HMS E20
 HMS E20 in Harbor | |
| History | |
|---|---|
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| Name: | HMS E20 |
| Builder: | Vickers, Barrow |
| Laid down: | 25 November 1914 |
| Commissioned: | 30 August 1915 |
| Fate: | Sunk by torpedo, 6 November 1915 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type: | E class submarine |
| Displacement: |
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| Length: | 181 ft (55 m) |
| Beam: | 15 ft (4.6 m) |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: |
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| Range: |
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| Complement: | 30 |
| Armament: |
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HMS E20 was a British E class submarine built by Vickers, Barrow-in-Furness. She was laid down on 25 November 1914 and was commissioned on 30 August 1915.
Service history
While the German Submarine UB-14 had been in port on 30 November, Turkish forces had captured the French submarine Turquoise before the submarine or any of the confidential papers on board could be destroyed.[1] When Turquoise was caught, her commander had not signaled her predicament to anyone, so a scheduled rendezvous with the British submarine E20—as far as anyone other than Turquoise or the Germans and Turks knew—was still on. UB-14 had been sent to keep the rendezvous,[2] reportedly going so far as to radio messages in the latest British code.[3] Upon arriving at the designated location, UB-14 surfaced and fired a torpedo at E20 from a distance of 500 metres (550 yd). Only when E20's crew saw the torpedo did they realize something was amiss, but it was too late to avoid the weapon.[4] The torpedo hit E20's conning tower and sank the submarine with the loss of 21 men.[4][5] UB-14 rescued nine men, including E20's captain who,[4] reportedly, had been brushing his teeth at the time of the attack.[6]
References
- ↑ Stern, p. 30.
- ↑ Stern, p. 31.
- ↑ Grant, p. 33.
- 1 2 3 Stern, p. 32.
- ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit during WWI: E 20". U-Boat War in World War I. Uboat.net. Retrieved 14 April 2009.
- ↑ Stern, p. 34.
- Hutchinson, Robert (2001). Jane's Submarines: War Beneath the Waves from 1776 to the Present Say. London: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-00-710558-8. OCLC 53783010.
External links
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