She started life as a workhorse, not a wonder. USS O-12 was never meant to make history, only to do her duty. Built in Bridgeport, Connecticut in 1916, this O-class submarine served briefly in the Panama Canal Zone after World War I. She was solid, if not spectacular. Compared to her Electric Boat sisters, she had her flaws. But for a few short years, she stood watch where it mattered. Then, in 1924, the Navy pulled her from service and parked her at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. She was supposed to be scrapped. That would have been the end of it.