Before she became the C1, she was the Octopus.
Resting in dry dock at the New York Navy Yard in 1912, the submarine was waiting to emerge with a new designation and a place in a changing Navy.
No longer would submarines be known by the names of sea creatures. Under a new policy, they would be identified by letter and number.
It was a small administrative change, but it hinted at something much larger.
The United States Navy was looking toward a future with more submarines than fish names could easily cover.
The Octopus, Soon to Be Known as C1, In Drydock
When she emerges from her berth in dry dock at the New York Navy yard, the submarine Octopus will be the C1.
This is in pursuance of the new policy of designating the vessels of this class by letter and number instead of by names of fishes as has generally been done in the Navy.
In making the change, the Navy department is following the practice of the British and French, and perhaps anticipating the time when the United States shall have built so many submarines that all the commonly known denizens of the deep would not suffice for the naming of them.
Source: The Democratic Banner. Mt. Vernon, Ohio. January 23, 1912.
