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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive

L-11 (SS-51)

Radio Call Sign: November - Yankee - Xray
L-1 Class Submarine: Laid down, 17 February 1915, at Fore River Shipbuilding Co., Quincy, MA.; Launched, 16 May 1916; Commissioned, USS L-11, 15 August 1916; Designated (SS-51), 17 July 1920; Re-engined in 1923 with the Busch-Sulzer diesels from N-5; Decommissioned, 28 November 1923, at Hampton Roads; Struck from the Naval Register, (Date Unknown); Final Disposition, scrapped, 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 & 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-11
0805106		1.30k L-11 (SS-51) running trials off Provincetown, Massachusetts, circa 1916.Photo NH 51173 courtesy of history.navy.mil
L-11
0805107		194k L-11's (SS-51) Sponsor was Miss Mary Richards Latimer,(No photo) daughter of Commander J. L. Latimer, U. S. Navy. A 25 February 1919 photograph taken at the Pelham Bay, New York, Naval Training Station. He was serving as Commandant there at the time. Captain Latimer, a former Commanding Officer of the battleship Rhode Island (BB-17), succeeded Commander W.F. Franklin as Commandant at Pelham. He later was promoted to Judge Advocate General.Photo NH-48221 courtesy of history.navy.mil
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.
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.
L-11 49k E.B.'s L-11 (SS-51), was a unit of the repeat L-class (SS-40 / 51). The circular plate on the hull forward covers a Fessenden oscillator for underwater signaling. The 3in-/23 gun forward is shown in stowed position. Drawing by Jim Christley.
Text courtesy of U.S. Submarines Through 1945, An Illustrated Design History by Norman Friedman. Naval Institute Press.
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.
SS-51 & 49403kUS Submarines in Dry Dock at Charlestown Navy Yard. The L-11 (SS-51) & L-9 (SS-49).Photographer: Kadel & Herbert, NY.
National Archives Identifier: 45548689
Local Identifier: 165-WW-505C-1.
Photo courtesy of catalog.archives.gov
Tonopah, L 9 & 11 1.28k The photo above shows the same scene here but from a different angle.
View on the Tonopah's (M-8) foredeck, showing 12" guns and crewmen, taken while she was serving as submarine tender at the Boston Navy Yard, Charlestown, Massachusetts, circa June 1917. Submarines alongside are L-11 (SS-51) and L-9 (SS-49). Note the workbench, with vise attached, in the left foreground. 		Photo i.d. via Ric Hedman.
National Archives Identifier: 45513433
Local Identifier: 165-WW-337D-63
Photo courtesy of catalog.archives.gov
L-11
0805108		1.30kLt. Comdr. Andrew C. Bennett in June, 1917, assumed command of the L-11 (SS-51), based at Bantry Bay, Ireland. He was awarded the Navy Cross for services in that command. The citation follows:
“For distinguished service in the line of his profession in command of the USS AL-11. While enroute from Newport to the Azores his submarine was separated from the escort and other submarines of the squadron, leaving him without a rendezvous. He thereupon proceeded to his destination successfully, assuming the great responsibility of starting a 1700 mile Atlantic Ocean run in winter weather in a submarine of a class that had never been considered reliable for service of this character.” 		Partial text & photo courtesy of history.navy.mil
L 9 - 11 100k Circa December 1917 - January 1918 photo of the L-9 (SS-49), L-10 (SS-50) & L-11 (SS-51) wearing the A.L. of WW I, at Portsmouth, New Hampshire. USN photo courtesy of Robert M. Cieri.
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-11 490k L-11 (SS-51), starboard bow view during WWI in Scotland. National Archives Identifier: 45513723
Local Identifier: 165-WW-338B-016
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
SS-4177kL-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-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.
L-3, 9 & 11 100k L-3 (SS-42) - left; L-9 (SS-49) - center; and L-11 (SS-51) - right, at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania, circa February 1919. "Homeward-bound" pennant flying from L-9's periscope indicates that this photo may have been taken as the submarines arrived home following World War I service in British waters. US Naval Historical Center photo # NH 51168.
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. USN 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.
L-11 529k Stern view of the L-11 (SS-51) in dry dock probably after WW I. USN photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com
L-9& 11 583k AMERICAN SUBMARINES return to the base to "feed." A School of U.S. subs alongside their mother ship at an advance base on the Irish coast.
L-9 (SS-49) is the second submarine on the right, what might be L-11 (SS-51) is the second submarine on the left.		Image and text provided by Penn State University Libraries; University Park, PA.
Photo & text by Evening Public Ledger. (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 23 January 1919, Night Extra Closing Stock Prices, Image 20, courtesy of chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
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.
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-11 (SS-51)
DANFS history entry located on the Haze Gray & Underway Web Site.
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