USS C-2 (SS-13) was one of five C-class submarines built for the United States Navy in the first decade of the 20th century.
The C-class submarines were enlarged versions of the preceding B class, the first American submarines with two propeller shafts. They had a length of 105feet overall, a beam of 13feet and a mean draft of 10feet. They displaced 240LT on the surface and 273LT submerged. The C-class boats had a crew of 1 officer and 14 enlisted men. They had a diving depth of 200feet.[1]
For surface running, they were powered by two 2400NaN0 Craig gasoline engines, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a 115hp electric motor. They could reach 11kn on the surface and underwater. On the surface, the boats had a range of 776nmi at and 24nmi at submerged.[1]
The boats were armed with two 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes in the bow. They carried two reloads, for a total of four torpedoes.[2]
C-2 was laid down by Fore River Shipbuilding Company in Quincy, Massachusetts – under a subcontract from Electric Boat Company – as USS Stingray. She was launched on 8 April 1909 sponsored by Ms. Elizabeth Stevens, and commissioned on 23 November 1909. She was renamed USS C-2 on 17 November 1911. C-2 – assigned to the Atlantic Torpedo Fleet and later the Atlantic Submarine Flotilla – cruised along the East Coast until 20 May 1913, when she cleared Norfolk, Virginia, for six months of operations from Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. In December, she reported at Cristóbal, Colón, Panama, and began an operating schedule of torpedo practice, exploration of anchorages, and harbor defense duty at ports of the Panama Canal Zone. During the latter part of World War I, C-2 patrolled the Florida coast. The submarine was placed in ordinary at Coco Solo, Canal Zone on 22 August 1919, and was decommissioned on 23 December 1919. She was sold for scrap on 13 April 1920.