View source for USS S-18

{{short description|Submarine of the United States}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2024}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=USS S-18 (SS-123).jpg
|Ship caption=USS ''S-18'' taking a towline off [[Taboga Island]] in the [[Bay of Panama]] in the 1920s.
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1945}}
|Ship name=
|Ship namesake=
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=[[Fore River Shipyard]], [[Quincy, Massachusetts]]<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates">{{cite book|last=Friedman|first=Norman|title=U.S. Submarines Through 1945: An Illustrated Design History|publisher=[[United States Naval Institute]]|year=1995|location=[[Annapolis, Maryland]]|pages=285–304|isbn=1-55750-263-3}}</ref>
|Ship laid down=15 August 1918<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship launched=29 April 1920<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship sponsor=Miss Virginia Bell Johnson
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=3 April 1924<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship decommissioned=29 October 1945<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=13 November 1945<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship fate=Sold for scrap 9 November 1946<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship honors=1 [[battle star]]
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship type=[[United States S class submarine|S-class]] direct-drive [[diesel engine|diesel]] and [[electric motor|electric]] submarine, ''S-1'' type<ref name="Register">{{cite book|last=Bauer|first=K. Jack|author2=Roberts, Stephen S. |title=Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775–1990: Major Combatants|publisher=Greenwood Press|year=1991|location=[[Westport, Connecticut]]|pages=266–267|isbn=0-313-26202-0}}</ref>
|Ship displacement=930 [[long ton|tons]] (945 [[tonne|t]]) surfaced, standard,<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs">''U.S. Submarines Through 1945'' pp. 305–311</ref> 1,094 tons (1,112 t) submerged<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship length={{convert|219|ft|3|in|abbr=on}}<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship beam={{convert|20|ft|8|in|abbr=on}}<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship draft={{convert|17|ft|3|in|abbr=on}}<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship propulsion=*2 × [[New London Ship and Engine Company|NELSECO]] 8-EB-15 8-[[Cylinder (engine)|cylinder]] [[Four-stroke engine|4-cycle]] direct-drive diesel engines, {{convert|600|hp|abbr=on}} each<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/><ref name="FriedmanSubs1-p258">''U.S. Submarines Through 1945'' p. 258</ref>
*2 × 60-[[Electrochemical cell|cell]] [[Exide]] paste [[Battery (electricity)|batteries]]<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
*2 × Ridgeway [[electric motor]]s, {{convert|1175|hp|abbr=on}} each,<ref name="Register"/><ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/> two shafts
|Ship speed=*{{convert|13|kn|km/h|0}} surfaced, 1939<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
*{{convert|9|kn|km/h}} submerged<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship range={{convert|3420|nmi|km}} @ {{convert|6.5|kn|km/h|0}},<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/> {{convert|8950|nmi|km}} @ {{convert|9.5|kn|km/h|0}} with fuel in main [[ballast tank]]s<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship endurance=20 hours @ {{convert|5|kn|km/h|0}}<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship test depth={{convert|200|ft|-1|abbr=on}}<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship complement=4 officers, 39 enlisted (1939)<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=*4 × [[American 21 inch torpedo|{{convert|21|in|0|adj=on}}]] [[torpedo tube]]s forward
*&nbsp;12&nbsp;torpedoes<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
*1 × [[4"/50 caliber gun|{{convert|4|in|mm|0|abbr=on}}]] / 50&nbsp;[[Caliber#Caliber as measurement of length|caliber]] deck gun<ref name="Register"/><ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
'''USS ''S-18'' (SS-123)''' was a first-group (''S-1'' or "Holland") [[United States S class submarine|''S''-class submarine]] of the [[United States Navy]] in commission from 1924 to 1945. She served during [[World War II]], seeing duty primarily in the [[Aleutian Islands campaign]].
==Construction and commissioning==
''S-18''′s [[keel]] was [[Keel-laying|laid down]] on 15 August 1918 by the [[Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation]]'s [[Fore River Shipyard]] in [[Quincy, Massachusetts|Quincy]], [[Massachusetts]]. She was [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 29 April 1920, sponsored by Miss Virginia Bell Johnson, and [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 3 April 1924.<ref name=DANFS/>
==Service history==
===1924–1941===
From 1924 to 1929, ''S-18'' operated from [[New London, Connecticut|New London]], [[Connecticut]], primarily off the [[New England]] coast but with annual deployments to the [[Caribbean Sea]] for winter maneuvers and [[Fleet Problem]]s. Transferred to the [[United States Pacific Fleet]] in 1930, she departed New London on 24 May 1930, operated off the [[California]] coast into the fall of 1930, and arrived at [[Pearl Harbor]], [[Hawaii]], on 7 December 1930.<ref name=DANFS/>
For the next 11 years, ''S-18'' was based at Pearl Harbor. In September 1941, she returned to the [[United States West Coast]].<ref name=DANFS/>
===World War II===
====December 1941–May 1942====
The [[United States]] entered [[World War II]] with the Japanese [[attack on Pearl Harbor]] on 7 December 1941, and that month ''S-18'' was ordered to the [[Aleutian Islands]]. A unit of Submarine [[Division (naval)|Division]] 41, ''S-18'' moved north in mid-January 1942. Until March 1942, she conducted defensive patrols out of the new and still incomplete submarine base at [[Dutch Harbor]] on [[Amaknak Island]] off [[Unalaska]] in the Aleutians. In mid-March 1942, she got underway for [[San Diego]], California, and underwent repairs there until mid-May 1942.<ref name=DANFS/>
====Aleutian Islands campaign====
With her repairs complete, ''S-18'' departed San Diego in May 1942 to return to the Aleutians. While en route on 29 May 1942, she received orders to patrol the southern approaches to [[Umnak Pass]] in anticipation of a Japanese attack, and on 2 June 1942, she took up her patrol station. On 3 June 1942, [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] [[aircraft carrier]] planes attacked Dutch Harbor. commencing the [[Battle of Dutch Harbor]] of 3–4 June 1942 and beginning the [[Aleutian islands campaign]]. Soon afterward, Japanese troops landed troops on [[Kiska]] and [[Attu Island|Attu]].<ref name=DANFS/>
Hampered by [[fog]], rain, and poor [[radio]] reception, and lacking [[radar]], a [[fathometer]], and deciphering equipment - ''S-18'' remained on patrol through 10 June 1942. Orders for submerged daylight operations in combat areas compelled ''S-18'' and the other submarines of the [[North Pacific Force]] to increase their submerged time to 19 hours a day, with surfaced recharging time cut to the brief five hours of the northern summer night. On 11 June 1942, she returned to Dutch Harbor.<ref name=DANFS/>
On 13 June 1942, ''S-18'' was underway again to patrol west and north of Attu, then north of Kiska. The weather, as on earlier patrols, was consistently bad. Habitability in the S-boats were poor. Material defects and design limitations in speed and maneuverability continued to plague her. On 29 June 1942, she sighted Japanese submarine but was unable to close. The same day, she returned to Dutch Harbor, and as at the conclusion of previous patrols, her [[commanding officer]] requested up-to-date sound and radar equipment.<ref name=DANFS/>
From 15 July to 2 August 1942, ''S-18'' conducted another patrol in the Kiska area, and on completion of that patrol, she was ordered back to San Diego.<ref name=DANFS/>
In October 1942, ''S-18'' returned to the Aleutians, and on 22 October 1942, she cleared Dutch Harbor for her next patrol, again in the Kiska area. On 3 November 1942, however, she was recalled and ordered to prepare for a longer, more distant patrol. On 12 November 1942 she put to sea, but on 15 November 1942, a crack in the starboard main engine housing forced her back to Dutch Harbor.<ref name=DANFS/>
She arrived on 20 November 1942, and her repairs were completed by the end of the month. On 30 November 1942, ''S-18'' resumed her patrol, moved west, and operated off Kiska, [[Kiskinato]], [[Agattu]], and Attu. On 22 December 1942, after 16 days in her patrol area, she lost her starboard stern plane, and depth control became erratic. On 28 December 1942, she returned to Dutch Harbor.<ref name=DANFS/>
Repairs and refit took ''S-18'' into 1943, and on 7 January 1943, she got underway again. During that 28-day patrol, she reconnoitered Attu and the [[Semichi Islands]]. On 4 February 1943, she was ordered back to San Diego for overhaul.<ref name=DANFS/>
====February 1943–September 1945====
Upon completion of her overhaul, ''S-18'' was assigned to training duty. For the remainder of World War II, she remained in the San Diego area, providing training services for the [[West Coast Sound School]]. Hostilities ended in mid-August 1945, and in late September 1945, she moved north to [[San Francisco]], California, where she was [[Ship decommissioning|decommissioned]] on 29 October 1945.<ref name=DANFS/>
==Decommissioning and disposal==
On 13 November 1945, ''S-18''′s name was struck from the [[Naval Vessel Register]]. On 9 November 1946, her 26-year-old [[Hulk (ship)|hulk]] was sold for scrapping to the [[Salco Iron and Metal Company]] in San Francisco.<ref name=DANFS/>
==Awards==
*{{ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|ribbon=Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}} [[Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal]] with one [[battle star]]<ref name=DANFS>{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/s/s-18.html|inline=1}}</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{refbegin}}
{{refend}}
{{United_States_S_class_submarine}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:S-18 (Ss-123)}}
[[Category:Ships built in Quincy, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:United States S-class submarines]]
[[Category:World War II submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:1920 ships]]
[[Category:Ships of the Aleutian Islands campaign]]