Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster.
Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive

R-16 (SS-93)

Radio Call Sign: November - Alpha - Sierra - Xray
R-1 Class Submarine: Laid down, 26 April 1917, at Union Iron Works, San Francisco, CA.; Launched, 15 December 1917; Commissioned, USS R-16, 5 August 1918; Redesignated USS R-16 (SS-93), 17 July 1920; Decommissioned, 12 May 1931, at Philadelphia Navy Yard, Philadelphia, PA.; Recommissioned, 1 July 1940; Decommissioned, 16 July 1945, at Philadelphia Navy Yard, Philadelphia, PA.; Struck from the Naval Register, 25 July 1945; Final Disposition, sold for scrapping in March 1946, to North American Smelting Co., Philadelphia, PA.

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.
Click On Image
For Full Size Image		Size Image Description Source
SS 93659k R-16 (SS-93), launched at Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp. Lt'd, Union Plant San Francisco on Dec 15, 1917. U.S. Navy photo courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.
SS 9352k R-16 (SS-93), returning to Pearl Harbor, 1917. Courtesy of Mike Baust.
SS 9337k R-16 (SS-93), bow view, Pearl Harbor, 1917. Courtesy of Mike Baust.
SS 9334k R-16 (SS-93), conning tower, Pearl Harbor, 1917. Courtesy of Mike Baust.
SS 9348k R-16 (SS-93), 3"/50 deck gun, Pearl Harbor, 1917. Courtesy of Mike Baust.
SS 9348k R-16 (SS-93), some of the crew posing in front of the 3"/50 deck gun, Pearl Harbor, 1917. Courtesy of Mike Baust.
SS 92-9787k Beaver (AS-5) at anchor off the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, with six submarines alongside, circa late 1918.
R-17 (SS-94),
R-20 (SS-97),
R-15 (SS-92),
R-16 (SS-93),
R-18 (SS-95) &
R-19 (SS-96).
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 56366.
R-15, 16 & 1917kR-15 (SS-92),
R-16 (SS-93) &
R-19 (SS-96) in Hawaii, circa 1918.
Courtesy of Mike Baust.
SS 9374k R-16 (SS-93),with the crew lining the rails, circa 1920's, probably in Hawaiian waters. US Navy photo # 80-G-1025034, from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), courtesy of Daniel Dunham.
R-12 324k Tic Tac Toe in the Pacific with the X marked R-12 (SS-89), R-16 (SS-93) [with the circle] & R-17 (SS-94) [with the triangle]. US Navy photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Denby 800k JULES VERNE, MODERNIZED.
In the air and under the water, Secretary of Navy Denby making a quick change from sea-plane to submarine at sea on recent trip to Hawaii.		 Image and text provided by Penn State University Libraries; University Park, PA.
Photo & text by Evening Public Ledger. (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 24 October 1922, Night Extra, Image 36, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
PDF added 04/27/11.
R-14 38k R-17 (SS-94) receiving a civilian dignitary. This could possibly be Secretary of the Navy Denby who visited Pearl Harbor in 1922. R-16 (SS-93) is moored outboard. US Navy photo courtesy of National Archives via Ric Hedman.
SS 93143k Starboard side view of the R-16 (SS-93),with the crew lining the rails, circa 1920's, probably in Hawaiian waters. US Navy photo courtesy of ussubvetsofwwii.org.
SS 9763k R-20 (SS-97) with the R-16 (SS-93) in the background taken from the deck of the R-14 (SS-91) off the shores of Hawaii circa 1920's.
Photo courtesy of Ric Hedman.
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.
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-16 (SS-93)
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
PigBoats.COM TM A Historic Look at Submarines
Back To The Main Photo Index Back To the Submarine Index
Problems and site related matters, E-mail Webmaster
This page is created by Gary Priolo and maintained by Michael Mohl
©1996 - 2013, NavSource History All rights reserved.