R-26 (Submarine No. 103) was laid down 26 April 1917 by the Lake Torpedo Boat Co., Bridgeport, Conn.; launched 18 June 1919; sponsored by Mrs. J. Walter Barnett; and commissioned 23 October 1919, Lt. Joseph C. Arnold in command.
Homeported at Coco Solo, C.Z., R-26 departed New London 26 November 1919 and arrived in the Canal Zone 11 January 1920. Designated SS-103 in July, she spent her entire career operating out of Coco Solo. Interrupting her service in those waters only for overhauls at Balboa and on the east coast, she returned to the United States for inactivation in January 1925. Arriving at Philadelphia 25 January, she was decommissioned 12 June and berthed at League Island until struck from the Navy list in May 1930. Her hull was sold for scrapping in July of that year.
