USS X-1

25.4 t

15.1 m

2.13 m

1.88 m

4

Walter Drive Diesel engine (58 kW) Electric motor (11,2 kW) 1 screw with 5 leaves

15 kn

X -1 ( sometimes referred to as USS X-1) was the name of the only small submarine of the U.S. Navy. It entered service in 1955.

The development of the boat began in the early 1950s when the Fairchild Engine Division. The goal of the information required by the U.S. Navy project was to examine the possibilities of leakage of small submarines in ports and to develop and test defenses. The developed boat was 15.1 m long and weighed 25.4 tonnes. It could dive 60 meters deep and was powered by a Walter turbine with hydrogen peroxide, in addition, a diesel -electric drive was available.

The keel of the boat was on June 8, 1954 in Deer Park takes on Long Iceland. The launching was on September 7, 1955, one month later the boat in New London ( Connecticut ) was placed at the service of the Navy. Then found numerous patrol car instead of by boat. On May 20, 1957, an explosion of the tank for hydrogen peroxide occurred. As a result, the Walter drive was removed, the boat was only diesel-electric first and has been temporarily disabled on December 2 of the year. Until 1960, it was overtaken in Philadelphia and in December of the same year in Annapolis (Maryland) stationed, from where it hydrographic for the Naval Research Laboratory research in the Chesapeake Bay undertook in the coming years. On February 16, 1973, the boat was decommissioned and initially issued on the grounds of the North Severn Naval Base at Annapolis; In April 2001, a transfer to the U.S. Navy Submarine Force Museum in Groton (Connecticut).

Rear view

Swell

• Norbert Gierschner: submersibles, Inter Press / VEB Verlag for Transportation, Berlin 1980

• Page with a short outline of the history and numerous photos (English)
• Historic Naval Ships: USS X -1 ( English)

• Military submarine (United States)
• Research submarine
• Miniature submarine