U.S.S. SHARK SS-8
Class: Adder, An Original "A" Boat, Test Depth 150 feet.
Displacement: 107 tons (surfaced) 123 tons (submerged)
Dimensions: Length 63.6 feet, Beam 11.7 feet, Draft 13.8 feet.
Speed: 8.5 knots (surfaced) 7.2 knots (submerged)
Torpedo Armament: 1 Forward 18-inch Torpedo Tube
Keel laid: January 11, 1901, at Crescent Shipyard, Elizabethport, NJ.
Launched: October 1, 1901, and Sponsored by Ms. Walter S. Turpin.
Commissioned: September 25, 1903, and commanded by Lt. Charles Nelson.
Complement: Normally; 1 Officer, 6 Enlisted Men

The (alleged) 3rd USS Shark, SS-8, was a Submarine Torpedo Boat (#8); also designated as A-7. It operated locally at the Naval Torpedo Station at Newport, Rhode Island, for three and a half years, conducting firing tests with torpedoes, and participating in the early research and development efforts in the field of undersea warfare. In March, 1907, the Shark was assigned to the 1st Submarine Flotilla stationed at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.

Decommissioned April 21, 1908, at New York Navy Yard.

The USS Shark (SS-8) was loaded onto the decks of a collier, the SS Caesar, along with a sister ship, the USS Porpoise (SS-7) and taken to Cavite Navy Yard in the Philippines via the Suez Canal.


USS A-7 [ex-SHARK] (SS-8)

Recommissioned August 14, 1909, at Cavite Navy Yard.

Renamed to A-7 November 17, 1911.

Throughout the rest or her active duty the Shark continued to operate out of Cavite. During World War I she, and her sister ships based at Cavite, carried out patrols of the entrance to Manila Bay.

After a routine overhaul on July 24, 1917, gasoline fumes ignited and caused an explosion and fire while on patrol in Manila Bay. Her Captain, LTjg. Arnold Marcus, and the men battled the blaze. Marcus, the last to emerge from the Shark, sent up distress signals and took the helm in an attempt to beach the stricken submersible. He refused treatment for his wounds until after all the men had been treated. Six men died, and also Marcus died on the following day on July 25. The Navy honored Marcus's heroism by ultimately naming a destroyer after him, the USS Marcus (DD321).

The Shark was never returned to patrol duty and was listed as "Ordinary" on April 1, 1918, at Cavite, the damage being too extensive to justify repairs, until her decommissioning.

Decommissioned December 12, 1919.

The Shark was advertised for sale in the 16th Naval District, but was subsequently authorized for use as a target and was sunk off of Corregidor in 1921.

Struck from the Navy List January 16, 1922.

DISCOVERY MATERIALS

Reference Material

 Text Photos Links Shark from USN Submarine Info Book.

Reference Material

 Text From The Dictionary of Naval Fighting Ships (Vol 1A, pp4).

Reference Material

 Text Photos Links Shark appears on page 13.

Reference Material

 Text Photos Links Mostly a pictorial site.

Reference Material

 Text Fleet Archive List Notes, terms used about submarines.

Of Interest Material

 Naval Torpedo Station at Newport, and torpedo development.

Of Interest Material

 Extensive coverage of A-Boats, Torpedoes, Cavite, Manila Bay

Of Interest Material

 Cavite City, Manila Bay, Philippines.
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