Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster.
Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive

R-13 (SS-90)

Radio Call Sign: November - India - Lima - Sierra
R-1 Class Submarine: Laid down, 27 March 1918, at Fore River Shipbuilding Co., Quincy, MA.; Launched, 27 August 1919; Commissioned, USS R-13, 17 October 1919; Redesignated USS R-13 (SS-90), 17 July 1920; Decommissioned, 14 September 1945, at Philadelphia, PA.; Struck from the Naval Register, 11 October 1945; Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 13 March 1946.

Specifications: Displacement, Surfaced: 569 t., Submerged: 680 t.; Length 186' 2" ; Beam 18'; Draft 14' 6"; Speed, Surfaced 13.5 kts, Submerged 10.5 kts; Depth Limit, 200'; Complement 2 Officers, 27 Enlisted; Armament, four 21" torpedo tubes forward, 8 torpedoes, one 3"/50 deck gun; Propulsion, diesel electric engines, New England Ship and Engine Co., diesel engines, 1200hp, Fuel Capacity, 18,880 gals., Electro Dynamic Co., electric motors, twin propellers.
Click On Image
For Full Size		SizeImage DescriptionSource
R-13 NR MAN OVERBOARD" ON SUBMARINE IN DOCK LANDS ACROBAT FASHION IN CIRCUS NET
Submarine R-13 (SS-90) in drydock at Boston with life net spread underneath. The Savannah (AS-8) is in the background. When the U. S. submarine R-13 and the mother ship Savannah were placed in drydock at Boston recently the ships were covered with ice. To minimize the danger to the crew of the sub while at work on her a life net similar to that used in circuses, was stretched under the submersible. A slip on the tiny deck or sloping sides meant only a "high dive" into the net. A three-inch gun was mounted on the sub. The Savannah ia receiving a complete set of modern equipment.		 PDF Image and text provided by Indiana State Library.
Photo from The Richmond Palladium and Sun-Telegram.(Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 23 February 1920, Image 10, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
R-12, 13 & 15 76k Tied up along the dock from right to left:
R-12 (SS-89),
R-15 (SS-92) and
R-13 (SS-90) probably in Pearl Harbor, circa 1920's. 		USN photo # 19-N-10261, from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), courtesy of Daniel Dunham.
R-boats 412k Subs R U.S.
From right to left:
R-16 (SS-93),
R-18 (SS-95),
R-19 (SS-96),
R-12 (SS-89),
R-13 (SS-90),
R-11 (SS-88),
R-17 (SS-94),
R-20 (SS-97),
R-14 (SS-91) &
R-15 (SS-92)
Photo courtesy of David Wright.
R-12, 13, 15 & 9 40k Tied up along the dock from right to left:
R-12 (SS-89),
R-15 (SS-92),
R-13 (SS-90),
with R-9 (SS-86) and an unidentifed R-boat,probably in Pearl Harbor, circa mid 1920's. 		USN photo # 19-N-10257, from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), courtesy of Daniel Dunham.
Sub Base Pearl Harbor292kThe crews of Submarine Divisions 9 & 14 line the decks of their boats (20 in all) at the Submarine base at Pearl Harbor on 12 December 1930.
R-1 (SS-78),
R-2 (SS-79),
R-3 (SS-80),
R-4 (SS-81),
R-5 (SS-82),
R-6 (SS-83),
R-7 (SS-84),
R-8 (SS-85),
R-9 (SS-86),
R-10 (SS-87),
R-11 (SS-88),
R-12 (SS-89),
R-13 (SS-90),
R-14 (SS-91),
R-15 (SS-92),
R-16 (SS-93),
R-17 (SS-94),
R-18 (SS-95),
R-19 (SS-96) &
R-20 (SS-97).
All the R-boats were to leave the base where they had been serving for upwards of 8 years and transfer to the East coast to be decommissioned over the next 3 years.
The only identifiable boat is the R-16. 		USN photo by Tai Sing Loo, courtesy of E. Little.
SS 127 200k S-22 (SS-127), at New York City, circa the 1930s. Inboard submarines are (left-to-right):
R-1 (SS-78);
R-13 (SS-90) and
R-4 (SS-81). 		Text courtesy of # NH 68899.
USN photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
SS 127 383k Submarines at New York City, circa the 1930s: These "boats" are, from left-to-right:
R-11 (SS-88),
R-13 (SS-90),
R-4 (SS-81) and
S-22 (SS-127). 		Text courtesy of # NH 68898.
USN photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
SS 90105k R-13 (SS-90), returning to port. Circa 1930's. Courtesy of John Hummel & ussubvetsofwwii.org.
SS 9043kStarboard view of the R-13 (SS-90), returning to port. Circa 1930's. Courtesy of Erminio Bagnasco book, "Submarines of WW II", submitted by Aryeh Wetherhorn.
SS 9052k February 1937 - Summer 1938 photo of the Commander of the R-13 (SS-90), Mannert L. Abele and members of the boat on deck after the R-13 received the Navy's coveted "E" for excellence. USN photo courtesy of Bruce, Brad and John Abele, sons of Lieutenant Commander Mannert L. Abele, K.I.A., while commmanding the Grunion (SS-216), 30 July 1942.
SS 90171kSailors standing aboard the R-13 (SS-90), 1939. Photographer: Carl Mydans, courtesy of Life via Bill Gonyo.
090
0809008		1.14k Navy Speeds Up Training of New Crews For 114 Submarines Under Construction
Training for underseas service, sailors stand at attention as the training submarine R-13 (SS-90) puts out of New London harbor (top left). The color guard aboard the R-13 prepares to hoist the flag as the shore siren sounds at 8 a.m. The tent is to keep rain out of the deck hatchway (top right). At lower left is an interior view of the training sub showing the forward torpedo room. There are four one-ton torpedoes in the racks in addition to those in the tubes. Part of the crew sleep in hammocks in this gadget-filled room. Lower right, Seaman William Graham comes down a companionway ladder facing the wrong way, proving he’s a greenhorn in the service—but not for long. 		Image and text provided by Alaska State Library Historical Collections.
Photo & text by The Daily Alaska Empire. [volume] (Juneau, Alaska) 1926-1964, 27 December 1940, Image 3, courtesy of chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
R-13 NR The submarine R-13 (SS-90) leaving New London on a training cruise. She is one of the three 21 year-old ships used for training at the New London school. Although much smaller than the 2,000 ton submarines of present construction, she is basically the same in arrangement. Note the fins at the bow for diving control. Torpedo tubes are under water. The 3 inch deck gun is seen just forward of the conning tower. The training crew stands at attention on deck as the ship makes her way out of harbor. Image and text provided by Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
Photo & text by Evening Star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 29 December 1940, Image 91, courtesy of chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
Pompano 401k This air view of Portsmouth Navy Yard taken just after the end of WW II shows the main shipbuilding shed which enabled construction to continue unimpeded by the Maine winters. The shed was widened to add two ways in 1941, and a fifth was squeezed in a year later. Drydocks No. 1 (left) & 2 (far right) contain six fleet submarines, while three R-boats are moored in the foreground.
The Pompano (SS-491) would have been under construction in the first ways on the left hand corner of the main shipbuilding shed. 		Photo and partial text from The Fleet Submarine in the U.S. Navy: A Design and Construction History, by John D. Alden.
View the R-13 (SS-90) DANFS history entry located on the Haze Gray & Underway Web Site.
Crew Contact And Reunion Information
U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation
Fleet Reserve Association
Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
PigBoats.COM TM A Historic Look at Submarines
Back To The Main Photo IndexBack To the Submarine Index
Problems and site related matters, E-mail Webmaster
This page is created and maintained by Michael Mohl
All Pages © 1996 - 2024 NavSource History