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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive

S-51 (SS-162)


Radio Call Sign: November - India - Quebec- Kilo
S-48 Class Submarine: Laid down, 22 December 1919, at Lake Torpedo Boat Co., Bridgeport, CT.; Launched, 20 August 1921; Commissioned, USS S-51 (SS-162), 24 June 1922; Lost due to collision, 25 September 1925, rammed and sunk off Block Island, NY, by SS City of Rome; Raised, 5 June 1926; Struck from the Naval Register, 27 January 1930; Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 23 June 1930, to Borough Metal Company, Brooklyn, NY.

Specifications: Displacement, Surfaced: 903 t., Submerged: 1,230 t.; Length 240'; Beam 21' 10"; Draft 13' 6"; Depth Limit 200"; Speed, surfaced 14.5 kts, submerged 11 kts; Complement 4 Officers 34 Enlisted; Armament, five 21" torpedo tubes, 16 torpedoes, one 4"/50 deck gun; Propulsion, diesel electric engines, Busch Sulzer Brothers Diesel Engine Co., diesel engines, HP 1800; Fuel Capacity 44,350 gal.; Ridgeway Dynamo & Electric Co., electric motors, HP 1500, Battery cells 120, twin propellers.
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S-51 31k Launching day for the S-51 (SS-162) at Lake Torpedo Boat Co., Bridgeport, CT., 20 August 1921. Photo courtesy of Ric Hedman TN(SS) web master, Through The Looking Glass.
R-24 134k PDF entitled "How the Diesel engine came to America." Photo courtesy of subvetpaul.com.
S-51 35k A day in the life of active service during S-51's (SS-162) 39 months in commission in 1924. Photo originally appeared in Edward Ellsberg's 1929 book, On the Bottom which told the story of the S-51 salvage.
US Navy photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Photo added 07/18/10.
S-51 44k S-51 (SS-162) underway. Circa 1924, location unknown. Courtesy of goatlocker.exis.net.
S-50 & 51 49k S-51 (SS-162) & S-50 (SS-161) alongside, circa 1922-25. USN photo courtesy of ussubvetsofwwii.org.
S-51 48k The SS City of Rome, which struck and sank the S-51 (SS-162) on 25 September 1925.
She is pictured here as the Suwannee, of the Merchants & Miners Line entering the port of Jacksonville. She was named for the city of Rome in the State of Georgia. She was built by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation at Camden, New Jersey in 1911 as the Suwannee of the Merchants & Miners Line and was sold to the Savannah Line in September 1917. She was sold back to Merchants & Miners in 1928 and renamed Somerset, and was broken up at Baltimore in 1938.
For Merchants & Miners she ran between Philadelphia, Baltimore, Savannah, and Jacksonville, Florida. For the Savannah Line she ran between Boston and Savannah. 3648 tons enrolled length 309 ft., breadth 46 ft. 170 passengers. She only carried cargo after July 1936. 		Photo courtesy of floridamemory.com. [State Library and Archives of Florida.] Text & i.d. courtesy of Ron Jones.
S-51 73k Derricks attempt to raise stern of S-51 (SS-162). Photo originally appeared in Edward Ellsberg's 1929 book, On the Bottom which told the story of the S-51 salvage.
US Navy photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Photo added 07/18/10.
S-51 100k Divers on fall operations. Photo originally appeared in Edward Ellsberg's 1929 book, On the Bottom which told the story of the S-51 salvage.
US Navy photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Photo added 07/18/10.
S-51 52k Tuka holding Falcon in position over wreck. Photo originally appeared in Edward Ellsberg's 1929 book, On the Bottom which told the story of the S-51 salvage.
US Navy photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Photo added 07/18/10.
S-51 90k Main induction valve bonnet. Photo originally appeared in Edward Ellsberg's 1929 book, On the Bottom which told the story of the S-51 salvage.
US Navy photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Photo added 07/18/10.
S-51 38k Divers aboard damaged sub. Photo originally appeared in Edward Ellsberg's 1929 book, On the Bottom which told the story of the S-51 salvage.
US Navy photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Photo added 07/18/10.
S-51 81k Salvage. Photo originally appeared in Edward Ellsberg's 1929 book, On the Bottom which told the story of the S-51 salvage.
US Navy photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Photo added 07/18/10.
S-51 30k Towing in. Photo originally appeared in Edward Ellsberg's 1929 book, On the Bottom which told the story of the S-51 salvage.
US Navy photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Photo added 07/18/10.
S-51 66k Towing in with Falcon assisting. USNHC photo # NH 69222 courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Photo added 07/18/10.
S-51 55k A huge hole in her port side. Photo originally appeared in Edward Ellsberg's 1929 book, On the Bottom which told the story of the S-51 salvage.
US Navy photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Photo added 07/18/10.
S-51 87k S-51 (SS-162) in dry dock after being raised, 5 June 1926, showing hole and mattresses, bunk frames, etc. tossed out the hole during the clean up and body recovery.
Note the crowds lining the rim of the dry dock. Date of photo is unknown. 		Photo courtesy of Ric Hedman TN(SS) web master, Through The Looking Glass.
S-51 575k S-51 (SS-162) in dry dock at the Brooklyn Navy Yard after being raised, 5 June 1926. The pantoons which raised the submarine lie on either side of the boat. US Navy photo courtesy of Angie Mattke.
S-51 93k General location of the site of the ramming & sinking of the S-51 (SS-162) by the SS City of Rome. View courtesy of Google Earth.
S-51 114k S-51 conning tower, starboard side. Photo courtesy of Ric Hedman TN(SS) web master, Through The Looking Glass.
S-51 116k View of S-51's (SS-162) stern showing damage to stern planes and rudder. Photo courtesy of Ric Hedman TN(SS) web master, Through The Looking Glass.
S-51 85k View of S-51 (SS-162) showing damage to bow and conning tower bent over to port during salvage operations. Photo courtesy of Ric Hedman TN(SS) web master, Through The Looking Glass.
S-51 38k The hulk of S-51 (SS-162) after initial salvaging, awaiting scrapping. Photo courtesy of Ric Hedman TN(SS) web master, Through The Looking Glass.
S-51 38k A model of the S-51 (SS-162) submitted by the owner, Jeffrey Hughes. The model is a period piece, attributed to Simon Lake. It is approximately 2 3/4 ft. in length and 1 1/3 ft. in height and has many moving parts. It was constructed by an employee of Lake and was supposedly a showpiece in Simon Lake's office. Courtesy of Tara Guthrie.
S-51 7k Rodney H. Dobson, Lieutenant (Commanding Officer) of the S-51 (SS-162) at the time of her loss. Courtesy of Tara Guthrie.
S-51 31k Commemorative photo in honor of the memory of the crew of the S-51 (SS-162).Photo courtesy of Tom Kermen. Dante's Prayer courtesy of Loreena McKennitt via quinlanroad.com.
S-51 16k Commemorative postal cover issued on the occasion of the 10th year of the passing of the loss of the crew of the S-51 (SS-162), 25 Sept. 1935.
Photo courtesy of Jack Treutle.
Memorial plaque91kMemorial plaque at Independence Seaport Museum, Philadelphia PA, July 2006 for the crews of United States submarines lost during peace time accidents:
F-1 (SS-20), F-4 (SS-23), G-2 (SS-27), H-1 (SS-28), O-5 (SS-66), O-9 (SS-70), S-4 (SS-109), S-51 (SS-162), Squalus (SS-192), Scorpion (SSN-589) & Thresher (SSN-593). 		Photo courtesy of Wendell Royce McLaughlin Jr.
S-51 114k Close-up of above photo showing hole in starboard side of S-51 (SS-162).

In Memoriam:

In the Second Book of Shmuel (Samuel), 22nd chapter, 5th through the 19th verses, translated from the original in Hebrew and published by the Koren Publishers of Jerusalem, Israel, 1982, can perhaps aptly describe the fate of the crew and all other U.S. submariners who died defending their county:

"When the waves of death compassed me / the floods of ungodly men made me afraid; / the bonds of She'ol encircled me; / the snares of death took me by surprise; / in my distress I called upon the Lord, / and cried to my G-D: / and he heard my voice out of his temple, / and my cry entered into his ears. / Then the earth shook and trembled; /the foundations of heaven moved / and shook because of his anger /...the heavy mass of waters, and thick clouds of the skies /... And the channels of the sea appeared, / the foundations of the world were laid bare, / at the rebuking of the Lord, at the blast at the breath of his nostrils. / He sent from above, he took me; / he drew me out of many waters; / he delivered me from my strong enemy, and from those who hated me; for they were too strong for me. / They surprised me in the day of my calamity: / but the Lord was my stay..."
 		Photo courtesy of Ric Hedman TN(SS) web master, Through The Looking Glass.
View the S-51 (SS-162)
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
The U.S. Submarine S-51
On Eternal Patrol
Through the Looking Glass A Historic Look at Submarines
Back To The Main Photo Index Back To the Submarine Index

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