H-1 and H-2 sailed for San Pedro on 6 January
1920, transiting the Panama Canal 20
February via Norfolk, Key West and Havana. On 12 March 1920, as H 1 made her way
up the coast, the submarine went
aground on a tricky shoal off Santa Margarita Island, Calif. Four men, including the commanding officer, Lt. Comdr. James R.
Webb, were killed as they tried to
reach shore. VESTAL, a repair ship, pulled
H-1 off the rocks in the morning of 24 March, only to have her sink 45 minutes later in some 50 feet of
water. Salvage was abandoned. Her name
was struck from the Navy List 12 April
1920, and her hulk sold for salvage scrap in June 1920.
SN M.S. Delarmarine
MM1 H.M Gillef
SN Joseph Kaufman
LCDR(CO) James Webb