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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive
Patch contributed by Mike Smolinski

R-12 (SS-89)

Radio Call Sign: November - India - Lima - Quebec

R-1 Class Submarine: Laid down, 28 March 1918, at Fore River Shipbuilding Co., Quincy, MA.; Launched, 15 August 1919; Commissioned, USS R-12, 23 September 1919; Redesignated USS R-12 (SS-89), 17 July 1920; Decommissioned, 7 December 1932, at Philadelphia, PA.; Laid up in Atlantic Reserve Fleet; Recommissioned, 16 October 1940; Lost due to sinking, cause unconfirmed, 12 June 1943, with the loss of 42 officers and men; Struck from the Naval Register, 6 July 1943.

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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For Full Size Image		Size Image Description Source
R-12 46k R-12 (SS-89) probably in the Canal Zone.
NARA photo courtesy of Ric Hedman.
R-12, 13 & 15 76k Tied up along the dock from right to left:
R-12 (SS-89),
R-15 (SS-92) and
R-13 (SS-90), probably in Pearl Harbor, circa 1920's.
 		US Navy photo # 19-N-10261, from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), courtesy of Daniel Dunham.
R-12 175k With an X on her conning tower, the R-12 (SS-89) gets underway, circa early 1920's & probably at Pearl Harbor. NARA photo courtesy of ussubvetsofwwii.org.
R-12 52k Bow on view of the R-12 (SS-89) underway, circa early 1920's & probably at Pearl Harbor.
 		US Navy photo courtesy of bp2.blogger.com.
R-12, 13, 15 & 9 40k Tied up along the dock from right to left:
R-12 (SS-89),
R-15 (SS-92),
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-boats 118k Circa early 1920's at Pearl Harbor. What looks to be the R-15 (SS-92) on the left, R-12 (SS-89) in the middle and R-19 (SS-96). The mast of what might be the former cruiser Chicago, now a barracks ship under the classification IX-5, lies to the right of the R-19.US Navy photo, courtesy of ussubvetsofworldwarii.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.
R-12 69k R-12 (SS-89) underway, April 1942, when she commenced patrols to the & operated primarily from Guantanamo Bay and Key West.
US Navy photo courtesy of Mike Green contributed from "U.S. Warships of World War II" by P. Silverstone, courtesy of Aryeh Wetherhorn.
R-12 65k Google Earth satellite photo of the Florida Keys area, where the R-12 (SS-89) was lost.
View courtesy of Google Earth.
R-12 65k Commemorative photo in memory of the R-12 (SS-89).
Photo courtesy of Tom Kermen.
Tolling the Boats 117k The wife of a World War II U.S. submarine veteran, tosses a flower into a reflecting pool to honor the memory of one of the 52 submarines lost during World War II at the National Submarine Memorial-West on board Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach, Calif. On this Veterans Day, the Submarine Veterans of World War II transferred ownership of the memorial to the U.S. Navy.

The following text is from The Coming Fury by Bruce Catton., pg. 478.
"Major Sullivan Bullen of Illinois was killed in the battle, and just before it he had written to his wife, Sarah, to tell her that he believed he was going to be killed and to express a tremulous faith that could see a gleam of light in the dark:
"But O Sarah! If the dead can come back to this earth and float unseen around those they loved, I shall always be near you in the gladdest days and in the gloomiest nights, always, always, and if there be a soft breeze upon your chest it shall be my breath, as the cool air fans your throbbing temple it shall be my spirit passing by. Sarah, do not mourn me dead; think I am gone and wait, for we shall meet again!" 		U.S. Navy photo # N-1159B-021 by Journalist 2nd Class Brian Brannon, courtesy of news.navy.mil.
R-boats 62k R-12 (SS-89) underway, circa early 1920's at Pearl Harbor.
Submarine R-12 lost as the result of an accident which occurred during training exercises, the U.S. submarine R-12 took several men and officers down with her when she sank off the East Coast recently. The depth of the water makes it impossible to salvage the vessel and all hope for recovery of the bodies of the missing personnel has been abandoned. Although no figures on casualties were released, the R-12 carried a normal complement of 28 officers and men, some of whom survived.

In Memorium:

In the Second Book of Shmuel (Samuel), 22nd chapter, 5th through the 20th verses, translated from the original in Hebrew and published by the Koren Publishers of Jerusalem, Israel, 1982, can perhaps aptly describe the fate of the crew and all other U.S. submariners who died defending their county:

"When the waves of death compassed me / the floods of ungodly men made me afraid; / the bonds of She'ol encircled me; / the snares of death took me by surprise; / in my distress I called upon the Lord, / and cried to my G-D: / and he heard my voice out of his temple, / and my cry entered into his ears. / Then the earth shook and trembled; /the foundations of heaven moved / and shook because of his anger /...the heavy mass of waters, and thick clouds of the skies /... And the channels of the sea appeared, / the foundations of the world were laid bare, / at the rebuking of the Lord, at the blast at the breath of his nostrils. / He sent from above, he took me; / he drew me out of many waters; / he delivered me from my strong enemy, and from those who hated me; for they were too strong for me. / They surprised me in the day of my calamity: / but the Lord was my stay / He brought me forth also into a large place: / he delivered me because he delighted in me./"
 Official U.S. Navy Photo from ACME, New York Bureau, dated 6-26-43, courtesy of Bill Gonyo. Photo added 05/10/08.
View the R-12 (SS-89)
DANFS history entry located on the Haze Gray & Underway Web Site.
Crew Contact And Reunion Information
U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation
Fleet Reserve Association
Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
On Eternal Patrol
Through the Looking Glass A Historic Look at Submarines
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