View source for USS O-3

{{Short description|O-class submarine of the United States}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2024}}
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{{Infobox ship image
| Ship image = USS O-3.jpg
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{{Infobox ship career
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| Ship country = United States
| Ship flag = {{USN flag|1945}}
| Ship name = ''O-3''
| Ship namesake =
| Ship ordered = 3 March 1916
| Ship builder = [[Fore River Shipbuilding]] Company, [[Quincy, Massachusetts]]
| Ship laid down = 2 December 1916
| Ship launched = 27 September 1917
| Ship acquired =
| Ship commissioned = 13 June 1918
| Ship decommissioned = 6 June 1931
}}
{{Infobox ship career
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| Ship recommissioned = 3 February 1941
| Ship decommissioned = 11 September 1945
| Ship in service =
| Ship out of service =
| Ship struck = 11 October 1945
| Ship renamed =
| Ship reclassified =
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| Ship fate = Sold for scrap, 4 September 1946
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{{Infobox ship characteristics
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| Header caption =
| Ship type = [[United States O-class submarine|O-class submarine]]
| Ship displacement = *{{convert|521|LT|t|0}} surfaced
*{{convert|629|LT|t|0}} submerged
| Ship length = {{convert|172|ft|3|in|m|abbr=on|1}}
| Ship beam = {{convert|18|ft|1|in|m|abbr=on|1}}
| Ship draft = {{convert|14|ft|5|in|m|abbr=on|1}}
| Ship power = *{{convert|880|bhp|kW|lk=in|abbr=on}} (diesel)
*{{convert|740|hp|kW|abbr=on}} (electric)
| Ship propulsion = *2 × [[diesel engine]]s
*2 × [[electric motor]]s
| Ship speed = *{{convert|14|kn|lk=in}} surfaced
*{{convert|10.5|kn}} submerged
| Ship range = {{convert|5500|nmi|abbr=on|lk=in}} at {{convert|11.5|kn}} on the surface
| Ship test depth = {{convert|200|ft|1}}
| Ship complement = 2 officers, 27 enlisted
| Ship armament = *4 × [[American 18-inch torpedo|18-inch (450 mm)]] [[torpedo tube]]s
*1 × [[3"/50 caliber gun|3"/50 caliber]] [[deck gun]]
| Ship notes =
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'''USS ''O-3'' (SS-64)''' was one of 16 [[United States O-class submarine|O-class]] [[submarine]]s built for the [[United States Navy]] during World War I.
==Description==
The O-class submarines were designed to meet a Navy requirement for coastal defense boats.<ref>Friedman, pp. 86–87</ref> The submarines had a length of {{convert|172|ft|3|in|m|1}} [[length overall|overall]], a [[beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|18|ft|1|in|m|1}} and a mean [[draft (ship)|draft]] of {{convert|14|ft|5|in|m|1}}. They [[displacement (ship)|displaced]] {{convert|521|LT|t}} on the surface and {{convert|629|LT|t}} submerged. The O-class submarines had a crew of 29 officers and enlisted men. They had a diving depth of {{convert|200|ft|1}}.<ref name=gg9>Gardiner & Gray, p. 129</ref>
For surface running, the boats were powered by two {{convert|440|bhp|lk=in|0|adj=on}} [[diesel engine]]s, each driving one [[propeller shaft]]. When submerged each propeller was driven by a {{convert|370|hp|0|adj=on}} [[electric motor]]. They could reach {{convert|14|kn|lk=in}} on the surface and {{convert|10.5|kn}} underwater. On the surface, the O class had a range of {{convert|5500|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|11.5|kn}}.<ref name=gg9/>
The boats were armed with four [[American 18-inch torpedo|18-inch (450 mm)]] [[torpedo tube]]s in the bow. They carried four reloads, for a total of eight torpedoes. The O-class submarines were also armed with a single [[3"/50 caliber gun|3"/50 caliber]] [[deck gun]].<ref name=gg9/>
==Construction and career==
''O-3'' was laid down on 2 December 1916 by [[Fore River Shipbuilding]] Company in [[Quincy, Massachusetts]]. She was [[ship naming and launching|launched]] on 27 September 1917, and [[ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 13 June. [[File:USS O-3 underway.gif|thumb|left|''O-3'' underway off [[Provincetown, Massachusetts|Provincetown]], 1918. Bow torpedo tube door and saddle [[ballast tank]] bulge are visible, as are her two [[periscope]]s.<!--Are those limber holes along the tank's top edge? Or tank vents?-->]]
The new submarine joined the Atlantic coastal patrol and kept watch for [[U-boat]]s from [[Cape Cod]] to [[Key West, Florida]]. In November, she joined a 20-submarine contingent that departed [[Newport, Rhode Island]], on 3 November for service in [[Europe]]an waters.  However, before the ships had reached the [[Azores]], the [[Armistice with Germany (Compiègne)|Armistice with Germany]] ended the fighting.
After the war that had proved the worth of subs, ''O-3'' sailed to [[New London, Connecticut]], to train Submarine School students.  Reclassified as a second line submarine on 25 July 1924 while at [[Coco Solo]], [[Panama Canal Zone]], and reverting to a first liner on 6 June 1928, the vessel remained at New London until she moved to [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]], to decommission on 6 June 1931.
As American involvement in [[World War II]] became imminent, ''O-3'' recommissioned at Philadelphia on 3 February 1941 and sailed to New London in June to train submarine personnel at the submarine school there until war's end.  She then steamed to [[Portsmouth, New Hampshire]], to decommission on 11 September 1945. She was struck from the [[Naval Vessel Register]] on 11 October 1945 and sold to John J. Duane Company, for scrapping on 4 September 1946.
==Awards==
*[[World War I Victory Medal (United States)|World War I Victory Medal]]
*[[American Defense Service Medal]]
*[[American Campaign Medal]]
*[[World War II Victory Medal]]
==Notes==
{{reflist|30em}}
==References==
* {{cite book|last=Friedman|first=Norman|title=U.S. Submarines Through 1945: An Illustrated Design History|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|year=1995|isbn=1-55750-263-3}}
* {{cite book |editor1-last=Gardiner|editor1-first=Robert|editor2-last=Gray|editor2-first=Randal|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921|year=1985|location=Annapolis, Maryland|publisher=Naval Institute Press|isbn=0-85177-245-5|name-list-style=amp}}
*{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/o/o-3.html}}
==External links==
* {{navsource|08/08064|USS O-3}}
{{United States O class submarine}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:O-03}}
[[Category:United States O-class submarines]]
[[Category:World War I submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:World War II submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Ships built in Quincy, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:1917 ships]]