USS D-1 (SS-17) was the lead ship of the D-class submarines of the United States Navy. Her keel was laid down by Fore River Shipbuilding Company in Quincy, Massachusetts, under a subcontract from Electric Boat Company of Groton, Connecticut, as Narwhal, making her the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the narwhal, a gray and white arctic whale which averages 20 feet in length, the male of which has a long, twisted ivory tusk of commercial value. Narwhal was launched on 8 April 1909 sponsored by Mrs. G. C. Davison, and commissioned on 23 November 1909 with Lieutenant J. C. Townsend in command.