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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.
SS 90368k R-13 (SS-90), probably in Pearl Harbor, circa 1920's.
US Navy photo courtesy of David Buell.
Photo added 10/29/07.
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. Photo added 04/15/07.
SS 12766kFrom left to right R-1 (SS-78), R-13 (SS-90), R-4 (SS-81), and S-22 (SS-127), at New York City, circa 1930's.
US Navy photo # NH 68899 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
SS 127 95k 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).
US Navy photo # NH 68898, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
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.

View the R-13 (SS-90) DANFS history entry located on the Haze Gray & Underway Web Site.
Crew Contact And Reunion InformationU.S. Navy Memorial Foundation
Fleet Reserve Association

Additional Resources and Web Sites of InterestThrough the Looking Glass A Historic Look at Submarines

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