page_title: USS S-20 (SS-125)
hierarchical_section_title: USS S-20 (SS-125)
caption_attribution_description: USS&#160;S-20&#160;(SS-125) English: United States Navy submarine off New England.
context_page_description: USS S-20 (SS-125) was a first-group S-class submarine of the United States Navy. Her keel was laid down on 15 August 1918 by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation's Fore River Shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts. She was launched on 9 June 1920 sponsored by Miss Anne Claggett Zell, and commissioned on 22 November 1922 with Lieutenant John A. Brownell in command.
  S-20 was rebuilt in 1924, with a larger bow to improve seakeeping and blisters on the upper hull to hold more fuel, but this modification was not repeated on any other members of the class. She was also used as an experimental engine test vessel, with a new high-speed geared-drive 600-horsepower MAN diesel replacing her starboard engine in 1931.
  In 1932, this new engine was replaced by a prototype diesel-electric plant. This was a MAN-type 635-horsepower 16-cylinder engine running at even higher speed, driving an electrical generator, built by General Dynamics Electric Boat and designated 16VM1. Electricity produced by the generator was used to drive a high-speed electric motor geared to the shaft; there was no direct connection between the diesel engine and the shaft.
context_section_description: USS S-20 (SS-125) was a first-group (S-1 or "Holland") S-class submarine of the United States Navy. Her keel was laid down on 15 August 1918 by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation's Fore River Shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts. She was launched on 9 June 1920 sponsored by Miss Anne Claggett Zell, and commissioned on 22 November 1922 with Lieutenant John A. Brownell in command.
  S-20 was rebuilt in 1924, with a larger bow (similar to that of the V-1 class) to improve seakeeping and blisters on the upper hull to hold more fuel, but this modification was not repeated on any other members of the class. She was also used as an experimental engine test vessel, with a new high-speed geared-drive 600-horsepower (450 kW) MAN diesel replacing her starboard engine in 1931.
  In 1932, this new engine was replaced by a prototype diesel-electric plant. This was a MAN-type 635-horsepower (474 kW) 16-cylinder engine running at even higher speed, driving an electrical generator, built by General Dynamics Electric Boat and designated 16VM1. Electricity produced by the generator was used to drive a high-speed electric motor geared to the shaft; there was no direct connection between the diesel engine and the shaft. Diesel-electric propulsion was then adopted for many U.S. submarines through World War II, starting with the 1932 Porpoise class; other navies did not follow suit until after the war.
caption: USS S-20 off New England on 26 March 1945.
exif: {}