Editing USS R-14 (section)

===1919–1929===
After a [[shakedown cruise]] off the [[New England]] coast, ''R-14'' moved to [[New London, Connecticut|New London]], [[Connecticut]], where she prepared for transfer to the [[United States Pacific Fleet]]. In May 1920, she headed south. Given [[hull classification symbol]] "SS-91" on 17 July 1920, she transited the [[Panama Canal]] in the same month and arrived at [[Pearl Harbor]] in the [[Territory of Hawaii]] on 6 September 1920. There, for the next nine years, she assisted in the development of [[submarine warfare]] and [[anti-submarine warfare]] [[Military tactics|tactics]], and participated in [[search and rescue]] operations.

[[File:USS R-14 under sail.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Seen here are the jury-rigged sails used to bring ''R-14'' back to port in 1921; the [[mainsail]] rigged from the radio mast is the top sail in the photograph, and the [[mizzen]] made of eight blankets also is visible. ''R-14''{{'}}s acting [[commanding officer]], Lieutenant Alexander Dean Douglas, USN, is at top left, without a hat.(Source: US Naval Historical Center).<ref name="RaymondRSeuss" group="note">The man in the foreground of the photograph is [[Seaman (rank)|Seaman]] First Class Raymond R. Suess from [[Minneapolis]], [[Minnesota]]. Though the copy shown of this photo is from the [[National Archives and Records Administration|National Archives]] and in the [[public domain]], the original copy of the photograph has been in the possession of the Suess family until recently and is now in private hands. Johnston & Hedman, pg. xvii, 63</ref>]]

''R-14'' – under acting command of [[Lieutenant (navy)|Lieutenant]] Alexander Dean Douglas – ran out of [[usable fuel]] due to seawater contamination, and lost [[radio]] communications in May 1921 while on a surface search mission for the seagoing [[Tugboat|tug]] {{USS|Conestoga|AT-54|2}} about {{convert|140|nmi|lk=in|0}} southeast of the island of [[Hawaii (island)|Hawaii]].<ref>Johnston & Hedman, pg.47</ref> Since the submarine's [[electric motor]]s did not have enough [[electric battery|battery]] power to propel her to Hawaii, the ship's [[Commissioned officer|officers]] and [[chief petty officer]]s came up with a novel solution to the problem.<ref>Johnston & Hedman, pg. 53</ref> It was decided they should try to sail the submarine to the port of [[Hilo, Hawaii|Hilo]], Hawaii.  A [[foresail]] was made of eight [[hammock]]s hung from a top boom made of pipe [[Bunk bed|bunk]] frames lashed firmly together, all tied to the vertical [[kingpost]] of the [[torpedo]] loading [[Crane (machine)|crane]] forward of the submarine's [[Superstructure (ship)|superstructure]]. Seeing that this gave ''R-14'' a speed of about {{convert|1|kn|mph km/h|lk=in}}, as well as [[rudder]] control, a [[mainsail]] was made of six blankets, hung from the sturdy radio [[Mast (ship)|mast]] (the top sail in the photograph). This added {{convert|0.5|kn|mph km/h|1}} to the speed. A [[mizzen]] was then made of eight blankets hung from another top boom made of bunk frames, all tied to the vertically placed boom of the torpedo loading crane.<ref>Johnston & Hedman, pg. 56, 57</ref> This sail added another {{convert|0.5|kn|mph km/h|1}}. Around 12:30 on 12 May 1921, The crew was able to begin charging the submarine's batteries by dragging the propellers through the water while under sail. The windmill effect of these slowly turning propellers turned the generators providing a small amount of voltage that was directed to the batteries.<ref>Johnston & Hedman, pg. 59</ref> The crew worked together to solve their various problems, and the boat sailed slowly for Hilo.<ref>Johnston & Hedman, pg. 59-66</ref> After 64 hours under sail at slightly varying speeds, ''R-14'' entered [[Hilo Harbor]] under battery propulsion on the morning of 15 May 1921. Douglas received a letter of commendation for the crew's innovative actions from his submarine [[Division (naval)|division]] commander, [[Commander (United States)|Commander]] [[Chester W. Nimitz]], USN.<ref>Condensed from the logbook of USS ''R-14''. The logbook and Nimitz's letter are in the possession of Lieutenant Douglas's grandson in [[Colorado]]. (2 April 2009)</ref><ref>Johnston & Hedman, pg. 96</ref>