USS S - 1 ( SS - 105 ) USS " S - 1 " ( SS - 105 ) was the lead boat of the " S " - class of submarine s of the United States Navy . The Navy had awarded contracts for the first three S - boats under the same general specifications but of different design types . " S - 1 " was what was known as a " Holland - type " , while was a " Lake - type " and a " Government - type " . " S - 1 " s prime contractor , the Electric Boat Company , subcontracted her construction to the Fore River Shipbuilding Company of Quincy , Massachusetts . Her keel was laid down on 11 December 1917 . She was launched on 26 October 1918 sponsored by Mrs . Emory S . Land , and commissioned on 5 June 1920 , with Lieutenant Commander Thomas G . Berrien in command . Service history . United States Navy . Inter - war period . " S - 1 " began her service operations in July 1920 with a cruise to Bermuda attached to Submarine Division 2 ( SubDiv 2 ) , with subsequent operations out of New London , Connecticut , cruising the New England coast until 1923 . On 2 January 1923 , she shifted to SubDiv Zero , a division created for experimental work , and conducted winter maneuvers in the Caribbean Sea . As a single - ship division , SubDiv Zero , she returned to New London in the spring to continue experimental duty . As part of a series of studies conducted by the United States Navy after World War I into the possibility of submarine - borne observation and scouting aircraft , " S - 1 " became the experimental platform for this project late in 1923 . She was altered by having a steel capsule mounted abaft the conning tower ; a cylindrical pod which could house a small collapsible seaplane , the Martin MS - 1 . After surfacing , this plane could be rolled out , quickly assembled , and launched by ballasting the sub until the deck was awash . These experiments were carried out into 1926 using the Martin - built plane , constructed of wood and fabric , and the all - metal Cox - Klemin versions , XS - 1 and XS - 2 . The first full cycle of surfacing , assembly , launching , retrieving , disassembly , and submergence took place on 28 July 1926 , on the Thames River at New London . Following the aircraft experiments , " S - 1 " served as flagship for SubDiv 2 until July 1927 , when she was transferred to SubDiv 4 . While attached to this division , she made operational cruises to the Panama Canal Zone in 1928 – 1930 , during the spring months . She visited ports at Cristobal , Canal Zone and Coco Solo , Canal Zone ; Cartagena , Colombia ; Kingston , Jamaica ; and Guantánamo Bay , Cuba , during these cruises , and spent the remaining months of those years operating along the New England coast , out of New London . January 1931 found her at Pearl Harbor . She remained there into 1937 ; first , attached to SubDiv 7 , SubRon 4 , then , from July 1932 – July 1933 , attached to Rotating Reserve SubDiv 14 . She was returned to SubDiv 7 in August , and remained with that division until departing in May 1937 for Philadelphia . " S - 1 " arrived at Philadelphia on 22 July and commenced overhaul for deactivation . She was decommissioned on 20 October . World War II . On 16 October 1940 , " S - 1 " was recommissioned at Philadelphia , Pennsylvania . She then made two cruises to Bermuda , training submariners , and returned to Philadelphia from the second cruise on 7 December 1941 . There , she prepared for transfer to Britain under the Lend - Lease program . She was decommissioned and turned over to the British on 20 April 1942 . Her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 24 June . Royal Navy . " S - 1 " served the Royal Navy as " HMS P - 552 " as a training vessel for anti - submarine warfare . In poor condition after arriving in Durban , Natal , South Africa , she was often in repair and she was declared unseaworthy in January . 1944 She was returned to the U . S . Navy at Durban on 16 October 1944 , where she was stripped of vital parts and machinery , and her hull was sold for local scrapping on 20 July 1945 and she was scrapped there on 14 September of that year .