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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive

S-20 (SS-125)

Radio Call Sign: November - India - November - Juliet

S-18 Class Submarine (Holland-type): Laid down, 15 August 1918, at Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp., Quincy, MA.; Launched, 9 June 1920; Commissioned, USS S-20 (SS-125), 22 November 1922; Decommissioned, 16 July 1945, at Philadelphia, PA.; Struck from the Naval Register, 25 July 1945; Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 22 January 1946, to North American Smelting Co., Philadelphia, PA.

Specifications: Displacement, Surfaced: 854 t., Submerged: 1062 t.; Length 219' 3" ; Beam 20' 8"; Draft 15' 11"(mean); Speed, Surfaced 14.5 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. New London Ship and Engine Co, diesel engines, 1200 hp; Fuel Capacity, 41,921 gal.; Ridgeway Dynamo and Electric Co. electric motors, 1500 hp, Battery Cells 120, twin propellers.

Size	Image Description	Source
188k	Inboard alongside pier are the S-30 (SS-135) , S-33 (SS-138) , and S-20 (SS-125) , at the Groton CT, Navy Yard, 2 October 1923.	US Navy photo # 19-N-8918, from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), courtesy of Daniel Dunham.
251k	Ships in "Dress Ship" decoration for Washington's Birthday, 22 February 1924 in Target Bay, Calebra, West Indies. Identifiable ships are from left to right: (far left) La Vallette (DD-315), Hull (DD-330), Noa (DD-333), (between *Hull) & Noa* in the background) Mervine (DD-322), (behind *Hull) Mullany* (DD-325),(center) S-20 (SS-125). Directly behind the submarine is the flagship Procyon (AG-11). The other ships to the right in the photo are unknown.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph courtesy of Robert M. Cieri.
105k	Savannah (AS-8) with five submarines alongside, during the 1920s. S-24 (SS-129) is the inboard submarine on *Savannah's* port side. Those moored to her starboard side are (from inboard to outboard): S-27 (SS-132), S-20 (SS-125) and S-28 (SS-133).	US Navy photo # NH 72921 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center, photo donated to the US Naval Historical Center by LT. Gustave Freret, USN (Retired), 1970.
114k	Savannah (AS-8) at Portland, OR., during the 1920s. Submarines alongside are (from left to right): S-27 (SS-132), S-29 (SS-134) and S-25 (SS-130).	Photo by Peck. US Navy photo # NH 71012 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center, photo donated to the US Naval Historical Center by LT. Gustave Freret, USN (Retired), 1970.
93k	Savannah (AS-8) at anchor with two submarines moored to her port side, during the 1920s. The outboard submarine is S-25 (SS-130).	US Navy photo # NH 67870 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center, photo courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1969 & Vance Adams for his father, Lt. Vance Adams USN Ret.
157k	S-20 (SS-125), photographed during the late 1920's probably in the Panama Canal Zone area.	From the collection of LT. Oscar W. Levy USN(SC) Ret. US Navy photo # NH 94167 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
20k	S-20 (SS-125), circa the late 1920's, probably in the Panama Canal Zone area.	US Navy photo courtesy of Hyperwar US Navy in WWII.
63k	S-20 (SS-125), circa the late 1920's, probably in the Panama Canal Zone area.	US Navy photo courtesy of Silent Victory by Clay Blair Jr.
31k	U.S. Navy destroyers Simpson (DD-221), McCormick (DD-223) and S-20 (SS-125) at the Port of Stockton in 1932. The two destroyers were under overhaul at Mare Island from March to September 1932.	US Navy photo courtesy of Darryl Baker.
50k	The engine room of the S-20 (SS-125), shown in 1932 at Mare Island, reveals the existing M.A.N. engine and the space cleared for a new test engine to port. *S-20* tested diesel-electric propulsion, perhaps the most important U.S. interwar submarine design innovation. The U.S. Navy was alone in adopting diesel-electric power plants, all other navies continued to use direct-drive, accepting that their submarines would be unable to operate at fixed critical speeds.	USN photo. Text courtesy of U.S. Submarines Through 1945, An Illustrated Design History by Norman Friedman. Naval Institute Press.
70k	S-20 (SS-125), 2 Feb. 1944 at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. Note the modified shape of her bow.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Courtesy of Frank Jankowski, 1981.
70k	Lieutenant John Philip Cromwell commanded S-20 (SS-125), in 1936-37, and then served on the staff of Commander Submarine Division 4. Photographed circa 1932-39.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # NH 51734, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Courtesy of Frank Jankowski, 1981.
179k	S-20 (SS-125) is shown as in Feb. 1944, little has changed during wartime. She had completed her safety refit in Feb. 1942 (note the new escape hatch right aft). Unlike other boats modified for greater safety, she did not have her skeg cut all the way down. Modifications made at this time included:installation of salvage air connections in the superstructure; removal of the conning tower periscope, installation of a gyro repeater on the chariot bridge. She had already been drastically modified, between March 1924 - Feb. 1925, with a new raked bow (something like that of the V-1-class (SS-163-65) and shoulder blisters.	Drawing by Jim Christley. Text courtesy of U.S. Submarines Through 1945, An Illustrated Design History by Norman Friedman. Naval Institute Press.
58k	From December 1941 into July 1945, S-20 (SS-125) continued to operate from New London. Her operations were off New England and often included training activities at Casco Bay, Maine. She is pictured here on 26 March 1945.	US Navy photo courtesy of Mike Green. Text courtesy of DANFS.
43k	S-20 (SS-125) at the US Naval Acadamy in July of 1945 while on her way to Philadelphia to be decommissioned. The barracks ship in the background is the Cumberland (IX-8).	US Navy photo courtesy of Ric Hedman.