Editing USS R-14

{{Short description|United States Navy submarine}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin
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{{Infobox ship image
| Ship image = [[File:USS R-14 underway.jpg|300px|Underway, probably during trials in late 1919 or early 1920. Note that her deck gun has not yet been installed.]]
| Ship caption = USS ''R-14'' underway, probably during [[sea trials]] in late 1919 or early 1920. Her [[deck gun]] has not yet been installed.
}}
{{Infobox ship career
| Hide header =
| Ship country = United States
| Ship flag = {{USN flag|1945}}
| Ship name = USS ''R-14''
| Ship namesake =
| Ship ordered = 29 August 1916
| Ship builder = [[Fore River Shipbuilding]], [[Quincy, Massachusetts]]
| Ship laid down = 6 November 1918
| Ship launched = 10 October 1919
| Ship acquired =
| Ship commissioned = 24 December 1919
| Ship decommissioned = 7 May 1945
| Ship in service =
| Ship out of service =
| Ship struck = 19 May 1945
| Ship renamed =
| Ship homeport =
| Ship motto =
| Ship nickname =
| Ship honors =
| Ship fate = *Sold 28 September 1945
*Scrapped 1946
| Ship notes =
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
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| Header caption =
| Ship type = [[United States R class submarine|''R''-class]] [[submarine]]
| Ship displacement = *{{convert|569|LT|t|abbr=on}} surfaced
* {{convert|680|LT|t|abbr=on}} submerged
| Ship length = {{convert|186|ft|2|in|m|abbr=on}}
| Ship beam = {{convert|18|ft|m|abbr=on}}
| Ship draft = {{convert|14|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}}
| Ship power = *{{convert|880|hp|kW|abbr=on}} (diesel engines)
* {{convert|934|hp|kW|abbr=on}} (electric motors)
| Ship propulsion = *[[Diesel-electric]]; [[diesel engine]]s
* [[electric motor]]s
| Ship speed = *{{convert|13.5|kn|mph km/h|lk=in|abbr=on}} surfaced
* {{convert|10.5|kn|mph km/h|abbr=on}} submerged
* {{convert|2|kn|mph km/h|abbr=on}} sail
| Ship range = *{{convert|3700|nmi|mi km|lk=in|abbr=on}} at {{convert|10|kn|mph km/h|abbr=on}} surfaced
* {{convert|160|nmi|mi km|abbr=on}} at {{convert|10|kn|mph km/h|abbr=on}} submerged
| Ship test depth = {{convert|200|ft|m|abbr=on}}
| Ship complement = 2 officers and 27 men
| Ship armament = *4 × [[American 21-inch torpedo|21-inch (533 mm)]] bow [[torpedo tube]]s (8 [[torpedo]]es)
* 1 × [[3"/50 caliber gun|{{convert|3|in|mm|abbr=on}}/50 cal]] [[deck gun]]
| Ship notes =
}}
|}

'''USS ''R-14'' (SS-91)''' was an [[United States R class submarine|''R''-class coastal and harbor defense submarine]] of the [[United States Navy]].

==Construction and commissioning==
''R-14''′s [[keel]] was [[Keel-laying|laid down]] by the [[Fore River Shipbuilding Company]], in [[Quincy, Massachusetts]], on 6 November 1918. She was [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 10 October 1919, sponsored by Ms. Florence L. Gardner, and [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 24 December 1919.

==Service history==

===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>

===1930–1946===
On 12 December 1930, ''R-14'' departed Pearl Harbor for the last time and headed back to the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]]. Proceeding via [[San Diego, California|San Diego]], [[California]], and the Panama Canal, she returned to New London on 9 February 1931, and through the end of the 1930s conducted training exercises for the Submarine School. In the spring of 1941, she moved down the [[East Coast of the United States]] to [[Key West, Florida]], her [[home port]] as of 1 June 1941. In the fall of 1941, she returned to New London for overhaul and on 22 November 1941 resumed operations from Key West. Into April 1945, she conducted training exercises for the Sound School and patrolled the [[Yucatán Channel]] and the [[Florida Straits]]. On 29 June 1943, [[United States Army Coast Artillery Corps]] guns at [[Fort Zachary Taylor]] mistook ''R-14'' for a German [[U-boat]] and opened fire on her while she was off Key West, but she suffered no damage.<ref>Hinman & Campbell, p. 166.</ref>

On 25 April 1945, ''R-14'' departed Key West and headed north, and in early May 1945 she arrived at [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]]. She was [[Ship decommissioning|decommissioned]] on 7 May 1945, struck from the [[Naval Vessel Register]] on 19 May 1945, and sold on 28 September 1945 to [[Rossoff Brothers]] of [[New York City]]. She was later resold to the [[Northern Metals]] Company of Philadelphia and was scrapped in 1946.

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=note}}

==References==
===Citations===
{{reflist}}
* {{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/r/r-14.html}}
===Bibliography===
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=hkupDwAAQBAJ&dq=LApon+raton&pg=PA181 Hinman, Charles R., and Douglas E. Campbell. ''The Submarine Has No Friends: Friendly Fire Incidents Involving U.S. Submarines During World War II''. Syneca Research Group, Inc., 2019.] {{ISBN|978-0-359-76906-3}}.
* Johnston, David L., and Hedman, Ric. ''A Good and Favorable Wind: The Unusual Story of a Submarine Under Sail and its Cautionary Lessons for the Modern Navy''. Nimble Books LLC, 2022. {{ISBN|978-1-60888-200-7}}

==External links==
* {{navsource|08/08091|USS R-14}}
* [https://images.google.com/images?q=R14+source:life 1939 Photos of ''R-14'' from Life Magazine]{{dead link|date=August 2021}}
* [http://pigboats.com/subs/r-boats.html R Boats] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006205013/http://pigboats.com/subs/r-boats.html |date=6 October 2014 }} at PigBoats.com

{{United States R class submarine}}
{{1921 shipwrecks}}
{{June 1943 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:R-14 (Ss-91)}}
[[Category:Ships built in Quincy, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:United States R-class submarines]]
[[Category:World War II submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:1919 ships]]
[[Category:United States submarine accidents]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1921]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in June 1943]]
[[Category:Friendly fire incidents of World War II]]