In December 1912 the decommissioned submarines B-2 (Submarine # 11) and B-3 (Submarine # 12) were towed from Charleston, South Carolina, to the Norfolk Navy Yard, Virginia, where they were loaded on the collier Ajax for transportation to the Philippine Islands. The voyage, by way of the Suez Canal, took some time, with Ajax arriving in Manila Bay in April 1913. The two submarines were launched from her foredeck on 12 May and, after refitting at the Cavite Navy Yard, were recommissioned for Asiatic Fleet service in August and September 1913.
The Asiatic Fleet received all of its first submarines by shipboard conveyance, as they were much too small to make the long trip on their own. In April-July 1908, the collier Caesar carried out submarines Porpoise and Shark. She repeated the feat in July-October 1909, when she transported Adder and Moccasin. The collier Hector took three submarines to the Philippines in February and March 1915: A-3, A-5 and B-1.
This page features all the views we have related to USS Ajax when she carried submarines B-2 and B-3 from Norfolk to Manila Bay in December 1912 - May 1913.
For other images concerning these three ships, see:
If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Click on the small photograph to prompt a larger view of the same image.
For other images concerning these three ships, see:
If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Page made 12 November 2003