United States Porpoise-class submarine

The Porpoise-class were submarines built for the United States Navy in the late 1930s, and incorporated a number of modern features that would make them the basis for subsequent classes such as the Gato and Tang classes. Noteably, they featured welded (rather than riveted) construction and air conditioning.

In general, they were around 300 ft (100 m) long and diesel-electric powered. Displacement was 1,934 tons submerged for the first four boats, 1,998 tons for the later ones.

The Porpoise-class was made up of the following subclasses:

P-1 Type

• USS Porpoise
• USS Pike

P-3 Type

• USS Shark
• USS Tarpon

P-5 Type

• USS Perch
• USS Pickerel
• USS Permit
• USS Plunger
• USS Pollack
• USS Pompano