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Sunday 9 July 2017

American design for the minelayer submarine V-4 (renamed Argonaut 1931)

design dated 20 February 1924. S584-191

final design. S584-195

A design for such a minelayer submarine dated 20 February 1924 was approved by the US Secretary of navy on 10 May the same year to be used as a basic design for a fleet submarine to be built under the Fiscal Year 1925. The result was that this design was modified including the results of a conference on 24th June at the Submarine Base, New London, Connecticut, USA. The USS Argonaut was built using the final design mentioned as U.S.S. V-4. The modifications included the removal of the planned hangar for a plane, lowering the bridges in the sail with 4 feet, adding a rang finder and shifting of the main machinery aft with the aft batteries moved forward. On 19 February 1931 was the V-4 renamed Argonaut. (1)

Source 
The so-called Spring Styles Book 1 (March 1911-September 1925). Naval History and Heritage Command. Lot S-584-195. Preliminary designs prepared by mostly civilians working at the Bureau of Construction and Repair (succeeded by the Bureau of Ships nowadays the Naval Sea Systems Command) under supervision of naval architects of the Navy Construction Corps. A major part of the drawings was presented to the General Board which advices the Secretary of the Navy.

Note
1. Laid down by the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine, USA on 1 May 1925, launched on 10 November 1927, commissioned on 2 April 1928, classified as SM-1 (submarine, minelayer) since 1 July 1931, converted into a troop transport submarine in 1942, classified as APS-1 with hull number SS-166 and sunk by Japanese destroyers off Rabaul, island New Britain, Papua New Guinea on 10 January 1943. Displacement 2.750 (surfaced standard)-3.950 (surfaced full loaded)-4.228 (submerged) tons and as dimensions 109 (waterline)-116 (over all) x 10,30 x 4,88 metres or 358-381 x 33.9½ x 16.025 feet. In 1942 were during her conversion into a troop transport submarine the mine tubes aft removed.