USS Plunger (SS-2)

USS Plunger in 1902
History
United States
NamePlunger
NamesakeA diver or daring gambler
BuilderCrescent Shipyard, Elizabeth, New Jersey
Laid down21 May 1901
Launched1 February 1902
Sponsored byMiss Ernestine Wardwell
Commissioned19 September 1903
Decommissioned3 November 1905
Recommissioned23 February 1907
RenamedA-1 (Submarine Torpedo Boat No.2), 17 November 1911
Stricken24 February 1913
Identification
FateSold for scrapping, 26 January 1922
General characteristics
Class & typePlunger-class submarine
Displacement
  • 107 long tons (109 t) surfaced
  • 123 long tons (125 t) submerged
Length63 ft 10 in (19.46 m)
Beam11 ft 11 in (3.63 m)
Draft10 ft 7 in (3.23 m)
Installed power
  • 160 bhp (120 kW) surfaced
  • 150 bhp (110 kW) submerged
Propulsion
Speed
  • kn (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) surfaced
  • 7 kn (13 km/h; 8.1 mph) submerged
Test depth150 ft (46 m)
Complement
  • 1 officer
  • 6 enlisted
Armament1 × 17.7 in (450 mm) "18-in" torpedo tube (5 torpedoes)

USS Plunger/A-1 (SS-2) was one of the earliest submarines of the United States Navy. She was the lead boat of Plunger class and later renamed A-1 when she was designated an A-type submarine. She is not to be confused with the experimental submarine Plunger (1897) which was evaluated by the US Navy from 1898 to 1900, but not accepted or commissioned.