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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive

L-4 (SS-43)

Radio Call Sign: November - Yankee - Quebec
L-1 Class Submarine: Laid down, 23 March 1914, at Fore River Shipbuilding Co., Quincy, MA.; Launched, 3 April 1915; Commissioned, USS L-4, 4 May 1916; Designated (SS-43), 17 July 1920; Decommissioned and simultaneously struck from the Naval Register, 14 April 1922, at Philadelphia, PA; Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 31 July 1922, to Pottstown Steel Co., Douglasville, PA.

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-4 89k L-4 (SS-43), running trials, 1915.
 US Navy photo courtesy of ussubvetsofwwii.org.
L-4 365k L-4 (SS-43) is seen in Dry Dock 1 of the Boston Navy Yard ca. 1916-17. The Constitution can be seen in the background.
U.S. Navy photo from the National Park Service, Boston National Historical Park, cat. no. BOSTS-11689, courtesy of Stephen P. Carlson, Preservation Specialist, Boston NHP, Charlestown Navy Yard.
Photo added 08/07/06.
SS-24 & 4359kE-1 (SS-24) inboard & L-4 (SS-43), probably taken between 4 December 1917 & 12 January 1918, when both boats left Newport R.I. for the Ponta Delgada in the Azores, protecting the islands from German attack and use as a haven by U-boats.
US Navy photo courtesy of Robert M. Cieri. Partial text courtesy of DANFS.
L-4 71k L-4 (SS-43) underway in 1918, probably in Bantry Bay, Ireland.
US Navy photo # NH 51137, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
L-4 57k L-4 (SS-43) off Berehaven, Ireland, in 1918.
US Navy photo # NH 51138, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
L-4 71k L-4 (SS-43) underway off Bantry Bay, Ireland, in 1918.
US Navy photo # NH 51139, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
L-4 104k L-4 (SS-43) in right center background, exercising with another submarine off Ireland, in 1918.
US Navy photo # NH 51140, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
L-4 73k L-4 (SS-43) making a crash dive off the Irish coast, 1918.
US Navy photo # NH 51141, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
L-4 63k L-4 (SS-43), at Berehaven, Ireland. The L-4 was based here beginning 27 January 1918.
 US Navy photo contributed by Mike Green.
L-4 113k L-4 (SS-43), crew photo, circa 1918, place unknown. Note L-2 (SS-41), just visible in the background. Vance Adams for his father, Lt. Vance Adams USN Ret (deceased).
L-3/L-11/L-10/L-4/L-9 67k L-3 (SS-42), L-11 (SS-51), L-10 (SS-50), L-4 (SS-43) and L-9 (SS-49), alongside their tender in Great Britain during World War I.
They display the most important war modifications: the permanent open chariot bridge & retractable (housing) periscopes. L-10 shows three fixed-spot hydrophones forward, presumably comprising a K-tube.
 Partial text courtesy of U.S. Submarines Through 1945, An Illustrated Design History by Norman Friedman. Naval Institute Press. US Navy photo NH 60252, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
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.
L-Boats101k 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).
Official U.S. Navy Photograph # NH 61684, now in the collections of the National Archives.
L-4, 10 & 11 61k Bushnell (AS-2) at anchor in Bantry Bay, Ireland, 1918. The submarines alongside are (from left to right): L-4 (SS-43); L-11 (SS-51); and L-10 (SS-50).
US Navy photo # NH 52856, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center. Collection of Rear Admiral Harold F. Pullen, USN. Loaned via Captain Paul B. Ryan, USN (Retired), 1977.
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 after 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-4 & 11 59k L-11 (SS-51), at left, and L-4 (SS-43) at the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland, circa 1919. Note these submarines' 3"/23 deck guns, located just forward of their fairwaters. L-11's is retracted, while that of L-4 is in operating position.
US Navy photo # NH 103253, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center. Collection of Rear Admiral Harold F. Pullen, USN. Loaned via Captain Paul B. Ryan, USN (Retired), 1977.
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.
View the L-4 (SS-43)
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
Through the Looking Glass, a Historic Look at Submarines
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