USS O-12 (SS-73)

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USS O-12 (SS-73) was an O-class submarine of the United States Navy. Her keel was laid down on 6 March 1916 by the Lake Torpedo Boat Company in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

The later O-boats (O-11 through O-16) were designed by Lake Torpedo Boat to different specifications from the earlier ones designed by Electric Boat. They performed much less well, and are sometimes considered a separate class.

O-12 was launched on 29 September 1917, sponsored by Mrs. Homer S. Cummings, and commissioned on 18 October 1918 with Lieutenant Commander J.E. Austin in command.

Military career

O-12 spent much of her career as a unit of Submarine Division 1, based at Coco Solo, Panama Canal Zone. In 1921, she was awarded a Battle Efficiency Pennant and trophy for gunnery (gun and torpedo). She decommissioned on 17 June 1924 after just five and a half years of service, and was placed in reserve at the Philadelphia Navy Yard.

Nautilus Arctic Expedition

Struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 29 July 1930, ex-O-12 transferred to the United States Shipping Board for conversion by the Philadelphia Navy Yard. She was leased at the rate of one dollar per year to Lake and Dannenhower, Inc., of Bridgeport, Connecticut, for use on Hubert Wilkins's and Lincoln Ellsworth's Arctic Expedition of geophysical investigation. The lease required that she either be returned to the Navy for disposal, or scuttled in at least 1200 feet (370 meters) of water.

On 24 March 1931, she was re-christened Nautilus. As Prohibition prevented the use of an alcoholic beverage, she was baptised not with the traditional champagne but rather with a bucket of ice cubes.

Simon Lake equipped Nautilus with several clever devices for under-ice operations. One was a mechanical probe, much like a trolley pole, that would scrape along the bottom of the ice cap to indicate how much clearance the submarine had below the ice. Others included drills supposedly capable of cutting through 13 feet (four meters) of ice to reach fresh air. These innovations were tested only cursorily before the boat put to sea.

On 4 June 1931, Nautilus with her crew of 20 men commanded by Captain Sloan Danenhower began the crossing from New York City to Plymouth, England, the first leg of the voyage that was planned to take them up the coasts of the North Sea to Spitsbergen and conclude with a dramatic rendezvous at the North Pole with Graf Zeppelin. On that first leg, however, Nautilus encountered a violent storm. Both engines failed, leaving the boat adrift. She was rescued and towed to England by USS Wyoming (BB-32) where she was repaired.

On 5 August, very late in the year to begin an Arctic expedition, Nautilus began making her way through the English Channel and along the Norwegian coast. Another storm again damaged the boat, carrying away her bridge and giving her a permanent list, but after a stop in Tromsø on 11 August, she successfully raised Spitsbergen, and Wilkins allowed but a single day for repairs.

The crew carried out the planned scientific experiments as they pushed on northward, but thick pack ice hindered their progress. The boat was ill-equipped to deal with the extreme cold, lacking insulation and heaters. The fresh water system froze and the hull developed slow leaks.

After ten days, Nautilus reached 82°N, the farthest north any vessel had reached under its own power, and preparations began to dive and proceed under the ice. However, the boat refused to respond; the stern planes had been carried away at some unknown earlier time. Without them, the submarine could not control its depth while submerged, and the expedition had to be aborted.

On 31 August, under financial pressure from Hearst, who indicated by telegraph that Wilkins would not be paid if he did not continue, Wilkins ordered the submarine onward. Captain Danenhower ordered Nautilus trimmed down by the bow, and deliberately rammed an ice flow in an attempt to force the boat under. The maneuver worked in that Nautilus submerged, and became the first submarine to operate under the polar ice cap. However, her unconventional method of diving caused significant damage to her upper works. She was out of radio contact for days, was presumed lost, and rescue efforts were planned. In fact, she had actually traveled only a short distance under the ice before resurfacing through a polynya, but her radios had been badly damaged, requiring days to repair.

The scientific crew continued their experiments, and their findings became the first paper published by the Wood's Hole Oceanographic Institution. On 20 September, Nautilus returned to Spitsbergen, alive and with invaluable data, but considered a failure by Hearst, who carried out his threat and refused to pay for the expedition.

Ultimate Fate

Following the expedition, O-12 was returned to the Navy Department. On 30 November 1931 she was towed three miles down a Norwegian fjord outside Bergen and scuttled in 1138 feet (347 meters) of water. In 1981 Norwegian divers found her wreck.

In 1959, USS Skate (SSN-578) was the second submarine to reach the North Pole. Her crew conducted a tribute to Sir George Hubert Wilkins and scattered his ashes over the North Pole.

See USS Nautilus and ships named Nautilus for other ships of this name.

References

This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

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