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B Class Submarines Class Overview |
Dimensions, machinery and performance |
Length: |
142' 2.5" |
Engines: |
1 sixteen cylinder Vickers gasoline |
Beam: |
13' 7" |
Motors: |
1 |
Draft: |
11' 7" |
Shafts: |
1 |
Pressure Hull |
Horsepower |
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Length: |
N/A |
Engines: |
600 |
Diameter: |
N/A |
Motors: |
290 |
Displacement |
Speed |
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Surfaced: |
287 |
Surfaced: |
12 knots (design 13-13.5 knots) |
Submerged: |
316 |
Submerged: |
6 knots (design 7 knots) |
Diving Depth: |
50' |
Range |
|
Surfaced: |
1,000 NM @ 8.75 knots (design 1,300 NM @ 9) |
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Crew: |
15 |
Submerged: |
50 NM @ 4.5 knots / 22.5 NM @ 6.5 knots |
Armament As Built |
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Number Carried
|
Type
|
Arrangement |
Maximum Range / Ceiling |
2 |
18" (450mm) Torpedo tubes |
Bow |
800 yards @ 26.5 knots 118 lbs. wet gun-cotton warhead 2 reloads |
Name |
Builder |
Launched |
Commissioned |
|
B-1 (I-21) |
Vickers, Sons & Maxim Ltd. Barrow-in-Furness, England |
Oct. 25, 1904 |
Apr. 16, 1905 |
|
Fate |
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Sold May 1921 and scrapped.
|
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Name |
Builder |
Launched |
Commissioned |
|
B-2 (I-22) |
Vickers, Sons & Maxim Ltd. Barrow-in-Furness, England |
Oct. 30, 1905 |
Dec. 9, 1905 |
|
Fate |
||||
Sunk Oct. 4, 1912 rammed by SS Amerika (1905) of the Hamburg-America Line.
Location: Strait of Dover, 5 miles east of Dover, England. (51.08N - 01.24E) 14 crewmen killed, the only survivor was the commander Lt. R. Pulleyne. (Roll of Honour) |
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Name |
Builder |
Launched |
Commissioned |
|
B-3 (I-23) |
Vickers, Sons & Maxim Ltd. Barrow-in-Furness, England |
Oct. 31, 1905 |
Jan. 19, 1906 |
|
Fate |
||||
Sold Dec. 1919 and scrapped.
|
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Name |
Builder |
Launched |
Commissioned |
|
B-4 (I-24) |
Vickers, Sons & Maxim Ltd. Barrow-in-Furness, England |
Nov. 14, 1905 |
Jan. 28, 1906 |
|
Fate |
||||
Sold Apr. 1919 and scrapped.
|
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Name |
Builder |
Launched |
Commissioned |
|
B-5 (I-25) |
Vickers, Sons & Maxim Ltd. Barrow-in-Furness, England |
Oct. 14, 1905 |
Feb. 25, 1906 |
|
Fate |
||||
Sold Aug. 1921 and scrapped.
|
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Name |
Builder |
Launched |
Commissioned |
|
B-6 (I-26) (Later S-6) |
Vickers, Sons & Maxim Ltd. Barrow-in-Furness, England |
Nov. 30, 1905 |
Mar. 3, 1906 |
|
Fate |
||||
Sold at Malta in 1919 and scrapped.
(Aug. 1917, converted into a surface patrol craft at Arsenale Navalie, Venice, Italy and renamed S-6) |
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Name |
Builder |
Launched |
Commissioned |
|
B-7 (I-27) (Later S-7) |
Vickers, Sons & Maxim Ltd. Barrow-in-Furness, England |
Nov. 30, 1905 |
Mar. 27, 1906 |
|
Fate |
||||
Sold at Malta in 1919 and scrapped.
(Aug. 1917, converted into a surface patrol craft at Arsenale Navalie, Venice, Italy and renamed S-7) |
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Name |
Builder |
Launched |
Commissioned |
|
B-8 (I-28) (Later S-8) |
Vickers, Sons & Maxim Ltd. Barrow-in-Furness, England |
Jan. 23, 1906 |
Apr. 10, 1906 |
|
Fate |
||||
Sold at Malta in 1919 and scrapped.
(Aug. 1917, converted into a surface patrol craft at Arsenale Navalie, Venice, Italy and renamed S-8) |
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Name |
Builder |
Launched |
Commissioned |
|
B-9 (I-29) (Later S-9) |
Vickers, Sons & Maxim Ltd. Barrow-in-Furness, England |
Jan. 24, 1906 |
Apr. 28, 1906 |
|
Fate |
||||
Sold at Malta in 1919 and scrapped.
(Aug. 1917, converted into a surface patrol craft at Arsenale Navalie, Venice, Italy and renamed S-9) |
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Name |
Builder |
Launched |
Commissioned |
|
B-10 (I-20) |
Vickers, Sons & Maxim Ltd. Barrow-in-Furness, England |
Mar. 23, 1906 |
May 31, 1906 |
|
Fate |
||||
Sunk Aug. 9, 1916 by Austrian aircraft.
(First Royal Navy submarine sunk by aircraft) Location: Venice, Italy. Raised two weeks later but destroyed by fire while under repair. Sold to the Italian Government and scrapped. |
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Name |
Builder |
Launched |
Commissioned |
|
B- 11 (I-00) (Later S-11) |
Vickers, Sons & Maxim Ltd. Barrow-in-Furness, England |
Feb. 21, 1906 |
July 7, 1906 |
|
Fate |
||||
Sold at Malta in 1919 and scrapped.
(Aug. 1917, converted into a surface patrol craft at Arsenale Navalie, Venice, Italy and renamed S-11) |
Class Notes: |
B-1 was laid down as A-14 of the A class however, modifications made during
construction were sufficient to create the B class from her design. |
The B class was the only class of Royal Navy submarines fitted with hydroplanes on the conning tower. |
|
B-6 thru B-11 were sent to the Mediterranean and used in the Adriatic for coastal patrols. In late 1917 the surviving boats (B-10 sunk in 1916) were converted at the Arsenale Navalie, Venice, Italy into surface patrol craft and renamed S-6 thru S-11. The electric motor and batteries were removed, a forecastle, wheelhouse and a small platform were added. The boats were armed with a 3" (76mm) 12 pounder. It is believed that the torpedo tubes were also removed during the conversion. |
Page created June 7, 2007 |