HMS K3

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Career
Ordered:
Laid down:	21 May 1915
Launched:	20 May 1916 at Vickers, Barrow-in-Furness
Commissioned:	4 August 1916
Decommissioned:	Sold 26 October 1921 at London
Fate:	sold for scrapping 26 October 1921
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 4 x 1440 hp (1070 kW) electric motors. 1 x 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 at 8 knots, 40 miles at 4 knots
Complement:	59 (6 officers and 53 ratings)
Armament:	4 x 18 in (457 m) beam torpedo tubes, 4 x 18 in (457 m) 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 K3 was the lead ship of the British K class submarines. She was laid down on 21 May 1915 by Vickers, Barrow-in-Furness. She was commissioned on 4 August 1917. In December 1916, K3 uncontrollably dived with the future King George VI. The ship plunged to 150ft with the stern and propellers raised above the waves. It took 20 minutes to free the ship from the sea bed mud and suface successfully. K3 was invovled in an accident with the 4th light cruiser squadron. K3 was also invovled in the 'battle of May island'. On the 9 January 1917, K3's boiler room was flooded in the North Sea. On 2 May 1918, K3 yet again uncontrollably dived to 266ft which crushed part of the hull.

K3 was sold on 26 October 1921 in London.

[edit] References

• Submarines, war beneath the waves, from 1776 to the present day, by Robert Hutchinson.