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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive

R-9 (SS-86)

Radio Call Sign: November - India - Lima - November

R-1 Class Submarine: Laid down, 6 March 1918, at Fore River Shipbuilding Co., Quincy, MA.; Launched, 24 May 1919; Commissioned, USS R-9, 30 July 1919; Redesignated USS R-9 (SS-86), 17 July 1920; Decommissioned, 2 May 1931, at Philadelphia, PA; Laid up in the Reserve Fleet; Recommissioned, 14 March 1941, at New London, CT.; Decommissioned, 25 September 1945, at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Portsmouth, NH; Struck from the Naval Register, 11 October 1945; Final Disposition, sold for scrapping in February 1946.

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-3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10, 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.
US Navy 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-84 & friends 87k R-boats off New York City, circa 1920. from inboard to outboard (left to right):
R-7 (SS-84),
R-8 (SS-85),
R-9 (SS-86),
R-10 (SS-87),
R-6 (SS-83),
R-5 (SS-82),
R-4 (SS-81).
Official U.S. Navy Photograph # NH 41746, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
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 U.S. Navy Photograph # NH 99892, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
SS-84 & friends 100k 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 U.S. Navy Photograph # NH 59972, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
R-12, 13, 15 & 9 40k Tied up along the dock from right to left: R-12 (SS-89), R-15 (SS-092), R-13 (SS-90) with R-9 (SS-86) and an unidentifed R-boat, probably in Pearl Harbor, circa mid 1920's.
US Navy photo # 19-N-10257, from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), courtesy of Daniel Dunham.
R-9 & 10 65k R-boats of Submarine Division 9, circa late 1920. From outboard to inboard:
R-10 (SS-87) and R-9 (SS-86) are tied up at dock, most likely at New London, CT., or Portsmouth, ME.
US Navy photo # 19-N-10260, from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), courtesy of Daniel Dunham.
R-9 & S-1 165k Bow view of the R-9 (SS-86) & S-1 (SS-105) at the Portsmouth New Hampshire Navy Yard, Dec. 30, 1922.
US Navy photo courtesy of ussubvetsofwwii.org.
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.
US Navy photo by Tai Sing Loo, courtesy of E. Little. Photo added 04/15/07.
R-9 26k R-9 (SS-86) underway, possibly circa early 1940's.
US Navy photo courtesy of Hyperwar US Navy in WWII.

View the R-9 (SS-86)
DANFS history entry located on the Haze Gray & Underway Web Site.
Crew Contact And Reunion Information
U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation
Fleet Reserve Association

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Through the Looking Glass A Historic Look at Submarines

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