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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive

R-3 (SS-80)

Radio Call Sign: November - India - Lima - Foxtrot
R-3 served both the US and British Navies

R-1 Class Submarine: Laid down, 11 December 1917, at Fore River Shipbuilding Co., Quincy, MA.; Launched, 18 January 1919; Commissioned, USS R-3, 17 April 1919; Redesignated USS R-3 (SS-80), 17 July 1920; Decommissioned, 10 August 1934, at Philadelphia, PA.; Laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet; Recommissioned, 19 August 1940, at Sub Base New London, CT.; Decommissioned and transferred to the United Kingdom, 4 November 1941, and commissioned into the Royal Navy as P 511; Struck from the Naval Register, 7 November 1941; Final Disposition, officially returned to USN in England, 20 December 1944; beached 12 November 1947 en route to scrappers; foundered at moorings, Karnes Bay, 21 November 1947; scrapped at Troon, Scotland in 1948.
Partial data submitted by Yves Hubert.

Specifications: Displacement, Surfaced: 569 t., Submerged: 680 t.; Length 186' 2"; Beam 18'; Draft 14' 6"; Speed, Surfaced 13.5 kts, Submerged 10.5 kts; Depth Limit, 200'; Complement 2 Officers, 27 Enlisted; Armament, four 21" torpedo tubes forward, 8 torpedoes, one 3"/50 deck gun; Propulsion, diesel electric engines, New England Ship and Engine Co., diesel engines, 1200hp, Fuel Capacity, 18,880 gals., Electro Dynamic Co., electric motors, twin propellers.
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R-3 479k Picture of the viewing stand of the R-3 (SS-80) at Fore River Shipbuilding Co., Quincy, MA., 18 January 1919. Photo from the collection of Art Kaufmann, grandson of the sponsor, Mrs. Charles. G. McCord.
R-3 1.76k R-3's (SS-80) sponsor, Mrs. Charles. G. McCord. Photo from the collection of Art Kaufmann, grandson of the sponsor, Mrs. Charles. G. McCord.
R-3 107k Launching of the R-3 (SS-80) at Fore River Shipbuilding Co., Quincy, MA., 18 January 1919. USN photo courtesy of ussubvetsofwwii.org.
R-3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10, S-3 & 4 191k R & S boats nested together, May 1920, alongside Submarine Tender Camden (AS-6). From inboard to outboard:
R-4 (SS-81),
R-5 (SS-82),
R-6 (SS-83),
R-10 (SS-87),
R-9 (SS-86),
R-8 (SS-85),
R-7 (SS-84),
R-3 (SS-80),
S-4 (SS-109)
and S-3 (SS-107).
Note that all the R-boats have gun platforms, but that guns are fitted only on R-10,
and R-3.
S-4 has a platform for a 4"/50 gun (but no gun is installed), while S-3 still has no gun platform. 		USN photo # 19-N-9936, from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), courtesy of Daniel Dunham.
Text i.d. courtesy of USNHC photo # NH 41855.
SS-85 3.01k U.S. Navy Yard, Norfolk, Va., Dry dock No. 4, Submarines R-1 (SS-78) to R-10 (SS-87). Inc., Targets 43, 45, 53 & 60., 6 October 1920. National Archives Identifier: 52559671
Local Identifier: 181-V-2733.
Photo courtesy of catalog.archives.gov
SS-85 2.63k U.S. Navy Yard, Norfolk, Va., Dry dock No. 4, Submarines R-1 (SS-78) to R-10 (SS-87). Inc., Targets 43, 45, 53 & 60., 6 October 1920. National Archives Identifier: 52559669
Local Identifier: 181-V-2732
Photo courtesy of catalog.archives.gov
SS-84 & friends 79k The Submarine Tender Camden (AS-6) off New York City with twelve submarines alongside, circa 1920. Submarines are, from inboard to outboard (left to right):
R-1 (SS-78),
R-2 (SS-79),
R-4 (SS-81),
R-5 (SS-82),
R-6 (SS-83),
R-10 (SS-87),
R-9 (SS-86),
R-8 (SS-85),
R-7 (SS-84),
R-3 (SS-80),
S-4 (SS-109)
and S-3 (SS-107). 		Official USN photo # NH 99892, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
SS-85 78k The Submarine Tender Camden (AS-6) in San Pedro Harbor, California, 1921. Submarines alongside are (from outboard to inboard):
R-1 (SS-78)
R-3 (SS-80)
R-8 (SS-85),
R-4 (SS-81),
R-2 (SS-79) &
R-10 (SS-87). 		USN photo # NH 55044, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
BB-51 Montana132 This photo shows the submarines R-1 (SS-78), R-2 (SS-79), R-3(SS-80), R-4 (SS-81), R-5 (SS-82), R-7 (SS-84), R-8 (SS-85) & R-10 (SS-87) with Mud Scow #8 in Mare Island's Dry Dock #2 between 8 May and 10 June 1922. Note: The scaffold for the construction of the Montana (BB-51) can be seen above and to the right of the head of the dry dock. Seattle NARA photo # USN photo 60-30 Record Group 181, 13th Naval District, Records of the Naval District & Shore Establishments, courtesy of Tracy White @ Researcher @ Large submitted by Darryl L. Baker.
R-boats 167k R-boats in dry dock at the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, during the early 1920s. Submarines in the foreground are (from left to right): R-3 (SS-80); R-2 (SS-79); and R-1 (SS-78). Five other R-boats are further back in the dry dock. USN photo # NH 69000, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center. Courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1969.
Bermuda 419k R-3 (SS-80) & R-7 (SS-84) in tandem during the roaring 20's. Photo courtesy of David Buell.
R-3 98k R-3 (SS-80), sometime around 30 June 1921 at her new base, San Pedro, Calif. The tender in the distance is the Beaver (AS-5). USN photo courtesy of Robert M. Cieri.
R-3 51k Camden (AS-6), at anchor with R-3 (SS-80) and unidentified boats alongside, at her new base, San Pedro, Calif.USN photo # NR&L(M) 13994, from DANFS, submitted by Joseph M. Radigan (of blessed memory)
R-3 118k R-3 (SS-80), surfaces off Mare Island Navy Yard, circa June 1923. USN photo courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.
R-3 208k A view of the radio equipment aboard R-3 (SS-80) at Mare Island Navy Yard on 8 June 1923. USN photo # 7194, courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.
R-3 410k R-3 (SS-80) and a flapper during the roaring 20's. Photo courtesy of David Wright.
R-3 1.06k The R-3 (SS-80) underway, 18 October 1923, at Pearl Harbor where she was stationed for the next years, engaging in training and operations with fleet units. USN photo # 80-G-1026350, now in the collections of the US National Archives via Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Text courtesy of DANFS.
R-20 776k Four submarines docked at Pearl Harbor, circa summer 1927: foreground is the S-16 (SS-121), R-3 (SS-80), R-4 (SS-81) & at the right background, is another submarine with 3 vertical stripes, the R-20 (SS-97). Photo & text i.d. courtesy of Ric Hedman.
Photo by Bettmann / Getty Images, courtesy of gettyimages.com.
Sub Base Pearl Harbor152kThe crews of Submarine Divisions 9 & 14 line the decks of their boats (20 in all) at the Submarine base at Pearl Harbor on 12 December 1930.
R-1 (SS-78),
R-2 (SS-79),
R-3 (SS-80),
R-4 (SS-81),
R-5 (SS-82),
R-6 (SS-83),
R-7 (SS-84),
R-8 (SS-85),
R-9 (SS-86),
R-10 (SS-87),
R-11 (SS-88),
R-12 (SS-89),
R-13 (SS-90),
R-14 (SS-91),
R-15 (SS-92),
R-16 (SS-93),
R-17 (SS-94),
R-18 (SS-95),
R-19 (SS-96) &
R-20 (SS-97).
All the R-boats were to leave the base where they had been serving for upwards of 8 years and transfer to the East coast to be decommissioned over the next 3 years.
The only identifiable boat is the R-16. 		USN photo by Tai Sing Loo, courtesy of E. Little.
Philadelphia Navy Yard 2.49k Philadelphia Navy Yard, 28 October 1940.
The photo presented panorama military shipyards in Philadelphia Navy Yard. Most of the ships are obsolete US destroyers, that were transfer to Great Britain under lend lease.
The submarines are on the left hand side of the photo, and they are: (in no particular order)
The O boats:O-1 (SS-62), O-2 (SS-63), O-3 (SS-64), O-6 (SS-67), O-7 (SS-68), O-8 (SS-69), O-9 (SS-70), O-10 (SS-71).
The R boats: R-1 (SS-78), R-2 (SS-79), R-3 (SS-80), R-5 (SS-82), R-6 (SS-83), R-7 (SS-84), R-8 (SS-85), R-9 (SS-86), R-10 (SS-87), R-12 (SS-89), R-15 (SS-92), R-16 (SS-93), R-17 (SS-94), R-18 (SS-95), R-19 (SS-96) & R-20 (SS-97).
The S boats: S-11 (SS-116), S-12 (SS-117), S-13 (SS-118), S-14 (SS-119), S-15 (SS-120), S-16 (SS-121), S-17 (SS-122) & S-48 (SS-159).
The Olympia (C-6) is shown at the right of the wharf on Broad Street.
The stadium in the upper left, was John F. Kennedy Stadium (formally Philadelphia Municipal Stadium)that stood from 1926 to 1992. It was erected for the 1926 Sesquicentennial. 		Photo i.d. courtesy of Ron Reeves (of blessed memory).
Photo courtesy of flickr.com.
Lower resolution photo. (548k)
Navy Yard 91k These World War submarines, [R-boats] tied up in the Navy Yard in Philadelphia for a dozen years, are being reconditioned and some are already in active service again, it was announced 10 January 1941. This picture shows them as they appeared before the repair program began. Photo & text courtesy of A.P. Wire courtesy of philly.com.
HMS P 511
R-3NRBRITISH TAKE OVER U. S. SUBMARINE
The Union Jack is raised over the old 600-ton U. S. submarine R-3 (SS-80) as the 1918 craft is transferred to the British Navy at the Groton, Conn., submarine base. At the same time, nearby, the S-25 (SS-130) was transferred to the Polish Navy, both changing hands under lend-Iease provisions. 		Image and text provided by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library, Chapel Hill, NC.
Photo & text by The Wilmington Morning Star. (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 08 November 1941, FINAL EDITION, Image 1, courtesy of chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
HMS P-511 49k The HMS P-511, formerly the R-3 (SS-80). Photo courtesy of home.cogeco.ca.
HMS P-511 213k The HMS P-511, formerly the R-3 (SS-80). Note the silhouette of the 3"/50 gun by comparison with the British 3" or 4" piece. Note anti-submarine nets in background. Photo and text from "Royal Navy Submarines: 1901 To The Present Day" by Maurice Cocker via Robert Hurst.
HMS P-511 278k The HMS P-511 tied to a buoy in the River Medway. Photo taken by an unknown Royal Navy official photographer. Photo # FL 807 from the collections of the Imperial War Museums via Robert Hurst.
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