British S-class submarine (1914)
 S1, probably during trials in 1914
| |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders | Scotts, Greenock, Scotland |
| Operators | |
| Preceded by | F class |
| Succeeded by | V class |
| Built | 1912–1915 |
| Completed | 3 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Submarine |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 45.1 metres (148 ft 1.5 in) |
| Beam | 4.4 metres (14 ft 5 in) |
| Draught | 3.2 metres (10 ft 4.5 in) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed |
|
| Range | 1,600 nmi (3,000 km; 1,800 mi) at 8.5 kn surfaced |
| Complement | 18 |
| Armament | 2 × 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes; 4 torpedoes |
The S class was a
Background
Since the introduction of submarines into the fleet of the British
Design and description
Keyes appointed a six-man Submarine Development Committee to study foreign designs and provide recommendations.[5] Accordingly, in August 1911 four British officers travelled to La Spezia in north-west Italy to visit the FIAT-San Giorgio works, where they inspected two Medusa-class submarines, designed by Cesare Laurenti.[6] They were impressed with the design, which featured a double hull not present on British designs, which was claimed to improve general seaworthiness.[7] Four months later, in December, the Royal Navy placed an order with Scotts' of Greenock, Scotland for one submarine to a similar design, to be powered by two Scott-FIAT diesel engines.[7]
Scotts, who had tendered £50,000 (equivalent to £5,400,000 in 2021)[8] for the contract, held a license from FIAT-San Giorgio to build the submarines for the British market.[6] Scotts modified a FIAT-San Giorgio design which had been ordered by the Imperial Russian Navy, which came to be known as the Argonauta class, itself an improved version of the Italian Medusa class. The British design was named the S class, using the first letter of the shipbuilders, Scotts, and the first boat was named S1.[9] Two further submarines of the class were ordered in June 1913, S2 and S3.[7]
The S class were coastal submarines, designed for the defence off the British coast, rather than operating in foreign waters.[10] They had an overall length of 45.1 metres (148 ft 1.5 in), a beam of 4.4 metres (14 ft 5 in), and a mean draught of 3.2 metres (10 ft 4.5 in). Their surfaced displacement was 269 tonnes (265 long tons), and when submerged they displaced 329 tonnes (324 long tons).[11] This made them a similar size to the existing British C-class submarine, though the design differed quite significantly. The S class had a partial double hull, with the ballast tanks located between an outer and inner hull. This provided greater buoyancy, but took longer to dive compared to single-hull submarines. The boats had a ship shape when surfaced, and adopted a 'ducktail' at the stern, typical of Laurenti's designs. Internally, the submarine featured ten watertight bulkheads, significantly more than the two present on the British E-class submarine.[6][7] The inner hull varied in height between 2.01 metres (6 ft 7 in) and 2.11 metres (6 ft 11 in), though a false floor was installed in the control room to make it 1.93 metres (6 ft 4 in).[12]
The propulsion system for the S class consisted of two Scott-FIAT six-cylinder
The S class had identical armament to the C class; they had two
Service history
| Ship | Laid down | Launched | Completed | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S1 | 23 August 1912 | 28 February 1914 | August 1914 | Transferred to the Royal Italian Navy , 25 October 1915
|
| S2 | 20 October 1913 | 14 April 1915 | May 1915 | Transferred to the Royal Italian Navy , 25 October 1915
|
| S3 | 4 March 1914 | 10 June 1915 | September 1915 | Transferred to the Royal Italian Navy , 25 October 1915
|
British service
All three boats were built by Scotts in their Greenock shipyard on the River Clyde. S1 was the first submarine to be built in Scotland, and was launched on 28 February 1914.[14][6] Although the original order had been for just one vessel, so the Navy could compare its capabilities against the existing submarine fleet, two further vessels—S2 and S3—were ordered in June 1913, before the first had been completed.[15] S1 underwent trials on the Clyde,[16] before sailing to Portsmouth to join the Royal Navy fleet. During this journey, she had trouble with her housing hydroplanes, an issue that continued throughout the service of the S-class boats.[17] S1 served in the 4th Submarine Flotilla based out of Dover, Kent, during 1914, before transferring to the 8th Submarine Flotilla out of Harwich, Essex.[18] She was commanded by Lieutenant Commander Gilbert H. Kellett from November 1913 until September 1915,[19] during which time she suffered engine problems. In June 1915, while patrolling north of Heligoland, off the German coast, both of S1's engines failed; first the port, and then the starboard. The submarine was stranded for three days before they sighted a German fishing trawler, Ost, which they commandeered and used to tow S1 some 500 kilometres (300 mi) back to the United Kingdom.[16]
The S class was disliked by British submariners; Harrison suggests that this might have been due to a combination of the hydroplane issues and the slow dive time compared to other submarines in Royal Navy service,
Italian service
The specific dates the vessels were transferred from British to Italian control is unclear; various sources provide dates ranging from July 1915 through to November that year. Once in Italian service, S1 and S2 saw active duty in the Adriatic Sea, while S3 was part of the Submarine School. All three were scrapped after the war; S1 and S2 were stricken on 23 January 1919, and S3 followed on 1 May of the same year.[17]
Citations
- ^ Gardiner & Gray 1985, p. 86.
- ^ Lautenschläger 1986–1987, p. 95.
- ^ a b Akermann 2002, p. 176.
- ^ Maber 1983, pp. 154–155.
- ^ Tall & Kemp 1996, p. 41.
- ^ a b c d e f Gardiner & Gray 1985, p. 89.
- ^ a b c d e Rippon 1988, p. 217.
- ^ UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
- ^ a b Akermann 2002, p. 184.
- ^ Roberts 2013, p. 161.
- ^ a b Gardiner & Gray 1985, p. 88.
- ^ a b c Harrison 1979, chpt. 6.
- ^ a b Gardiner & Gray 1985, pp. 88–89.
- ^ Daily Record, 2 March 1914.
- ^ Turrini 1995, p. 144.
- ^ a b Tall & Kemp 1996, p. 44.
- ^ a b c Turrini 1995, p. 145.
- ^ a b c Akermann 2002, p. 185.
- ^ Lovell.
References
- Akermann, Paul (2002). Encyclopaedia of British Submarines 1901–1955 (reprint of the 1989 ed.). Penzance, Cornwall: Periscope Publishing. ISBN 1-904381-05-7 – via Google Books.
- Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-85177-245-5 – via Internet Archive.
- Harrison, A. N. (1979), "Double-Hull Coastal Types – S, V, W and F Classes", BR 3043: The Development of HM Submarines, from Holland No. 1 (1901) to Porpoise (1930), Ministry of Defence Ship Department – via RN Subs.
- Lautenschläger, Karl (1986–1987). "The Submarine in Naval Warfare, 1901–2001". JSTOR 2538886.
- Lovell, Tony. "H.M.S. S 1 (1914)". The Dreadnought Project. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
- Maber, John M. (1983). "The Steam Submarine Swordfish". In Roberts, John (ed.). Warship VII. London: Conway's Maritime Press. pp. 154–160. ISBN 0-87021-982-0.
- Rippon, Peter M. (1988). Evolution of Engineering in the Royal Navy. Vol. 1: 1827–1939. Tunbridge Wells, Kent: Spellmount. ISBN 0-946771-55-3 – via Internet Archive.
- Roberts, John (2013). "Great Britain: The Royal Navy". In O'Hara, Vincent P.; Dickson, W. David; Worth, Richard (eds.). To Crown the Waves: The Great Navies of the First World War. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. pp. 129–177. ISBN 978-1-61251-082-8 – via Internet Archive.
- Tall, J. J.; Kemp, Paul (1996). HM Submarines in Camera. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Sutton Publishing. ISBN 0-7509-0875-0 – via Internet Archive.
- Turrini, Alessandro (1995). "Laurenti Type Submarines in the World's Navies". JSTOR 44889636.
- "Scotland's First Submarine". Newspapers.com.