things I was reluctant to try myself. I believe a good deal can be done with these submarines, although there is always the danger of people getting carried away with the idea and thinking that they can be of more use than they possibly could be." To another correspondent he declared that never in his life had he experienced "such a diverting day ... nor so much enjoyment in so few hours." Later service Decommissioned on 3 November 1905, Plunger remained inactive until she was recommissioned on 23 February 1907. On 3 May 1909, Ensign Chester Nimitz, the future fleet admiral who would say he considered the submarines of the time "a cross between a Jules Verne fantasy and a humpbacked whale", assumed command of Plunger. That September, the submarine torpedo boat visited New York City to take part in the Hudson-Fulton celebrations. Nimitz commanded Plunger until he assumed command of USS Snapper (later renamed C-5), when that submarine was commissioned on February 2, 1910. Reassigned to the Charleston Navy Yard, Plunger reached that port on 24 October and moored alongside the gunboat , the tender for the Atlantic Submarine Flotilla. Shortly thereafter, Castines medical officer, Assistant Surgeon Micajah Boland, inspected Plunger and two other submarine torpedo boats. His report graphically described living conditions on these boats. He found "their sanitary condition to be far from satisfactory, notwithstanding the fact that they had been at sea only about forty-five hours." Plunger was renamed A-1 on 17 November 1911. She was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 24 February 1913. By 1916, A-1 had been authorized for use as an "experimental target, designated 'Target E'". Approximately 22 March 1918 she sank at New Suffolk, Massachusetts. Raised and sent to the Salvage Diving School at New London, Connecticut. She was ultimately hoisted on board the hulk of the former monitor and authorized for sale in 1921, on an "as is, where is" basis. She was sold for scrapping on 26 January 1922. References Bibliography External links history.navy.mil: USS Plunger navsource.org: USS Plunger hazegray.org: USS Plunger Lewis Nixon's Shipyard is acknowledged as place where first submarines were developed. Arthur Busch's role is mentioned and acknowledged as builder of Holland's submarines for Electric Boat Company. Plunger-class submarines Ships built in Elizabeth, New Jersey 1902 ships