# USS H-1

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For other ships named USS Seawolf, see [USS Seawolf (disambiguation)](/source/USS_Seawolf_(disambiguation)).

**USS *Seawolf/H-1* (SS-28)**, also known as "Submarine No. 28", was the [lead ship](/source/Lead_ship) of [her class](/source/United_States_H-class_submarine) of [submarine](/source/Submarine) of the [United States Navy](/source/United_States_Navy) (USN). She was the first ship of the USN to be named for the [seawolf](/source/Seawolf_(fish)), though she was renamed *H-1* prior to launching.

## Design

The H-class submarines had an [overall length](/source/Length_overall) of 150 ft 4 in (45.8 m), a [beam](/source/Beam_(nautical)) of 15 ft 10 in (4.8 m), and a mean [draft](/source/Draft_(ship)) of 12 ft 5 in (3.8 m). They [displaced](/source/Displacement_(ship)) 358 long tons (364 t) on the surface and 467 long tons (474 t) submerged. They had a diving depth of 200 ft (61.0 m). The boats had a crew of 2 officers and 23 enlisted men.[2]

For surface running, they were powered by two [New London Ship & Engine Company](/source/New_London_Ship_and_Engine_Company) 475-horsepower (354-kilowatt) [diesel engines](/source/Diesel_engine), each driving one [propeller shaft](/source/Propeller_shaft). When submerged each [propeller](/source/Propeller) was driven by two 170-horsepower (127-kilowatt) [Electro-Dynamic Company](/source/Electro-Dynamic_Company) [electric motors](/source/Electric_motor). They could reach 14 kn (26 km/h; 16 mph) on the surface and 10.5 kn (19.4 km/h; 12.1 mph) underwater.[2] On the surface, the boats had a range of 2,300 nmi (4,300 km; 2,600 mi) at 11 kn (20 km/h; 13 mph) and 100 nmi (190 km; 120 mi) at 5 kn (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) submerged.[3]

The boats were armed with four [18-inch (450 mm)](/source/American_18-inch_torpedo) [torpedo tubes](/source/Torpedo_tube) in the bow. They carried four reloads, for a total of eight torpedoes.[3]

## Construction

*Seawolf'*s [keel](/source/Keel) was [laid down](/source/Laid_down), on 22 March 1911, by the [Union Iron Works](/source/Union_Iron_Works), of [San Francisco](/source/San_Francisco), California. She was renamed, *H-1*, on 17 November 1911, and [launched](/source/Ship_naming_and_launching) on 6 May 1913, sponsored by Miss Lesley Jean Makins. *H-1* was [commissioned](/source/Ship_commissioning) at [Mare Island Navy Yard](/source/Mare_Island_Navy_Yard), on 1 December 1913.[4]

## Service history

The new submarine was attached to the 2nd Torpedo Flotilla, [Pacific Fleet](/source/United_States_Pacific_Fleet), and operated along the [West Coast](/source/West_Coast_of_the_United_States), out of [San Pedro](/source/San_Pedro,_Los_Angeles), California. During various exercises and patrols, she traveled the coast from [Los Angeles](/source/Los_Angeles) to lower [British Columbia](/source/British_Columbia), often in company with her [sister ships](/source/Sister_ship) [USS *H-2*](/source/USS_H-2_(SS-29)) and sometimes [USS *H-3*](/source/USS_H-3_(SS-30)).[4]

Sailing from San Pedro, on 17 October 1917, she reached [New London](/source/New_London,_Connecticut), Connecticut, on 8 November. For the remainder of [World War I](/source/World_War_I), she was based there and patrolled [Long Island Sound](/source/Long_Island_Sound), frequently with officer students from the submarine school on board.[4]

*H-1* and *H-2* sailed for San Pedro, on 6 January 1920, transiting the [Panama Canal](/source/Panama_Canal) on 20 February. On 12 March, as *H-1* made her way up the coast of [Mexico](/source/Mexico)'s [Baja California Peninsula](/source/Baja_California_Peninsula), she ran [aground](/source/Aground) on a [shoal](/source/Shoal) off [Magdalena Bay](/source/Magdalena_Bay). Four men, including the commanding officer, died trying to reach shore.[4]

The diesel freighter [MS *Mazatlan*](/source/MS_Mazatlan), on her maiden voyage for the [California & Mexico Steamship Company](/source/California_%26_Mexico_Steamship_Company), also this line's inaugural voyage, tried to pull the submarine into deep water, and then carried 22 survivors to San Pedro, where they arrived on March 18.[5]

The [repair ship](/source/Repair_ship) [USS *Vestal*](/source/USS_Vestal_(AR-4)) pulled *H-1* off the rocks in the morning of 24 March, but in only 45 minutes, the submarine sank in some 50 ft (15 m) of water. Further salvage effort was abandoned. Her name was stricken from the [Naval Vessel Register](/source/Naval_Vessel_Register) on 12 April 1920, and she was sold for scrap in June 1920, but never recovered.[4]

In 2019, her wreck was identified south of [Baja California](/source/Baja_California).[6][7]

## References

1. Navy List 1921, p. 766.

1. Friedman 1995, p. 307.

1. Gardiner & Gray 1985, p. 128.

1. Evans 2018.

1. Riverside 1920.

1. CNN 2019.

1. Hendren 2021, p. 235.

## Bibliography

- ["Table 21 - Ships on Navy List June 30, 1919"](https://books.google.com/books?id=mZEqAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA762). *Congressional Serial Set*. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1921.
- Priolo, Gary. ["Seawolf / H-1 (SS-28)"](https://www.navsource.net/archives/08/08028.htm). *Navsource.net*. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
- Friedman, Norman (1995). *U.S. Submarines Through 1945: An Illustrated Design History*. [Annapolis](/source/Annapolis), Maryland: [Naval Institute Press](/source/Naval_Institute_Press). ISBN 1-55750-263-3.
- Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal (1985). *Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921*. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
- Evans, Mark L. (6 September 2018). ["H-1 (Submarine No. 28)"](https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/h/h-1.html). Retrieved 29 September 2025.
- ["Steamer Mazatlan Arrives in Port"](https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=RDP19200318.2.44&srpos=12&e=------192-en--20--1-byDA-txt-txIN-%22steamer+mazatlan%22-------). *Riverside Daily Press*. 18 March 1920. p. 4.
- ["Hallan submarino de la Primera Guerra Mundial en las costas de México"](https://cnnespanol.cnn.com/video/mexico-submarino-hundido-primera-guerra-mundial-pkg-digital-original/) [First World War submarine found off the coast of Mexico] (in Spanish). *CNN en Espanol*. September 5, 2019. Retrieved September 5, 2019.
- Hendren, Richard H. (December 2021). ["The History of the H-class Submarines and Archeology of the Submarine H-1 (Ex Seawolf) (1913-1920)"](https://pigboats.com/images/f/f4/HENDREN-DISSERTATION-2021-corrected.pdf)

## External links

- [PigBoats.COM H-class page](https://pigboats.com/index.php?title=H-class)
- [On Eternal Patrol: USS *H-1* (SS-28)](http://www.oneternalpatrol.com/uss-h-1-28.htm)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [USS H-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_H-1) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_H-1?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.