British R class submarine

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Class overview
Builders: Vickers, Barrow
Operators: Royal Navy
Preceded by: P-class
Succeeded by: S-class
Completed: 12
Cancelled: 2
General characteristics
Displacement: 420 tons (427 t) surfaced
500 tons (507t) submerged
Length: 163 ft (50 m)
Beam: 16 ft (4.9 m)
Draught: 11 ft 6 in (3.5 m)
Propulsion: 8-cylinder diesel engine, 240 horsepower (180 kW)
2 x electric motors, 1,200 horsepower (890 kW) total
Single electric motor for low speed running
One shaft
Speed: 9.5 knots (17.6 km/h) surfaced
14 knots (26 km/h) submerged
Complement: 20 officers and ratings
Sensors and
processing systems:		 bow hydrophone array
Armament: 6 × 18 inches (460 mm) torpedo tubes (forward)
12 reloads carried

The R class submarines were a class of 12 small British diesel-electric submarines built for the Royal Navy during World War I, and were forerunners of the modern hunter-killer submarines, in that they were designed specifically to attack and sink enemy submarines, their battery capacity and hull shape being optimized for underwater performance.

Contents

[edit] Description

Ordered in December 1917, the R class were designed to be faster underwater than on the surface, achieving a submerged speed of 14 knots (26 km/h) versus a surfaced speed of 9 knots (17 km/h). They were well-streamlined, having no external ballast tanks, casing, or deck gun, and a streamlined spindle-shaped hull of circular section[1] (not reproduced until the Los Angeles class) which tapered sharply towards the stern and allowed only for a single screw. The bulbous bow contained 5 sensitive hydrophones and the lightened conning tower was also well-streamlined. Their optimization for high underwater speed gave some manoeuvrability problems while operating on the surface.

Their superior underwater performance was given by their greatly increased battery capacity which gave a greater submerged than surfaced horsepower. At 14 knots submerged speed the class set an underwater speed record not broken until the Japanese No. 71 of 1938, which was a research vessel.[2]

However, the R class boats proved difficult to steer while surfaced due to the small diesel engine which was also incapable of fully recharging the batteries; this task was typically carried out from a shore supply while moored.

[edit] Armament

The sole armament of the R-class was six bow torpedo tubes, originally 18 inches (460 mm) and later changed to 21 inches (530 mm).[3] As designed, one spare torpedo was allowed for, but in operation 6 reloads were carried in place of the senior Ratings' accommodation. They were the first Royal Navy submarines to be fitted with six bow tubes. It was originally intended to fit a 4 inch gun on the foredeck, but this was dropped due to the adverse effect it would have had on submerged speed.

[edit] Construction

R-1 through R-4 were ordered from Chatham, R-5 and R-6 from Devonport (later changed to Pembroke), R-7 and R-8 from Vickers, R-9 and R-10 from Armstrong, and R-11 and R-12 from Cammell Laird. In August 1919, with World War I over, R-5 and R-6 were cancelled, the rest being completed. To save time, they used H-class components.[4]

[edit] Service

Operating out of Killybegs, Donegal, one of the class reportedly tracked and fired on a U-Boat in October 1918, firing a full salvo of six torpedoes of which only one hit but did not detonate.

All but R-4 and R-10 were sold for scrap in 1923. The two survivors were relegated to ASW training at Portland, where their high performance led to them (literally) running rings around trawlers whose performance their crews found deficient. R-10 was sold in 1929, while R-4 survived as a fast underwater target at Portland until 1934.[5]

[edit] R class submarines

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Fitzsimons, p.2170, "R-1"
  2. ^ Gunston, p.114, "'British R class (33)"
  3. ^ Gunston, p.114, "'British R class (33)"
  4. ^ Fitzsimons, ibid.
  5. ^ Fitzsimons, ibid.

[edit] References

Languages