USS Grampus, a 107-ton Plunger (later A-1) class submarine, was built at San Francisco, California. She was commissioned in late May 1903 and operated in the San Francisco Bay region until November 1906, when she was laid up at the Mare Island Navy Yard. Returned to commissioned status in June 1908, Grampus served along the California coast for four years. She was renamed A-3 in November 1911. In reserve at the Puget Sound Navy Yard after June 1912, in February 1915 the submarine was placed on board the collier Hector for transportation to the Philippines. Arriving at Olongapo in late March and placed in commission in April 1915, A-3 began some six years of Asiatic Fleet duty. During the First World War she conducted patrols in the Manila Bay area. In July 1920, when the Navy formally implemented its hull number system, she was designated SS-4. USS A-3 was decommissioned at Cavite Navy Yard in July 1921, stricken from the Navy list in January 1922 and sunk as a target in Manila Bay.