After the USS H-3 went aground off Humboldt Bay, California, in December 1916, the Navy awarded Mercer-Fraser Co. an $18,000 contract to dislodge her. Instead of attempting to refloat her where she lay, risking the heavy breakers, the firm proposed dragging the submarine across the bar and launching her into Humboldt Bay. Two redwood logs were placed alongside her, and cables were passed underneath and secured to these logs. Smaller timbers were placed inside the cables, so that the H-3 rested in a cradle. A road was constructed across the bar, and the H-3 was pulled across in her cradle and launched into the quiet waters of Humboldt Bay.