- USS T-3 (SS-61)
USS "T-3" (SS-61/SF-3) was an "AA-1"-class
submarine in the service of theUnited States Navy originally named "AA-3".She was laid down as "AA-3" on
21 May 1917 at theFore River Shipbuilding Company yard inQuincy, Massachusetts by the Electric Boat Co. of New York, launched on24 May 1919 , sponsored by Mrs. Lilian Terhune Jordan, redesignated SF-3 on17 July 1920 , renamed "T-3" on22 September 1920 , and commissioned on7 December 1920 at theBoston Navy Yard with Lt. Comdr.Charles Milford Elder in command.The second of three ships in a program to construct long-range
reconnaissance submarines to operate with the surface fleet, "T-3" joined "T-1" inSubmarine Division 15 , Atlantic Fleet, soon after commissioning. She operated with that division — later to include "T-2" — conducting maneuvers with the Atlantic Fleet until the fall of 1922. By that time, flaws in the design and construction of the T-boats — particularly in their propulsion plants — caused them to perform poorly. The decision was made to retire all three to the reserve fleet, and "T-3" was the first to go. OnArmistice Day 1922, she was decommissioned at Hampton Roads, Virginia, and berthed at the submarine base there. Later, she was moved to Philadelphia.However, "T-3's" active service did not end there. At the time of the T-boats' decommissioning, the idea of testing German-produced diesel engines in one of them had been bantered about in Navy circles. "T-1" had originally been designated for this purpose, but funds were not then available. In 1925, when money was forthcoming, it was "T-3" that came out of mothballs for the tests. On
1 October 1925 , "T-3" was recommissioned at Philadelphia. For the following 21 months, she tested her newly installed 3,000 horsepower (2.2 MW) M.A.N. diesel engines for theBureau of Engineering . Early in the summer of 1927, she completed the tests and, on14 July 1927 , was placed out of commission at Philadelphia. After a little over three years of inactivity, her name was stricken from the Navy List on19 September 1930 . Her hulk was broken up, and the materials were sold for scrap on20 November 1930 .See also
*
List of United States Navy submarines
*List of ship launches in 1919
*List of ship commissionings in 1920
*List of ship decommissionings in 1927 References
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