High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! USS R-17 (SS-94) was an R-class coastal and harbor defense submarine of the United States Navy. Her keel was laid down by the Union Iron Works in San Francisco, California, on 5 May 1917. She was launched on 24 December 1917 sponsored by Miss Bertha F. Dew, and commissioned on 17 August 1918 with Lieutenant Commander William R. Munroe in command.