B class
The B class of submarines consisted of three boats - the Viper, Cuttlefish and Tarantula.
By Staff Writer
If the A class of submarines were the start of the submariner programs for the United States Navy, then the B class series were the turning point in design. Appearing like the serviceable submarines of World War 1 and World War 2, the B class fit the bill with its smooth porpoise-like profile. In essence, the B class was the last in the series of Holland class submarines that began with the original Holland design at the turn of the century, leading up to the A class.
The B class was made up of the three submarines designated Viper, Cuttlefish and Tarantula and known formally as B1, B2 and B3 respectively. The three set about in open waters as a crew trainer and patrol craft in local and international waters eventually succumbing to use as target trainers at the end of their useful life. Power was derived from a single petrol engine of some 250 horsepower. This was supplemented by the electric engine when underwater, delivering just 50 horsepower. Surface and underwater speed were quite similar and armament consisted of 2 x 457mm torpedo tubes. Four reloads were carried aboard. Crew accommodations increased to 10 personnel from the nine previously found in the A class submarines.
Conditions aboard these B classes were decidedly better than those found on the smaller Holland and A class submarines, though not by much. The definitive B class designs offered much of what was to come in terms of submarine design for the next few decades. To go along with its identifiable shape, the B class also sported a periscope in its conning tower. A second one was to be added later in its life but the stage was set for submarine design in the United States for years to come. By this time as well, the submarine now came into its own in the USN and the type was set apart from the base "Torpedo Fleet" and made into its own "Submarine Flotilla" grouping.
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Last Updated: 8/3/2008
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