USS H-8 (SS-151)


USS H-8 was a H-class submarine originally built for the Imperial Russian Navy. Six of these were not delivered pending the outcome of the Russian Revolution of 1917 before being purchased by the United States Navy on 20 May 1918.

Description

The H-class submarines had a length of overall, a beam of and a mean draft of. They displaced on the surface and submerged. The boats had a crew of 2 officers and 23 enlisted men. They had a diving depth of.
For surface running, they were powered by two New London Ship & Engine Co. diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a Electro Dynamic Co. electric motor. They could reach on the surface and underwater. On the surface, the boats had a range of at and at submerged.
The boats were armed with four 18 inch torpedo tubes in the bow. They carried four reloads, for a total of eight torpedoes.

Construction and career

H-8 was launched on 14 November 1918, three days after the signing of the Armistice with Germany, and commissioned on 18 November 1918 with Lieutenant Commander Ralph W. Holt in command.
From there she sailed to San Pedro, California, where she was attached first to Submarine Divisions 6 and 7. Operating with her sister ships, H-8 engaged in extensive battle and training exercises out of San Pedro, varying this routine with patrols off Santa Catalina Island.
In August 1919, H-8 played the part of in the silent film Behind the Door, which starred Wallace Beery, Jane Novak, and Hobart Bosworth.
In company with SubDivs 6 and 7, and tender, H-8 departed San Pedro on 25 July 1922 and arrived in Norfolk, Virginia on 14 September. She decommissioned there on 17 November. Her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 26 February 1931. She was sold for scrapping on 28 November 1933.