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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive
Contributed by Mike Smolinski

X-1

X-1 Class Midget Submarine: Laid down, 1 May 1952, by Fairchild Engine and Airplane Company, at Jakobson's Shipyard, Oyster Bay, Long Island, NY; Launched, 7 September 1955; Place in service as X-1, 7 October 1955; placed out of service, 2 December 1957; Laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Philadelphia Naval Shipyard; Placed in service, 14 November 1960; this time to study scientific interaction of water, light, atmosphere, and waves above and below the surface of the water. A team of scientists would work from a laboratory suspended beneath the Chesapeake Bay Bridge while X-1 (painted international orange for increased visibility) would make passes under the bridge. X-1was in commission in 1964,65,& 66 as part of submarine squardron 6. She stayed at Annapolis most of the time, but came down to visit the rest of the squadron at the D & S piers serveral time during the above mentioned time period; X-1 continued providing research data for scientific studies until taken out of service and struck from the Naval register on February 16, 1973. Laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet; Final Disposition, placed on permanent display, 20 August 1974, at the Submarine Force Museum, Groton, CT.

Specifications: Displacement, Surfaced: 31.5 t., Submerged: 36.3 t.; Length 49' 7"; Beam 12' 2"; Draft 6' 2" (mean); Speed, Surfaced 10 kts, Submerged 10.5 kts; Complement 1 officer, 3 enlisted; Armament, none; Depth Limit 400'; Propulsion, hydrogen peroxide/diesel engine and battery system replaced with a diesel-electric system consisting of Hercules Motor Corp, diesel engine, 90 hp, and Electric Spaciality Co, electric motor, 90 hp, 60 battery cells, single screw.
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X-1 79kX-1 at Oyster Bay, Long Island, 15 September 1955. USN photo taken from Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships & submitted by Robert Hurst.
X-1 537k EM1 J.A. Roberts, USN, prepares to hoist colors on X-1 as she was placed in service 7 October 1955. Photo # 80-G-683340 & 683342 courtesy of the National Museum of the U.S. Navy, via flickr.com.
X-1 525k Crew of X-1, 7 October 1955, at New London, Groton, Connecticut. Photo # 80-G-683343 courtesy of the National Museum of the U.S. Navy, via flickr.com.
X-1 167k Midget submarine X-1, cruising on surface, October 1955. Photographer: Grey Villet, courtesy of life.time.
X-1 177k Midget submarine X-1, cruising on surface, October 1955. Photographer: Grey Villet, courtesy of life.time.
X-1 624k X-1 underway during her sea trials. USN photo submitted by Robert Hurst.
X-1 1.47k X-1, commanded by Lieutenant Kevin Hanlon, USN, undergoes test. In addition to the officer-in-charge, the X-1 has an enlisted crew of four men. The craft is based at U.S. Submarine Base, New London, Connecticut. The X-1, the Navy's first midget submarine, was built to assist in testing the harbor defense installations of our coastal ports. The 25-ton, 50-foot submersible craft was recently completed by the Engine Division of the Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation, Farmingdale, New York. She was launched at Oyster Bay, September 7, 1955, being the first naval vessel of any kind designed and constructed by a U.S. Aircraft Manufacturer. The X-1 was "in service" rather than in commission. Photograph released 14 November 1955. Photo # USN 682142 courtesy of the National Museum of the U.S. Navy, via flickr.com.
X-1 132k X-1 being lifted by crane into the water. USN photo taken from The American Submarine, by Norman Polmar & submitted by Robert Hurst.
X-1 451k The X-1 on 6 October 1955. USNHC photo # 81525 courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
SS-X
0854817		 NR BLAST RIPS MIDGET SUB
An explosion last night damaged about 5 feet of the bow of the Navy’s experimental midget submarine X-1 (shown here in a 1955 photo) while it was tied up at the naval shipyard at Portsmouth, N. H. No one was hurt.		 AP Wirephoto
Image and text provided by Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
Photo from the Evening Star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 21 May 1957, Image 8, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
McKee 88k Admiral Kinnaird Rowe McKee was born in Louisville, Kentucky on 14 August 1929 and graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1951. He served in the Pacific fleet destroyer Marshall (DD-676) during the Korean War and in eight submarines of the Atlantic fleet since that time. After completion of submarine training in 1953, he served in three diesel-powered submarines: Picuda (SS-382), Sea Cat (SS-399), and Marlin (SST-2). In 1956, Admiral McKee was ordered to command of X-1, a small experimental submarine. He graduated from nuclear power training in 1958 and joined the commissioning crew of Skipjack (SSN-585), the Navy's first high performance nuclear-powered attack submarine. Assignment as Executive Officer of Nautilus (SSN-571) followed in 1961, then of the Sam Houston (SSBN-609) in late 1962. After three deterrent patrols on the Sam Houston, he served in the Naval Reactors Division of the Atomic Energy Commission from 1964 to 1966. Admiral McKee served as Commanding Officer of the nuclear-powered attack submarine Dace (SSN-607) from 1966 through 1969. The ship was twice awarded the Navy Unit Commendation and three times the Battle Efficiency Pennant for operations during that period. Text & USN photo courtesy of Bill Gonyo.
X-1 107k X-1 undergoing work at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in November 1960. Note the small "conning tower" and the spray shield for the forward hatch. USN photo taken from The American Submarine, by Norman Polmar & submitted by Robert Hurst.
X-1 42k A crew member of the X-1 stands in the open cockpit, most likely when the boat went to study scientific interaction of water, light, atmosphere, and waves above and below the surface of the water in 1962. USN photo courtesy of Robert Hurst.
X-1 362k The X-1 at rest. USN photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
X-1 431k The X-1. USNHC photo # 81624 courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com
X-1 42k X-1 underway, date and location unknown. USN photo courtesy of ussnautilus.org.
X-1 571k X-1 undergoing maintenance at Naval Ship Research and Development Centre, Annapolis, Maryland, 1969. USN photo submitted by Robert Hurst.
X-1 22k Stern view of X-1 taken 6 July 1977 at Annapolis, Maryland. Photo courtesy of John Hummel, USN (Retired).
X-1 758k Broadside & port bow view of the experimental mini-sub X-1 at the Submarine Force Library and Museum in Groton, Connecticut in September, 2011. Source: Library of Congress, Photo No. LC-DIG-highsm-19200 courtesy of Mike Green.
Insert photo via Robert Hurst.
There is no DANFS History currently available for X-1 at the Haze Gray & Underway Web Site, the main archive for the DANFS Online Project.
Crew Contact And Reunion Information
U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation
Fleet Reserve Association
hnsa-ships
Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
Historic Naval Ships Association--USS X-1
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