The submarine USS R-14 ran out of usable fuel and lost radio communications while searching for a missing ship in 1921.
As seen in the photo the crew stitched together blankets, hammocks and battery deck covers, and then spent 5 days under sail to travel 120 miles back to Hawaii. The CO received a letter of commendation for the crew's innovative actions from his Submarine Division Commander, CDR Chester Nimitz.
Credit : US Naval institute.

garymalmgren said..
The CO received a letter of commendation for the crew's innovative actions...

and then he got a kick in the arse for running out of fuel!

Funny isn't it, when I see pics of those members of the forces from that era they nearly always seem to be slender healthy looking individuals, not so much these days.

You will be aware of the yacht DRUM (think after they got the keel back on........."roll your own etc etc") ramming a sub..............or vice versa depending on what side of the fence you were on...........a Kiwi ex work colleague told me this story around 2015 and I thought he was talking complete BS - he said he was on the foredeck of DRUM and the crew salvaged periscope remnants of the sub out of their hull and personally delivered them to the defence authorities who rolled over (heh heh) and paid up the repair fees........ - when I got back from Auckland I googled for the story and found a newspaper article but can't find it now..............but it definitely happened and he was obviously 100% correct...........you will be able to find the newspaper article...........

api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1988/jul/21/hms-otus-collision

www.heraldscotland.com/news/11916974.drum-adopts-new-colours-to-ward-off-submariners/