The Early Years

At the dawn of the new century, prominent American naval leaders recognized the submarine as a real threat to international surface forces and persuaded the U.S. Navy to acquire its first submarine.  Two inventors, John P. Holland and Simon Lake, were among those who competed their designs.  John P. Holland won the design competition and on April 11, 1900 sold his newest model, HOLLAND VI, to the U.S. Navy for $150,000.  This 64-ton submarine, commissioned as USS HOLLAND (later assigned the designation SS-1), was equipped with an Otto-type gasoline engine for surface running and electric motors for submerged operations.  Due to the volatility of gasoline, American submersible designs soon adopted the diesel engine in 1909.

General Characteristics, Holland "A" Class

Builders:  Crestent Shipyard, Elizabethport, NJ; Union Iron Works, San Francisco, CA.

Power Plant: Gasoline engine (surfaced); electric motor and batteries (submerged)

Length: 63.4 feet

Beam: 11.9 feet

Displaceent: 120 tons

Speed: 6 knots

Crew: 1 Officer, 6 Enlisted

Armament: One 18-inch torpedo tube, Three Whitehead torpedoes

Ships:

Plunger, A-1 (SS-2)

Adder, A-2 (SS-3)

Grampus, A-3 (SS-4)

Moccasin, A-4 (SS-5)

Pike, A-5 (SS-6)

Porpoise, A-6 (SS-7)

Shark, A-7 (SS-8)

John P. Holland, inventor of the first U.S. Navy commissioned submarine Holland VI, stands topside of his creation, commissioned USS Holland (SS-1) on October 12, 1900. (US Navy Photo)

Related Pages

Grampus and Pike

Holland Class

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California Cener for Military History