USS S-42 (SS-153) was the first member in the third group of S-class submarines of the United States Navy. Her keel was laid down on 16 December 1920 by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation in Quincy, Massachusetts. She was launched on 30 April 1923 sponsored by Mrs. Henry A. Hutchins, Jr., and commissioned on 20 November 1924, Lieutenant John "Babe" Brown in command.