USS K-3 (SS-34)
USS Orca/K-3 , also known as "Submarine No. 34", was a [United States United States K-class submarine|K-class submarine|K-class] submarine, of the United States Navy. Originally named Orca, she was the first ship in the USN named for the orca, though she was renamed K-3 prior to being laid down.
Design
The K-class boats had a length of, a beam of, and a mean draft of. They displaced, on the surface, and submerged. They had a diving depth of. The K-class submarines had a crew of 2 officers and 26 enlisted men.For surface running, the boats were powered by two NELSECO diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a electric motor. They could reach on the surface and underwater. On the surface, the boats had a range of at and at submerged.
The K-class submarines were armed with four 18 inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes in the bow. They carried four reloads, for a total of eight torpedoes.
Construction
K-3s keel was laid down on 15 January 1912, by the Union Iron Works, in San Francisco, California. Her name had changed from Orca, on 17 November 1911, she was the first US Navy ship named for the orca, another name for the killer whale. She was launched on 14 March 1914, sponsored by Mrs. Clarence Meigs Oddie, and commissioned on 30 October 1914.Service history
K-3 joined 3rd Submarine Division, Pacific Torpedo Flotilla 11, in December 1914, and operated along the California coast, developing underwater warfare tactics and coordinating the use of underseas craft with the fleet. She arrived in Hawaiian waters 14 October 1915, to perform similar exercises in the light of increasing emphasis on submarine warfare.The United States' entry into World War I placed a greater urgency on the need for experienced submariners, and K-3 was dispatched to Key West, Florida, arriving 8 January 1918. For the remainder of the war, she conducted patrols along the Florida coast, while training men in underwater techniques. K-3 continued operations along the East Coast after the war, testing new devices such as listening gear, storage batteries, and torpedoes.