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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; Decommissioned, 28 November 1923, at Hampton Roads; Struck from the Naval Register, (Date Unknown); Final Disposition, scrapped, 28 November 1933.

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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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. Photo added 11/20/08.
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 signalling. 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.
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.
US Navy photo courtesy of Robert M. Cieri.
L-11 29k L-11(SS-51), starboard bow view during WWI in Bantry Bay, Ireland.
 Courtesy of NARA/usssubvetsofwwii.org
L-9/ L-11 91k L-9 (SS-49) and L-11 (SS-51), along with two unidentified submarines, somewhere in Ireland, c.1918.
 		US Navy photo.
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-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.
L-4 & 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-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-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.
U.S. Naval Historical Center 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.
U.S. Naval Historical Center 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).
U.S. Naval Historical Center 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.
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.
View the L-11 (SS-51)
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
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