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USS L-11 (SS-51)
USS L-11 (SS-51)
USS L-11 in Bantry Bay, Ireland, during World War I. "A" (for "American") has been added to her markings to distinguish her from the British submarine HMS L11.
Career US flag 48 stars
Name: USS L-11
Builder: Fore River Shipbuilding Company, Quincy, Massachusetts
Laid down: 17 February 1915
Launched: 16 May 1916
Commissioned: 15 August 1916
Decommissioned: 28 November 1923
Fate: Scrapped, 28 November 1933
General characteristics
Type: L class submarine
Displacement: 450 long tons (457 t) surfaced
548 long tons (557 t) submerged
Length: 167 ft 5 in (51.03 m)
Beam: 17 ft 5 in (5.31 m)
Draft: 13 ft 7 in (4.14 m)
Propulsion: Diesel-electric
Speed: 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) surfaced
10.5 knots (19.4 km/h; 12.1 mph) submerged
Complement: 28 officers and men
Armament: • 4 × 18 in (457 mm) torpedo tubes, 8 torpedoes
• 1 × 3"/23 caliber deck gun

USS L-11 (SS-51) was an L-class submarine of the United States Navy. L-11 was laid down on 17 February 1915 by Fore River Shipbuilding Company of Quincy, Massachusetts. She was launched on 16 May 1916 sponsored by Miss Mary Richards Latimer, and commissioned 15 August 1916, Lieutenant, junior grade W. R. Carter in command.

Service history[]

NH-60252 L-class submarines in British water, 1918

L-class submarines USS L-3 (SS-42), USS L-11, USS L-10 (SS-50), USS L-4 (SS-43), and USS L-9 (SS-49) alongside their submarine tender in British waters in 1918. The "A" (for "American") was added to avoid confusion with British L-class submarines.

Assigned to the Atlantic Submarine Flotilla, L-11 operated along the East Coast developing new techniques of undersea warfare until April 1917. After the United States's entry into World War I, submarines were needed to protect Allied shipping lanes to Europe, and L-11 departed Boston, Massachusetts on 4 December to undertake the task. Following a period of patrol and repair in the Azores, the submarine arrived Ireland in mid-February 1918 to Join Submarine Division 5 (SubDiv 5) in anti-submarine patrol off the British Isles. For the next nine months, she ranged shipping lanes, sighting enemy U-boats on three occasions. On 11 May, she made a torpedo attack on an enemy submarine with inconclusive results.

After the Armistice with Germany, L-11 operated out of the Isle of Portland, England, until 3 January 1919 when she sailed for the United States. Arriving Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 1 February, she operated off the East Coast for the next four years developing submarine warfare tactics. L-11 decommissioned at Hampton Roads, Virginia, on 28 November 1923, and was scrapped on 28 November 1933.

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All or a portion of this article consists of text from Wikipedia, and is therefore Creative Commons Licensed under GFDL.
The original article can be found at USS L-11 (SS-51) and the edit history here.
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