British L class submarine
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Operators: |  Royal Navy |
| Completed: | 27 built of 73 in class |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 890 tons surfaced, 1074 tons submerged |
| Length: | 222 ft (68 m) (Group 2 - 228 ft (69 m); Group 3 -230.5 ft (70.3 m)) |
| Beam: | 23.5 ft (7.2 m) |
| Speed: |
Surfaced Group 1 - 17.3 knots |
| Range: | Surface 2800nm at 10 knots |
| Complement: |
Group 1 - 35 |
The British L class submarine were originally planned under the emergency war programme as an improved version of the British E class submarine. The scale of change allowed the L class to become a separate class.
The armament was increased when the 21-inch torpedoes came into service. The Group 3 boats had two 4-inch guns fore and aft of the lengthened conning tower. Also, 76 tons of fuel oil was carried in external wing tanks for the first time in British submarines. Several of the Group 1 boats were configured as minelayers including L11 and L12. In the Group 2 boats, L14, L17 and L24 to L27 were built as minelayers carrying 16 mines but without the two beam torpedo tubes.
The L class came too late to operate in World War I but L12 torpedoed the German UB 90 and L10 torpedoed the German destroyer S 33. L55 was sunk just after World War I by Russian destroyers. She was salvaged by the Russians and was commissioned by the Russians with her original number. L2 survived a fierce attack by three American destroyers.
The L class served throughout the 1920s and the majority were scrapped in the 1930s but three remained operational as training boats during World War II. The last 3 were scrapped in 1946 after long distinguished service.
Contents |
[edit] Group 1
[edit] Group 2
- HMS L9
- HMS L10
- HMS L11
- HMS L12
- HMS L14
- HMS L15
- HMS L16
- HMS L17
- HMS L18
- HMS L19
- HMS L20
- HMS L21
- HMS L22
- HMS L23
- HMS L24
- HMS L25
- HMS L26
- HMS L27
- L28 to L32 were broken-up after commencement
- HMS L33
- L34 and L35 were cancelled
- L37 to L49 were not ordered
- L50 and L51 were cancelled
[edit] Group 3
- HMS L52
- HMS L53
- HMS L54
- HMS L55
- HMS L56
- L57 to L68 were cancelled
- HMS L69
- L70 was cancelled
- HMS L71
- L72 to L74 were cancelled
[edit] References
- Submarines, War Beneath The Waves, From 1776 To The Present Day, by Robert Hutchinson
- Colledge, J. J. and Warlow, Ben (2006). Ships of the Royal Navy: the complete record of all fighting ships of the Royal Navy, Rev. ed., London: Chatham. ISBN 9781861762818. OCLC 67375475.
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