USS Shark (SS-8)

The third USS "Shark" was an early "Plunger"-class submarine in the service of the United States Navy, later renamed as "A-7".

USS|Shark|SS-8 was laid down on 11 January 1901 at Elizabethport, New Jersey in the Crescent Shipyard under the direction of Crescent's superintendent, Arthur Leopold Busch. She was launched on 19 October 1901, and commissioned on 19 September 1903 at New Suffolk, New York with Lieutenant Charles P. Nelson in command.

Early service

Over the next three and a half years, "Shark" operated locally at the Naval Torpedo Station at Newport, conducting firing tests with torpedoes, and participating in early research and development efforts in the field of undersea warfare. Assigned to the First Submarine Flotilla in March 1907, "Shark" was stationed at the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland in the spring of 1907.

Taken to the New York Navy Yard in April 1908, the submarine torpedo boat was decommissioned there on the April 21. Loaded on board the collier USS|Caesar|AC-16, "Shark" and her sister ship USS|Porpoise|SS-7 comprised the auxiliary's deck cargo as she proceeded, via the Suez Canal, to the Philippine Islands. "Shark" was launched soon after her arrival at Cavite in July and was recommissioned on 14 August 1908.

Over the next several years, the submarine torpedo boat operated out of Cavite, interspersing training with periodic upkeep and repair work. On 17 November 1911, "Shark" was renamed "A-7".

World War I

During World War I, "A-7" and her sister ships based at Cavite and carried out patrols of the entrance to Manila Bay. In the early spring of 1917, Lt. (j.g.) Arnold Marcus assumed command of "A-7". On 24 July 1917, shortly after the submarine torpedo boat's engine had been overhauled, gasoline fumes ignited and caused an explosion and fire while in the course of a patrol in Manila Bay.

After Marcus and his men had battled the blaze, he ordered the crew topside and into the boats that had been summoned alongside. The last man to emerge from the interior of the crippled submersible, Marcus sent up distress signals to the nearby monitor USS|Monadnock|BM-3 and then took the helm himself in an attempt to beach the ship. He refused medical treatment until all his men had been attended to (six later died) and he had to be ordered to leave his post. Marcus died the next day, 25 July 1917, from the effects of the explosion and fire that had ravaged his command. The Navy recognized this young officer's selfless heroism by naming the destroyer USS|Marcus|DD-321 in his honor.

Later service

Placed in ordinary at Cavite on 1 April 1918, "A-7" was decommissioned as of 12 December 1919. Given the alphanumeric hull number SS-8 on 17 July 1920, "A-7" — initially advertised for sale in the 16th Naval District — was subsequently authorized for use as a target in 1921. She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 16 January 1922.

ee also

* USS "Shark" for other ships of the same name.

References