USS Moccasin (SS-5)

USS Moccasin (SS-5) (later renamed A-4) was one of seven Plunger-class submarines built for the United States Navy (USN) in the first decade of the 20th century.

Description
The Plunger-class submarines were enlarged and improved versions of the preceding USS Holland (SS-1), the first submarine in the USN. They had a length of 63 ft overall, a beam of 11 ft and a mean draft of 10 ft. They displaced 107 LT on the surface and 123 LT submerged. The Plunger-class boats had a crew of one officer and six enlisted men. They had a diving depth of 150 ft.

For surface running, they were powered by one 180 bhp gasoline engine that drove the single propeller shaft. When submerged the propeller was driven by a 70 hp electric motor. The boats could reach 8 kn on the surface and 7 kn underwater.

The Plunger-class boats were armed with one 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tube in the bow. They carried two reloads, for a total of three torpedoes.

Construction and career
Moccasin was laid down under the direction of Arthur Leopold Busch on 8 November 1900 in Elizabeth, New Jersey at the Crescent Shipyard, launched on 20 August 1901, and commissioned on 17 January 1903 at the Holland Torpedo Boat Station at New Suffolk, N.Y. Assigned to duty at the Naval Torpedo Station at Newport, Moccasin operated locally on principally training and experimental activities until assigned to the Reserve Torpedo Flotilla at Norfolk on 15 June 1904, in which unit she remained inactive for the next half decade. The submarine ran aground in North Carolina's outer banks in late 1903, and was several miles away from the Wright Brothers' inaugural flight on 17 December 1903. 1904 On 20 July 1909, the submarine torpedo boat was loaded onto the collier USS Caesar (AC-16), which sailed soon thereafter for the Philippines. Moccasin's sister-ship, USS Adder (SS-3), was on board as deck cargo as well, lashed to the auxiliary's forward well deck. Arriving at Olongapo on 1 October, Moccasin was launched on 7 October. Recommissioned on 10 February 1910, she was assigned to the First Submarine Division, Asiatic Torpedo Fleet, based in the Manila area.

A new name
Moccasin was renamed A-4 on 17 November 1911. During World War I, like her sister-ships, she patrolled the entrance to Manila Bay and convoyed ships moving out of local waters. Later placed in reserve, A-4 was decommissioned at Cavite on 12 December 1919. She was sunk as a target ship afterwards.