HMS K1

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Career

Ordered:
Laid down:
Launched:	Portsmouth 14 November 1916
Commissioned:
Decommissioned:
Fate:	Sunk to prevent capture following accidental collision 18 November 1917
Struck:
General Characteristics
Displacement:	1980 tons surfaced/2566 tons dived
Length:	339 ft (103 m)
Beam:	26 ft 6 in (8.1 m)
Draught:	20 ft 11 in (6.4 m)
Propulsion:	Twin 10 500 shp (7.8 MW) oil-fired Yarrow boilers each powering a Brown-Curtis or Parsons geared steam turbines, Twin 3 blade 7 ft 6 in (2.3 m) screws Four 1440 hp (1.1 MW) electric motors. One 800 hp (600 kW) Vickers diesel generator for charging batteries on the surface.
Speed:	24 knots (44 km/h) surfaced, 8 knots (15 km/h) dived
Range:	Surface: 800 nautical miles (1500 km) at maximum speed, 12500 miles at 10 knots (19 km/h) Dived: 8 nautical miles (15 km) at 8 knots (15 km/h), 40 miles at 4 knots (7 km/h)
Complement:	59 (6 officers and 53 ratings)
Armament:	4 x 18 in (457 mm) beam torpedo tubes, 4 x 18 in (457 mm) bow tubes, plus 8 spare torpedoes, 2 x 4 in (102 mm) guns, 1 x 3 in (76 mm) gun. Twin 18 in (457 mm) deck tubes originally fitted but later removed.

HMS K1 was a First World War steam turbine propelled K class submarine of the British Royal Navy.

She was sunk to prevent her from being captured following a collision with HMS K4 off the Danish coast. She had been patrolling on the surface as part of a flotilla of submarines operating in line ahead. The flotilla was led by the light cruiser HMS Blonde followed by K1, K3, K4 with K7 at the rear of the line.

Blonde turned sharply to avoid three cruisers which crossed her bows from starboard to port, which caused confusion amongst the following submarines and in the maneuvering seawater poured into the boiler room through the funnels and put the boiler fires out (a common problem in K class submarines). The loss of steam pressure caused the submarine to slow down and although K3 just missed her, K1 struck a blow alongside the conning tower which pierced the hull.

Seawater poured into the control room and reached the batteries under the floor causing chlorine gas to be produced. The damaged submarine signalled to Blonde that she was sinking and the 56 crew of the submarine were transferred to the cruiser using the cruiser's two cutters. It was decided that K1 could not be saved and so she was sunk by gunfire from the cruiser.

British K-class submarine