View source for USS R-8 (SS-85)

{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=[[Image:USS Camden (AS-6) with R-class submarines.jpg|300px]]
|Ship caption=[[Submarine tender]] {{USS|Camden|AS-6|2}} at [[San Diego, California|San Diego]], [[California]], in the early 1920s with four [[United States R class submarine|''R''-class submarines]] moored alongside. Closest to the camera is USS ''R-8'', farthest from it is {{USS|R-6|SS-83|2}}, and the two submarines between them are unidentified.
}}
{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country=
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1945}}
|Ship name=USS ''R-8''
|Ship namesake=
|Ship ordered=29 August 1916
|Ship builder=[[Fore River Shipbuilding]], [[Quincy, Massachusetts]]
|Ship laid down=4 March 1918
|Ship launched=17 April 1919
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=21 July 1919
|Ship decommissioned=2 May 1931
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=12 May 1936
|Ship renamed=
|Ship homeport=
|Ship motto=
|Ship nickname=
|Ship honors=
|Ship fate=Sunk as target, 19 August 1936
|Ship status=
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship type=[[United States R class submarine|''R''-class]] [[submarine]]
|Ship displacement=*{{convert|569|LT|t|abbr=on}} surfaced
*{{convert|680|LT|t|abbr=on}} submerged
|Ship length={{convert|186|ft|2|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|18|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship draft={{convert|14|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion=[[Diesel-electric]]
|Ship speed=*{{convert|13.5|kn|mph km/h|lk=in|abbr=on}} surfaced
*{{convert|10.5|kn|mph km/h|abbr=on}} submerged
|Ship range=
|Ship test depth=
|Ship complement=34 officers and men
|Ship armament=*4 × {{convert|21|in|mm|abbr=on}} [[torpedo tube]]s
*1 × [[3"/50 caliber gun|{{convert|3|in|mm|abbr=on}}/50 cal]] [[deck gun]]
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

'''USS ''R-8'' (SS-85)''' was an [[United States R class submarine|''R''-class coastal and harbor defense submarine]] of the [[United States Navy]]. Her keel was laid down on 4 March 1918 by the [[Fore River Shipbuilding]] Company, [[Quincy, Massachusetts]]. She was [[ship naming and launching|launched]] on 17 April 1919 sponsored by Ms. Penelope Potter, and [[ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 21 July 1919 with [[Lieutenant commander (United States)|Lieutenant Commander]] Philip C. Ransom in command.

==Service history==
===1919&ndash;1929===
''R-8'' fitted out at [[Boston, Massachusetts]], during the fall of 1919, proceeded to [[New London, Connecticut]] on 5 December, joined other boats of Submarine Division&nbsp;9 ([[SubDiv]]&nbsp;9), and continued south for winter exercises in the [[Gulf of Mexico]]. She operated out of [[Pensacola, Florida]], until returning to [[New England]] in April. Given [[hull classification symbol]] "SS-85" in July, she departed [[Newport, Rhode Island]] on 13 September and two days later arrived at Norfolk for overhaul prior to transfer to the [[United States Pacific Fleet|Pacific Fleet]]. Sea trials in early April 1921 followed, and on 21 April she headed south. Transiting the [[Panama Canal]] in May, she arrived at [[San Pedro, California]], her new homeport on 30 June, and for the next two years conducted exercises — individual, divisional and fleet — off the coasts of [[California]] and [[Mexico]].

On 16 July 1923, ''R-8'' sailed west for [[Pearl Harbor]], her base for almost eight years — during which she engaged in training and operations with fleet units. In late October 1925, she collided with the [[Minesweeper (ship)|minesweeper]] {{USS|Widgeon|AM-22|2}}, suffering the loss of her [[periscope]]s, the destruction of her [[Bridge (nautical)|bridge]], and damage to her radio antenna supports. In August 1927, she searched for missing [[Dole Air Race]] aviators.

===1930&ndash;1936===
Ordered back to the East Coast for inactivation in 1930, ''R-8'' departed Pearl Harbor on 12 December, transited the Panama Canal in mid-January 1931, and arrived at [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]], on 9 February. Decommissioned on 2 May, she was berthed at Philadelphia as a unit of the Reserve Fleet until 1936. On 26 February of that year, while still in a state of preservation, she sank. Later raised, she was struck from the [[Naval Vessel Register]] on 12 May 1936 and on 19 August she was used as a target vessel for an aerial bombing test. Four near-misses with {{convert|100|lb|kg|abbr=on}} bombs sank her {{convert|71|mi|km|abbr=on}} off [[Cape Henry, Virginia]].

==References==
{{reflist}}
*{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/r/r-8.html}}

==External links==
*{{navsource|08/08085|USS R-8}}

{{United States R class submarine}}

{{coord missing|Virginia}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:R-08 (SS-85)}}
[[Category:United States R-class submarines]]
[[Category:United States submarine accidents]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1925]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1936]]
[[Category:Ships built in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:1919 ships]]
[[Category:Ships sunk as targets]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of the Virginia coast]]


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