USS B-2

{{Infobox ship |section1={{Infobox ship/image |image=USS B-2 off Cavite Navy Yard, circa 1913-1917.jpg |image_caption=USS ''B-2'' ex-''Viper'', off Cavite Navy Yard, the Philippines, {{circa}} 1913-1917 }}

|section2={{Infobox ship/career |hide_header= |country=United States |flag={{USN flag|1922}} |name= ''Cuttlefish'' |namesake= The cuttlefish |ordered= |builder= Fore River Shipbuilding Company, Quincy, Massachusetts |original_cost= $187,982.32 (hull and machinery){{sfn|Navy List|1921|p=762}} |laid_down= 30 August 1905 |launched= 1 September 1906 |sponsor= Ms. Eleanor Gow |commissioned= 18 October 1907 |decommissioned= 30 November 1909 }}

|section3={{Infobox ship/career |hide_header=yes |recommissioned= 15 April 1910 |decommissioned= 4 December 1912 }}

|section4={{Infobox ship/career |hide_header=yes |recommissioned= 2 August 1913 |decommissioned= 12 December 1919 |struck= 17 January 1922 |renamed= ''B-2'' (Submarine Torpedo Boat No.11), 17 November 1911 |identification=*Hull symbol: SS-11 (17 July 1920) *Call sign: NDX *{{ICS|November}}{{ICS|Delta}}{{ICS|X-ray}} |fate= Sunk as a target |notes= }}

|section5={{Infobox ship/characteristics |hide_header= |header_caption= {{sfn|Mohl}} |class=B-class submarine |displacement=* {{cvt|145|LT|lk=in}} surfaced * {{cvt|173|LT}} submerged |length= {{cvt|82|ft|5|in}} |beam= {{cvt|12|ft|6|in}} |draft= {{cvt|10|ft|7|in}} |power=* {{cvt|250|bhp|lk=in}} surfaced * {{cvt|150|bhp}} submerged |propulsion=*1 × Craig Shipbuilding Company gasoline engine * 1 × Electro Dynamic electric motor * 60-cell battery *1 × shaft |speed=*{{cvt|9|kn|lk=in}} surfaced *{{cvt|8|kn}} submerged |range=* {{cvt|540|nmi|lk=in}} at 9 kn surfaced *{{cvt|12|nmi}} at {{cvt|4|kn}} submerged |test_depth= {{cvt|150|ft}} |complement=* 1 officer * 9 enlisted |armament=2 × 18 inch (450 mm) bow torpedo tubes (4 torpedoes) |notes= }} }}

'''USS ''Cuttlefish/B-2'' (SS-11)''', also known as "Submarine Torpedo Boat No. 11", was one of three B-class submarines built for the United States Navy (USN) in the first decade of the 20th century. She was the first ship of the USN to be named for the cuttlefish, a 10-armed marine mollusk similar to the squid. Used primarily for training, she was transported to the Philippines, in 1913. During WWI she patrolled the waters around the Philippines.

==Design== The B-class submarines, also known as the ''Viper''-class, were enlarged versions of the preceding {{sclass|Plunger|submarine|0}}. They had a length of {{cvt|82|ft|5|in}} overall, a beam of {{cvt|12|ft|6|in}}, and a mean draft of {{cvt|10|ft|7|in}}. They displaced {{cvt|145|LT|lk=in}} on the surface and {{cvt|173|LT}} submerged. The B-class boats had a crew of one officer and nine enlisted men. They had a diving depth of {{convert|150|ft|1}}.{{sfn|Friedman|1995|p=306}}

For surface running, they were powered by one {{convert|240|bhp|lk=in|adj=on}} gasoline engine that drove the single propeller shaft. When submerged the propeller was driven by a {{convert|115|hp|adj=on}} electric motor.{{sfn|Friedman|1995|p=306}} The boats could reach {{cvt|9|kn|lk=in}} on the surface and {{cvt|8|kn}} underwater. On the surface, they had a range of {{cvt|540|nmi|lk=in}} at 9 kn and {{cvt|12|nmi}} at {{cvt|4|kn}} submerged.{{sfn|Gardiner|Gray|1985|p=127}}

The B-class boats were armed with two 18 inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes in the bow. They carried two reloads, for a total of four torpedoes.{{sfn|Gardiner|Gray|1985|p=127}}

==Construction== ''Cuttlefish'' was laid down 30 August 1905, in Quincy, Massachusetts, by the Fore River Shipbuilding Company, under a subcontract from Electric Boat Company, of New Suffolk, Long Island. ''Cuttlefish'' was launched on 1 September 1906, sponsored by Miss Eleanor Gow; the boat was commissioned on 18 October 1907.{{sfn|DANFS|2016}}

==Service history== ''Cuttlefish'' reported to the Second Submarine Flotilla, Atlantic Fleet. She operated along the Atlantic coast, running experiments, testing machinery and equipment, and conducting extensive training exercises until going into reserve at Charleston Navy Yard, on 30 November 1909. Recommissioned on 15 April 1910, she served with the Atlantic Torpedo Fleet until joining the Reserve Torpedo Group, at Charleston Navy Yard, on 9 May 1911. The boat was renamed ''B-2'' on 17 November.{{sfn|DANFS|2016}}

''B-2'' remained in reserve until placed out of commission, on 4 December 1912. On 6 December, she was towed to Norfolk Navy Yard, and loaded onto the collier {{USS|Ajax|AG-15|2}}, along with her sister ship {{USS|B-3|SS-12|2}}, for transfer to the Asiatic Station. Sailing via North Atlantic, the Mediterranean Sea, the Suez Canal, and the Indian Ocean, ''Ajax'' arrived at Cavite, in the Philippine Islands, on 30 April 1913, and ''B-2'' was launched on 12 May. She was recommissioned on 2 August, and assigned to the Torpedo Flotilla, Asiatic Fleet.{{sfn|DANFS|2016}}

During ensuing operations, she had close brushes with disaster. While the submarine was running submerged to conduct a battery test, soon after arriving in the Philippines, her commander suddenly observed through her periscope the grey side of a ship cross ''B-2''{{'}}s bow. He dove immediately to avoid a collision, but the submarine's periscope struck an Army ferry on a run from Corregidor to Manila. Although the mishap mangled the periscope rather severely, neither vessel suffered significant damage.{{sfn|DANFS|2016}}

After World War I erupted in Europe during the summer of 1914, ''B-2''{{'}}s duties were expanded to include patrols to enforce the neutrality of Philippine waters. She also continued to help devise and improve the techniques of submarine operations.{{sfn|DANFS|2016}}

==Fate== Her service in the Philippines lasted through the Armistice, though her active career ended 19 months beyond the end of the Great War. ''B-2'' was decommissioned on 12 December 1919, and she was subsequently sunk as a target during destroyer gunnery drills conducted off the entrance to Manila Bay. Her name was struck from the Navy list on 17 January 1922.

==References== {{reflist}}

==Bibliography== {{refbegin}} * {{cite journal |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=mZEqAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA762 |title= Table 21 - Ships on Navy List June 30, 1919 |journal= Congressional Serial Set |publisher= U.S. Government Printing Office |year= 1921 |page= 762 |ref= {{sfnRef|Navy List|1921}} }} * {{cite web |last= Mohl |first= Michael |title= Cuttlefish / B-2 (SS-11) |url= https://www.navsource.net/archives/08/08011.htm |website= Navsource.net |access-date= 15 September 2025 }} * {{cite book |last= Friedman |first= Norman |author-link= Norman Friedman |title= U.S. Submarines Through 1945: An Illustrated Design History |publisher= Naval Institute Press |location= Annapolis, Maryland |year= 1995 |isbn=1-55750-263-3 }} * {{cite book |editor1-last= Gardiner |editor1-first= Robert |editor2-last= Gray |editor2-first= Randal |title= Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921 |year= 1985 |location= Annapolis, Maryland |publisher= Naval Institute Press |isbn=0-85177-245-5 |name-list-style= amp }} * {{cite DANFS |last= |first= |title= B-2 (Submarine Torpedo Boat No. 11) |url= https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/b/b-2.html |date= 1 September 2016 |access-date= 15 September 2025 |ref= {{sfnRef|DANFS|2016}} }}{{PD-notice}} {{refend}}

==Further reading== *{{cite journal |last1=Eger|first1=Christopher L.|title=Hudson Fulton Celebration, Part II |journal=Warship International|date=March 2021|volume=LVIII |issue=1 |pages=58–81 |issn=0043-0374}} *{{cite journal|last1=Wright|first1=C. C.|title=Question 40/02: Submarines Expended as Targets 1922 |journal=Warship International |date=2003|volume=XL|issue=4|pages=286–298 |issn=0043-0374}}

==External links== {{commons category|USS B-2 (SS 11) (submarine, 1907)}} *{{navsource|08/08011}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:B-02 (SS-11)}} Category:United States B-class submarines Category:World War I submarines of the United States Category:Ships sunk as targets Category:Shipwrecks in Manila Bay Category:Ships built in Quincy, Massachusetts Category:1907 ships