HMS A11
A group of A-class submarines
| |
History | |
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United Kingdom | |
Name | A11 |
Builder | Vickers, Sons & Maxim Ltd. Barrow-in-Furness |
Laid down | 1903 |
Launched | 8 March 1905 |
Commissioned | 11 July 1905 |
Fate | Scrapped, May 1920 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | A-class submarine |
Displacement |
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Length | 105 ft (32.0 m) |
Beam | 12 ft 9 in (3.9 m) |
Draught | 10 ft 8 in (3.3 m) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion |
|
Speed |
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Range | 500 nautical miles (930 km; 580 mi) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced |
Complement | 2 officers and 9 ratings |
Armament | 2 × 18-inch (45 cm) torpedo tubes |
HMS A11 was an A-class submarine built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. After surviving World War I, she was sold for scrap in 1920.
Design and description
A11 was a member of the
draft of 10 feet 8 inches (3.3 m). They displaced 190 long tons (190 t) on the surface and 206 long tons (209 t) submerged. The A-class submarines had a crew of 2 officers and 9 ratings.[1]
For surface running, the boats were powered by a single 16-cylinder 600-
propeller shaft. When submerged the propeller was driven by a 150-horsepower (112 kW) electric motor. They could reach 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph) on the surface and 6 knots (11 km/h; 6.9 mph) underwater.[1] On the surface, A11 had a range of 500 nautical miles (930 km; 580 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph); submerged the boat had a range of 30 nautical miles (56 km; 35 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph).[2]
The boats were armed with two
18-inch (45 cm) torpedo tubes in the bow. They could carry a pair of reload torpedoes, but generally did not as doing so that they had to compensate for their weight by removing an equal weight of fuel.[3]
Construction and career
A11 was ordered as part of the 1903–04 Naval Programme from
launched on 8 March 1905 and completed on 11 July 1905.[2]
On 7 September 1910 A11 collided with a barge when leaving Portsmouth Harbour. The barge was sunk, although her two crew were rescued, and A11's bow was slightly damaged.[5] In February 1913, A11 was one of three submarines based at Lamlash on the Isle of Arran off the west coast of Scotland.[6]
Notes
- ^ a b Gardiner & Gray, p. 86
- ^ a b Akermann, p. 120
- ^ Harrison, Chapter 27
- ^ Harrison, Chapter 3
- ^ "Naval Matters—Past and Prospective: Portsmouth Dockyard". The Marine Engineer and Naval Architect. Vol. 33. October 1910. p. 98.
- ^ "Fleets and Squadrons in Commission at Home and Abroad: Submarines". The Navy List. March 1913. p. 269d. Retrieved 24 February 2021 – via National Library of Scotland.
References
- Akermann, Paul (2002). Encyclopaedia of British Submarines 1901–1955 (reprint of the 1989 ed.). Penzance, Cornwall: Periscope Publishing. ISBN 1-904381-05-7.
- ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
- 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.
- Harrison, A. N. (January 1979). "The Development of HM Submarines From Holland No. 1 (1901) to Porpoise (1930) (BR3043)". RN Subs. Retrieved 27 September 2022.