SS X-1

X-1 (or SS X-1)[1] was the United States Navy's only midget submarine (but see the NR-1 Deep Submergence Craft), designed under project SCB 65, laid down on 8 June 1954, at Deer Park, Long Island, New York, by the Engine Division of Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation, launched on 7 September 1955, at Oyster Bay, Long Island, by Jakobson Shipyard; delivered to the Navy on 6 October at New London, Connecticut, and placed in service on 7 October 1955, with Lieutenant Kevin Hanlon in command.

History
United States
Name: USS X-1
Builder: Fairchild Aircraft, East Farmingdale Long Island, New York
Laid down: 8 June 1954
Launched: 7 September 1955
Commissioned: (never commissioned)
In service: 7 October 1955
Out of service: 2 December 1957
In service: December 1960
Out of service: 16 February 1973
Fate: Museum ship
General characteristics
Type: Midget submarine
Displacement:
  • 36.3 long tons (37 t) submerged
  • 31.5 long tons (32 t) surfaced
Length: 49 ft 6 in (15.09 m)
Beam: 7 ft (2.1 m)
Draft: 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Propulsion:
Complement: 10
Armament: None
X-1 Midget Submarine on display at the Submarine Force Library and Museum
The stern section of X-1

Service history

X-1 served in a research capacity in rigorous and extensive tests to assist the Navy to evaluate its ability to defend harbors against very small submarines. Further tests conducted with the X-1 helped to determine the offensive capabilities and limitations of this type of submersible.[2]

X-1 was originally powered by a hydrogen peroxide/diesel engine and battery system, but an explosion of her hydrogen peroxide supply on 20 May 1957 resulted in the craft's modification to accept a diesel-electric drive. On 2 December 1957, X-1 was taken out of service and deactivated at Philadelphia.

Towed to Annapolis, Maryland, in December 1960, X-1 was reactivated and attached to Submarine Squadron 6 and based at the Small Craft Facility of the Severn River Command for experimental duties in Chesapeake Bay. In tests conducted under the auspices of the Naval Research Laboratory, X-1 performed for scientists who observed her operations from a platform suspended beneath the Bay Bridge, to learn more about the properties and actions of sea water.

Remaining in an active, in-service, status through January 1973, X-1 was again taken out of service on 16 February 1973, and, on 26 April, was transferred to the Naval Ship Research and Development Center, Annapolis. On 9 July 1974, the submersible was slated for use as a historical exhibit; and she was subsequently placed on display on the grounds of the Naval Station complex, North Severn, near Annapolis. In 2001, X-1 was transferred to the Submarine Force Museum in Groton, Connecticut where it is on display in front of the main exhibit building.

References
  1. "SS X-1". Historic Naval Ships Association. Archived from the original on 18 August 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
  2. "Navy Tests First Midget Submarine As Close In Weapon. Popular Mechanics, February 1956, p. 124, bottom of page.
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