HMS C14 was one of 38 C-class submarines built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. The boat survived the First World War and was sold for scrap in 1921.

Design and description

A fleet of submarines passing HMS Dreadnought, by Charles Edward Dixon

The C class was essentially a repeat of the preceding B class, albeit with better performance underwater. The submarine had a length of 142 feet 3 inches (43.4 m) overall, a beam of 13 feet 7 inches (4.1 m) and a mean draft of 11 feet 6 inches (3.5 m). They displaced 287 long tons (292 t) on the surface and 316 long tons (321 t) submerged. The C-class submarines had a crew of two officers and fourteen ratings.[1]

For surface running, the boats were powered by a single 16-cylinder 600-brake-horsepower (447 kW) Vickers petrol engine that drove one propeller shaft. When submerged the propeller was driven by a 300-horsepower (224 kW) electric motor.[1] They could reach 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) on the surface and 7 knots (13 km/h; 8.1 mph) underwater. On the surface, the C class had a range of 910 nautical miles (1,690 km; 1,050 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 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 they would have to remove an equal weight of fuel in compensation.[3]

Construction and career

C14 was built by Vickers at their Barrow-in-Furness shipyard, laid down on 4 December 1906 and was commissioned on 13 March 1908. The boat was sunk in a collision with Hopper No.27 at Plymouth Sound on 10 December 1913. There were no casualties. She was salvaged and recommissioned. C14 was finally sold on 5 December 1921.

Notes

  1. ^ a b Gardiner & Gray, p. 87
  2. ^ Harrison, Chapter 3
  3. ^ Harrison, Chapter 27

References

No tags for this post.