- USS R-9 (SS-86)
USS "R-9" (SS-86) was an "R"-class coastal and harbor defense submarine of the
United States Navy . Her keel was laid down on6 March 1918 by theFore River Shipbuilding Company,Quincy, Massachusetts . She was launched on24 May 1919 sponsored by Mrs. Irving E. Stowe, and commissioned on30 July 1919 with Lieutenant Commander Thomas Shine in command.Following fitting out and shakedown, "R-9", given
hull classification symbol SS-86 in July1920 , operated along the northeast coast primarily in theNew London, Connecticut -Newport, Rhode Island area until1924 . Ordered to the Pacific in March of that year, she arrived atPearl Harbor , her new homeport, on4 May . Operations and exercises, from individual to fleet in scope, occupied the next six and a half years and on12 December 1930 she got underway for return to the Atlantic. Retransiting thePanama Canal in mid-January1931 , she arrived atPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania , on9 February and reported for inactivation.Decommissioned
2 May 1931 , "R-9" remained at Philadelphia, berthed with the Reserve Fleet, until September1940 . Then, placed in reduced commission, she moved up the coast to New London where she completed activation and was placed in full commission14 March 1941 .Within two months "R-9" was en route to the
Caribbean Sea and duty under Commander, Panama Sea Frontier. Arriving atCoco Solo on27 May , she patrolled the approaches to the vital inter-ocean canal with SubRon 3 into October, then returned north to New London for overhaul arriving on23 May . During December she was attached to the Submarine School but, with the new year,1942 , the submarine proceeded toCasco Bay, Maine , for operational training. From midmonth on, through the U-boat offensive of1942 and early1943 , she rotated between New London andBermuda to patrol the shipping lanes which transited the Eastern Sea Frontier and the Bermuda Patrol Areas. Shifted to ASW training programs in the spring of1943 , she operated primarily in the New London area for most of the remainder ofWorld War II . In late March1945 she moved south again, trained withdestroyer s,destroyer escort s, and escort carriers offCuba and southernFlorida . Then, in mid-May, she returned to New London.On
20 September "R-9" proceeded toPortsmouth, New Hampshire , where she decommissioned25 September 1945 . Struck from theNaval Vessel Register on11 October 1945 , she was scrapped in February1946 .References
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