S-51 Photos

Before the Accident

Photo of the S-51 submarine on the left with the S-51 on the right. Both subs are at sea.

S-51 (left) and S-50 (right)

Photo from the National Archives.

Photo of the S-51 at sea with crew on deck.

S-51 (photo dated May 25, 1922)

Photo from the National Archives.

Close of photo of the S-51 submarine at sea with crew on deck.

The S-51 at sea, 1924. Photo contributed by Ric Hedman.

The S-51 at sea, 1924. Photo contributed by Ric Hedman.

Close up photo of the S-51 submarine on launch day in 1921. Crew are on deck with a flag flying that reads "Lake" for Simon Lake who built the submarine.

The S-51 on launch day, August 20, 1921. Built by the Lake Torpedo Boat Company. Flag says "Lake". Photo contributed by Ric Hedman.

A model of the S-51; photo submitted by the owner, Jeffrey Hughes. The model is a period piece, attributed to Simon Lake. It is approximately 2 3/4 ft. in length and 1 1/3 ft. in height and has many moving parts. It was constructed by an employee of Lake and was supposedly a showpiece in Simon Lake's office.

salvagE Efforts

The photos in this section were submitted by Tony Santore. Tony has done a lot of research on one of the divers involved in the S-51 salvage efforts, Rear Admiral Richard E. Hawes. Tony spent time with Hawes' son and daughter in the early 1980's. They led him to a trunk with Hawes' papers and photographs, which had been mislaid until Tony's visit. They found the trunk in the hayloft of a long unused barn, where the trunk had been open, its contents scattered all around the loft, exposed to the weather and vandals. Everything was weather-beaten, dirty, and water-logged. Hawes' son and daughter gave Tony everything as-is. Tony spent months restoring the photographs and saving the papers. Some were damaged beyond restoration, while others were restored to almost new condition. The photos below are the result of Tony's diligent efforts in restoring Hawes' personal photographs of the S-51 salvage operations. Thank you Tony!!

Small boat with men trying to secure a pontoon during the salvage operations.

Trying to secure a runaway pontoon.

Photo from salvage operations with pontoons and the bow of the sub just peeking above the water.

"Another scene of the pontoons with bow of sub in sight. June 28?, 1926."

Two ships towing the S-51 with pontoons under a bridge in New York Harbor.

Photo, possibly taken from the USS Falcon, of two ships towing the S-51 and pontoons under Hell Gate bridge in New York Harbor.

dry dock

Photos in this section were also personal photos of Richard E. Hawes and submitted by Tony Santore.

Group photo of the officers in uniform who salvaged the S-51.

"Navy Yard, New York. July 9, 1926. USS S-51 in dry dock. Officers who salvaged the S-51."

S-51 submarine in dry dock at the Navy Yard. View is of the starboard side.

"Navy Yard New York, July 9, 1926. USS S-51 in dry dock. General view starboard side, looking forward showing vertical rudder hard right."

S-51 in dry dock with close up view of the bow, which shows damage to the stern.

"Navy Yard New York, July 9, 1926. USS S-51 in dry dock. Bow view showing damage to stern caused by grounding on man-of-war rock."

damages

The photos below are from a copy of the Navy Department's Report on Salvage Operations, Submarine S-51, written by Edward Ellsberg. The copy I have of this document that was given to me by Dave Davenport. Thank you, Dave, for making the availability of these photos possible.

S-51 in dry dock on blocks with the deck about 1 foot above water.

The S-51 on blocks in dry dock, deck about 1 foot above water.

Side view of S-51 in dry dock showing damage to bow.

View showing damage to bow caused by grounding on man-of-war rock.

Close up view of the S-51 bridge badly bent to port from leaning against a pontoon.

View of bridge badly bent to port from leaning against starboard no. 3 pontoon.

Close up view of S-51 engine room salvage hatch.

Engine room salvage hatch in position. (Note three air connections.)

Close of view of S-51 gun access salvage hatch.

Gun access salvage hatch in position. (Note air connections.)

Detailed view of huge gash in port side of S-51 as a result of the collision.

Detail view of gash resulting from collision with "City of Rome".