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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive

R-13 (SS-90)

Radio Call Sign: November - India - Lima - Sierra
R-1 Class Submarine: Laid down, 27 March 1918, at Fore River Shipbuilding Co., Quincy, MA.; Launched, 27 August 1919; Commissioned, USS R-13, 17 October 1919; Redesignated USS R-13 (SS-90), 17 July 1920; Decommissioned, 14 September 1945, at Philadelphia, PA.; Struck from the Naval Register, 11 October 1945; Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 13 March 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-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, 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.
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.
SS 127 200k S-22 (SS-127), at New York City, circa the 1930s. Inboard submarines are (left-to-right):
R-1 (SS-78);
R-13 (SS-90) and
R-4 (SS-81).
Text courtesy of # NH 68899.
US Navy photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
SS 127 383k Submarines at New York City, circa the 1930s: These "boats" are, from left-to-right:
R-11 (SS-88),
R-13 (SS-90),
R-4 (SS-81) and
S-22 (SS-127). 		Text courtesy of # NH 68898.
US Navy photo, courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
SS 90105k R-13 (SS-90), returning to port. Circa 1930's. Courtesy of John Hummel & ussubvetsofwwii.org.
SS 9043kStarboard view of the R-13 (SS-90), returning to port. Circa 1930's. Courtesy of Erminio Bagnasco book, "Submarines of WW II", submitted by Aryeh Wetherhorn.
SS 9052k Feb. 1937 - Summer 1938 photo of the Commander of the R-13 (SS-90), Mannert L. Abele and members of the boat on deck after the R-13 received the Navy's coveted "E" for excellence. USN photo courtesy of Bruce, Brad and John Abele, sons of Lieutenant Commander Mannert L. Abele, K.I.A., while commmanding the Grunion (SS-216), 30 July 1942.
SS 90171kSailors standing aboard the R-13 (SS-90), 1939. Photographer: Carl Mydans, courtesy of Life via Bill Gonyo.
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 Jan. 1941. This picture shows them as they appeared before the repair program began. Photo & text courtesy of A.P. Wire courtesy of philly.com.
Pompano 401k This air view of Portsmouth Navy Yard taken just after the end of WW II shows the main shipbuilding shed which enabled construction to continue unimpeded by the Maine winters. The shed was widened to add two ways in 1941, and a fifth was squeezed in a year later. Drydocks No. 1 (left) & 2 (far right) contain six fleet submarines, while three R-boats are moored in the foreground.
The Pompano (SS-491) would have been under construction in the first ways on the left hand corner of the main shipbuilding shed. 		Photo and partial text from The Fleet Submarine in the U.S. Navy: A Design and Construction History, by John D. Alden.
View the R-13 (SS-90) 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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