USS Seawolf (SS-28)

USS Seawolf (SS-28) was the first submarine of the United States Navy named for a solitary fish with strong, prominent teeth and projecting tusks that give it a savage look. Her keel was laid down by Union Iron Works[?], San Francisco, California, on 22 March 1911. She was launched on 6 May 1913 sponsored by Miss Leslie J. Meakins. She was commissioned on 1 December 1913 with Lieutenant Henry M. Jensen in command, and later renamed H-1.

H-1 went aground on a tricky shoal off Santa Margarita Island[?] on 12 March 1920. Four men, including her commanding officer, Lieutenant Commander James R. Webb, were killed as they tried to reach shore. A Mare Island Naval Shipyard repair ship, USS Vestal[?] pulled the H-1 off the rocks on 24 March 1920, only to have her sink 45 minutes later in 50 feet of water. It transpired that H-1 had suffered an onboard fire and was intentionally grounded. Salvage was abandoned and she was sold for scrap the following 1 June. The purchaser never salvaged the hulk and it was lost until a diver re-discovered it in 1992.

See USS Seawolf for other submarines of this name.

General Characteristics

• Displacement: 467 tons submerged
• Length: 150 feet
• Beam: 16 feet
• Speed: 14 knots surfaced, 10.5 knots submerged
• Operating Depth: 200 feet
• Armament: four 18-inch torpedo tubes forward
• Complement: 25 men