USS F-4 (SS-23)

The F-4 was an F class submarine completed in May of 1913 by the Moran Company of Seattle, WA. It had originally been named the Skate. However, the name had been changed to F-4 in November of 1911, prior to launching.

The boat foundered during local operations. The cause is not clear. The salvage team estimated that sea water was leaking through a lead seal and into the battery compartment. Another possible cause was an unreliable reducer closing a Kingston valve. A third possibility would be problems in the ballast tank air lines.

One sailor was left ashore as a watchman. His duties were to receive any important news while the boat was at sea, and relay it to the captain on his return. This was often done before radios were installed on boats. His status regarding the sinking is often misstated as a survivor.

In August of 1915, F-4 was raised and towed using specially constructed pontoons. She was then put into dry dock for examination. In early September, she had to be removed from dry dock to accommodate three other F class boats that had been rammed by the USS Supply. F-4 was still hanging from the pontoons. She was then disconnected and left in the mud near Pearl Harbor. In 1940, due to an expansion of the base, the F-4 was moved and buried near the submarine piers.

After commissioning and sea trials, F-4 operated with the First Submarine Group on the U. S. West Coast. She participated in the development operations for the group. In August of 1914, she was transferred, along with other F class boats, to the Territory of Hawaii (TH). The boats were towed to Hawaii by armored cruisers. It was during training operations there that the F-4 was lost.

F-4 was the first commissioned U. S. submarine to be lost at sea.