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| 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) |
| Armament: |
1 Forward 18-inch Torpedo Tube |
| Keel laid: |
January 11, 1901, at Crescent Shipyard, Elizabethport, NJ |
| Launched: |
October 1, 1901, Sponsored by Ms. Walter S. Turpin. |
| Commissioned: |
September 25, 1903, Commanded by Lt. Charles Nelson. |
| Complement: |
Normally; 1 Officer, 6 Enlisted Men |
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The 3rd Recorded USS Shark,
SS-8, was a Submarine Torpedo Boat (#8); later re-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.
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| Decommissioned April 21, 1908, at New York Navy Yard. |
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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.
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| U.S.S. A-7 [ SHARK ] (SS-8) |
Re-commissioned August 14, 1909, at Cavite Navy Yard.
Renamed to A-7 November 17, 1911 |
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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
"In Ordinary" on April 1, 1918, at Cavite, the damage being too extensive to
justify repairs, until her decommissioning.
(In naval matters, vessels "In Ordinary" (from the eighteenth century) are those out
of service for repair or maintenance, a meaning coming over time to cover a reserve fleet
or "mothballed" ships.)
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| Decommissioned (again) December 12, 1919, at Cavite Navy Yard. |
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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.
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Struck From the Navy List July 11, 1990.
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