATES TESTS FIRST OF BIG NEW SEA-GOING SUBMARINES
The M-1 (SS-47) is shown on her trial trip off Provincetown, Mass., on 6 July. She is 230 1/2 feet long, with 21 1/2-foot beam. Her radius of action is 2,000 miles.
She is not as large as the German submarine Deutschland, now at Baltimore, whose length is 315 feet, with a 30 foot beam.
It is actually an EB design L-class boat. The paper that originally published the photo misidentified it. The caption is wrong.		Photo & text i.d. courtesy of David Johnston
Image provided by: Penn State University Libraries; University Park, PA.
Photo from Evening Public Ledger. (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 11 July 1916, Night Extra, Image 2, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
M-1 531k All the news that's fit to misprint, # 2.
LARGEST SUBMARINE STANDS STIFF TEST
Above is a picture of the U.S. submarine M-1 (SS-47) the largest submarine of our navy. She was photographed while being put through an exciting trip at Provincetown. Mass. She can travel 5000 miles without a stop, 1000 more than was covered by the Deutschland.".
It is actually an EB design L-class boat. The paper that originally published the photo misidentified it. The caption is wrong.		Photo & text i.d. courtesy of David Johnston
Image and text provided by University of North Texas; Denton, TX.
Photo from El Paso Herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 21 July 1916, HOME EDITION, Image 6, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
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.
Pennell 127k What looks to be L-class (SS-40/51) submarines in dry dock, by the artist Joseph Pennell, 1917. Photo # 3c19552v, LC-USZ62-119552. Photograph courtesy of memory.loc.gov.
Tonopah 496k A MOTHER SEADOG GUARDING HER PUPPIES
This interesting photograph was taken within the Charlestown Navy Yard, where the United States submarine tender Tonopah (M-8) lies at anchor with her undersea charges, comprising submarine fleet No.3, of the North Atlantic fleet.
Probable submarines are the E.B. designed L-boats (SS-40 / 43 & 49 / 51), [L-1 thru 4 & 9 thru 11.]		Image and text provided by Penn State University Libraries; University Park, PA.
Photo from Evening Public Ledger.(Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 02 June 1917, Postscript Edition, Pictorial Section, Image 19, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
NEVADA 65k A Mackay style camouflage Tonopah (M-8) taken while she was serving as submarine tender at the Boston Navy Yard, Charlestown, Massachusetts, 21 December 1917. The submarine alongside is probably an early L-boat; L-1 (SS-40) or L-4 (SS-43). (Note the misspelling in the caption). USN photo courtesy of National Park Service, Boston National Historical Park Collection, NPS cat. no. BOSTS-14445, submitted by Stephen P. Carlson, Preservation Specialist, Boston NHP, Charlestown Navy Yard. Photo i.d. courtesy of Aryeh Wetherhorn.
L- boats 753k Sack Time. Typical of the subject submarines, here men are stacked four high on canvas fold away bunks aboard an American L-boat in the European theater. Photo from Illustrated London News, 28 September, 1918, courtesy of Beneath the Surface: World War I Submarines Built in Seattle and Vancouver by Bill Lightfoot.
L-2
0804107		1.83kL-2 (SS-41) as AL-2 while over there. Photo courtesy of Thomas Crane Public Library, Fore River Shipyard Postcard Collection @ digitalcommonwealth.org
SS-41418k L-2 (SS-41) in Bantry Bay, Ireland, in 1918. A copy of this photograph in the collection of Vice Admiral Paul F. Foster, USNR (Retired), L-2's World War I Commanding Officer, has the following caption: "The L-2 in Bantry Bay, Ireland, after encounter with the German Submarine UB-65 on 10 July 1918 off Fastnet Light, Ireland, which resulted in the sinking of the UB-65." unfortunatelyfor reality, the U-boat was not sunk by this sub. National Archives Identifier: 45513713
Local Identifier: 165-WW-338B-011
Photo courtesy of catalog.archives.gov
SS-41115kU.S. National Ensign flown by L-2 (SS-41) during her 10 July 1918 encounter with the German submarine UB-65 off Fasnet Light, Ireland. UB-65 was sunk on this occasion. L-2 was commanded at that time by Lieutenant Paul F. Foster, USN. USNHC photograph, # NH 102786. Collection Vice Admiral Paul F. Foster, USNR, donated by his estate in 1976.
L-Boats221k Bushnell (AS-2) lifting L-2 (SS-41) partially out of the water, while in an Irish port during World War I. Moored to Bushnell's port side are (from left to right):
L-4 (SS-43),
L-1 (SS-40),
& L-9 (SS-49). 		National Archives Identifier: 45513749
Local Identifier: 165-WW-338B-28
Photo courtesy of catalog.archives.gov
SS-51,50,40, 49 & 411.02k L-boats alongside Bushnell (AS-2) at Bantry Bay, Ireland, in 1918. These submarines are, from left to right:
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 . 		National Archives Identifier: 45513695
Local Identifier: 165-WW-338B-003
Photo courtesy of catalog.archives.gov
L-4 113k In the foreground is L-4 (SS-43), while just visible in the background is the conning tower of L-2 (SS-41), probably off Ireland, 1918. Vance Adams for his father, Lt. Vance Adams USN Ret (deceased).
Augustine H. Gray
0804117		740kLieutenant Commander Augustine H. Gray (center, with hands behind his back) conversing with a Navy Lieutenant and two U.S. Army officers, while the Princess Matoika (ID 2290) was at St. Nazaire, France, 20 December 1918. Note the six-inch gun behind them.Photo NH-52875 courtesy of history.navy.mil
Low 74k Admiral Francis Stuart Low was born in Albany, New York, on 15 August 1894, son of the late Commander William Franklin Low, USN, and Mrs. Anna (Stuart) Low. He attended High School in Newton, Massachusetts and US Naval Academy, graduating from the latter with the Class of 1915. In 1926 he completed the junior course at the Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island. His first assignments after graduation were in the battleship Connecticut (BB-18) and cruiser Montana (ACR-13). In the early part of his illustrious career, he was designated a submariner, and commanded the submarines D-3 (SS-19), O-9 (SS-70), L-1 (SS-40), L-2 (SS-41), S-12 (SS-117), and served on the staffs of Commander Submarine Division FIVE and Commander Control Force during and subsequent to World War One. This continuous sea duty from 1915 to 1925 was briefly interrupted for a six months assignment with the Tactical Group Submarine Chasers, New London, Connecticut. Text & USN photo courtesy of Bill Gonyo.
L-2 & 4366kLoading a MK7 Bliss-Leavitt torpedo aboard the drydocked submarines L-2 (SS-41) & L-4 (SS-43) when they were based at Bantry Bay, Ireland, between January 1918 & 1919.
The MK7 was 17.7 inches diameter and 17 feet long & weighed 1628 pounds.		Photo & text i.d. courtesy of Ric Hedman.
National Archives Identifier: 45514059
Local Identifier: 165-WW-339C-40
Photo courtesy of catalog.archives.gov
SS-4189k L-class class submarines tied up at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania, with a harbor tug outboard, circa February 1919. Submarines are (from left to right):
L-3 (SS-42);
L-9 (SS-49);
L-11 (SS-51); and
L-2 (SS-41). 		USNHC photograph, # NH 51167.
SS-4177k L-11 (SS-51) with crew members on deck, at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, circa February 1919. L-2 (SS-41), is in the immediate background. USNHC photograph, # NH 51178.
SS-41116k L-11 (SS-51) at left, and L-2 (SS-41), docking at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania, assisted by a harbor tug, circa February 1919. USNHC photograph, # NH 51176.
SS-4180k L-2 (SS-41) off the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania, circa February 1919. Official USN photo # NH 51120, now in the collections of the National Archives. Courtesy of the U.S. Naval Historical Center.
L-9/ L-11 873k AMERICAN U-BOATS BACK FROM THE WAR
After 15 months hunting of German U-boats in the Irish Sea, the flotilla of submarines shown above returned to the League Island navy yard at Philadelphia. The L-11 (SS-51), (third from left) had many desperate encounters with the enemy boats, including a fight below the surface with a Hun sub, which L-11 subsequently vanquished.
L-9 (SS-49) is the second boat to the left, along with two unidentified submarines, which I believe are L-2 (SS-41) at the far right & L-3 (SS-42) on the left. 		National Archives Identifier: 45513697
Local Identifier: 165-WW-338B-3A
Photo courtesy of catalog.archives.gov
Image and text provided by University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR.
Photo courtesy of The Evening Herald. The Evening Herald. (Klamath Falls, Or.) 1906-1942, 24 April 1919, Image 3, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
L-boats 244k L-1 (SS-40) & L-2 (SS-41) at Boston Navy Yard, circa 1918-20.Photo # 08_06_023227 courtesy of the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection via Sean Hert & flickr.com.
O-16
0807700		674kPhiladelphia in the late 1920’s.
From left to right: Two K-class: (No definite i.d. which ones of the following 8 ): K-1 (SS-32), K-2 (SS-33), K-3 (SS-34), K-4 (SS-35), K-5 (SS-36), K-6 (SS-37), K-7 (SS-38), K-8 (SS-39).
Four EB design L-class (No definite i.d. which ones of the following 4 ): L-2 (SS-41), L-3 (SS-42), L-9 (SS-49) & L-11 (SS-51).
Two Lake design O-class (No definite i.d. which ones of the first 4): O-11 (SS-72), O-13 (SS-74), O-14 (SS-75), O-15 (SS-76 ), with the last boat being O-16 (SS-77) on far right.
All boats are in various states of disrepair, and all would be disposed of by scrapping by the summer of 1930 in accordance with the London Naval Treaty. 		Photo courtesy of David Wright.
Text i.d. via David Johnston.
View the L-2 (SS-41)
DANFS history entry located on the Haze Gray & Underway Web Site.
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