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

S-5 (SS-110)

S-4 Class Submarine (Government-type): Laid down, 4 December 1917, at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, ME.; Launched, 10 November 1919; Commissioned, USS S-5, 6 March 1920; Redesignated USS S-5 (SS-110), 15 July 1920; Sunk by accidental intake of water through the Main Induction Value, 1 September 1920: Sturck from the Naval Register in 1921.

Specifications: Displacement, Surfaced: 876 t., Submerged: 1092 t..; Length 231' ; Beam 21' 10"; Draft 13' 1"; Speed, surfaced 15 kts, submerged 11 kts; Depth Limit 200'; Complement 4 Officers, 34 Enlisted; Armament, four 21" torpedo tubes, 12 torpedoes, one 4"/50 deck gun; Propulsion, diesel electric engines, New London Ship and Engine Co. diesel engines, 2,000 hp, Fuel Capacity, 36,950 gal.; Westinghouse Electric Co., electric motors, 1,200 hp, Battery Cells, 120, twin propellers.
Click On Image
For Full Size Image		Size Image Description Source
S-5 119k Keel laying of the S-5 (SS-110) at the Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, Maine, 4 December 1917. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 46542.
S-5 120k S-5 (SS-110), being prepared for launching from a covered building way at the Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, Maine, 10 November 1919. Collection of the Society of Sponsors of the U.S. Navy. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 102805.
S-5 37k S-5 (SS-110) afloat immediately after launching, at the Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, Maine, 10 November 1919. Collection of the Society of Sponsors of the U.S. Navy. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 102806.
S-5 50k S-5 (SS-110) taken in 1919, probably off the Portsmouth (N.H.) Navy Yard. USNI photo.
S-5 48k Stern of the S-5 (SS-110) showing above the water, a few days after she accidentally sank off Delaware Bay on 1 September 1920. Photographed from McDougal (DD-54), which took some of S-5's crew back to New York. Donation of Ensign E.N. Cohen, USNR, 1964. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 41810.
S-5 53k Stern of the S-5 (SS-110) showing above the water on 2 September 1920, the day after she accidentally sank off Delaware Bay. The steamship Alanthus is standing by. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 57595.
S-5 58k Steamship Alanthus standing by the S-5's (SS-110) stern on 2 September 1920, the day after she accidentally sank off Delaware Bay. Photographed from McDougal (DD-54). Donation of Ensign E.N. Cohen, USNR, 1964. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 57596.
S-5 979k SIREN BUOY SAVES 37 U.S. SAILORS
The siren buoy, a war time invention, was the principle cause of rescue for the 37 officers and men of the S-5 (SS-110) when the submarine sank off the Delaware capes Wednesday morning. The photograph shows the S-5 with an arrow pointing to tho spot in the bow where the buoy is kept to be released in case of accident while the craft is submerged. A continuous siren gives warning and is operated from the ship in the Morse code to spell out messages from those imprisoned in the ship. 		Image provided by: Penn State University Libraries; University Park, PA.
Photo from Evening Public Ledger. (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 03 September 1920, NIGHT EXTRA, Image 1 via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
S-5 888k Only Three Miles Made Toward Shore After Hours of Work by Battleship. Image provided by: Penn State University Libraries; University Park, PA.
Photo from Evening Public Ledger. (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 04 September 1920, NIGHT EXTRA, Image 1 via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
S-5 913k COOKE DESCRIBES CREW'S AGONY ON TRAPPED S-5 (SS-110). Image provided by: Penn State University Libraries; University Park, PA.
Photo from Evening Public Ledger. (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 06 September 1920, NIGHT EXTRA, Image 1 via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
S-5 724k Rescued crew members of the submarine S-5 (SS-110). This photograph was taken on board the S.S. Alanthus by Frank Pendlo, of Baltimore, a member of the submarine crew, just after the men were rescued. Image provided by: Penn State University Libraries; University Park, PA.
Photo from Evening Public Ledger. (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 06 September 1920, NIGHT EXTRA, Image 20 via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
S-5 69k Navy tug alongside the partially sunken S-5's (SS-110) stern, while initial salvage operations were underway, in early September 1920. The battleship Ohio (BB-12), which attempted to tow S-5 into shallower water, is in the background. Donation of Ellis J. Altman, 1938. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 41808.
S-5 1.0k HEROES ALL!
A flashlight of the thirty-six members of the crew of the ill-fated U. S. submarine S-5 (SS-110) on the deck of the destroyer that brought them to League Island Navy Yard after their miraculous rescue from the bottom of the Atlantic where for forty-two hours they had battled for air. Above, left, W. R. Grace, chief engineer of the rescue ship Goethals, who worked for six hours with a hand drill cutting out a circular piece of steel in the sub's hull that would permit the on tombed men to escape. His hands were practically paralyzed when the heroic task was finally completed. 		Image and text provided by Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
Photo from New-York Tribune. (New York[N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 12 September 1920, Image 48 via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
PDF added 12/06/10.
S-5 27k Commemorative photo in memory of the S-5 (SS-110).
Photo courtesy of Tom Kermen.
S-5 56k The S-5 (SS-110) as it appeared in the first sighting from the NOAA Ship Whiting. Courtesy of oceanexplorer.noaa.gov.
S-5 123k Wreck of the S-5 (SS-110), 40 miles off the Delaware coast. Imaged July 2001.
Special Thanks to the Crew of the NOAA Ship Whiting, courtesy of 3klein.com.
SS 110 108k Memorial marker honoring the F-1 (SS-20), F-4 (SS-23), H-1 (SS-28), S-5 (SS-110), O-5 (SS-66), S-51 (SS-162), S-4 (SS-109), & Squalus (SS-192). Photo courtesy of Larry Backus from the Idaho submarine veterans of WW II & submitted by Fred Willshaw.
View the S-5 (SS-110)
DANFS history entry located on the Haze Gray & Underway Web Site.
Crew Contact And Reunion Information
Not Applicable to this Vessel
Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
Through the Looking Glass A Historic Look at Submarines
The Search for the S-5
Under Pressure: The Final Voyage of Submarine S-5, by A. J. Hill

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
© 2012, Michael Mohl © 2012, NavSource Naval History. All Rights Reserved.