Summary
HMS E41 was a British E-class submarine built by Cammell Laird, Birkenhead. She was laid down on 26 July 1915 and was commissioned in February 1916.
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | E41 |
| Builder | Cammell Laird, Birkenhead |
| Laid down | 26 July 1915 |
| Launched | 22 October 1915 |
| Commissioned | February 1916 |
| Fate | Sold, 6 September 1922 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | E-class submarine |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 181 ft (55 m) |
| Beam | 15 ft (4.6 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed |
|
| Range |
|
| Complement | 31 |
| Armament |
|
Design edit
Like all post-E8 British E-class submarines, E41 had a displacement of 662 long tons (673 t) at the surface and 807 long tons (820 t) while submerged. She had a total length of 180 feet (55 m)[1] and a beam of 22 feet 8.5 inches (6.922 m). She was powered by two 800 horsepower (600 kW) Vickers eight-cylinder two-stroke diesel engines and two 420 horsepower (310 kW) electric motors.[2][3] The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) and a submerged speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). British E-class submarines had fuel capacities of 50 long tons (51 t) of diesel and ranges of 3,255 miles (5,238 km; 2,829 nmi) when travelling at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).[1] E41 was capable of operating submerged for five hours when travelling at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph).
E41 was armed with a 12-pounder 76 mm (3.0 in) QF gun mounted forward of the conning tower. She had five 18 inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes, two in the bow, one either side amidships, and one in the stern; a total of 10 torpedoes were carried.[2]
E-Class submarines had wireless systems with 1 kilowatt (1.3 hp) power ratings; in some submarines, these were later upgraded to 3 kilowatts (4.0 hp) systems by removing a midship torpedo tube. Their maximum design depth was 100 feet (30 m) although in service some reached depths of below 200 feet (61 m). Some submarines contained Fessenden oscillator systems.[1]
Service history edit
HMS E41 collided with E4 on the surface during exercises off Harwich on 15 August 1916. Sixteen crewmembers were lost, but fifteen escaped including seven from the bottom. Six crewmembers trapped in the submarine as she sank were able to escape by waiting under the conning-tower until the air pressure building up as the submarine sank blew the hatch open and allowed them to float to the surface. Chief Petty Officer William Brown was left behind, but was eventually able to escape from the engine room after an hour and a half in the sunken submarine.
HMS E41 was raised in September 1917 and was recommissioned. She was sold in Newcastle on 6 September 1922.
Citations edit
- ^ a b c Innes McCartney; Tony Bryan (20 February 2013). British Submarines of World War I. Osprey Publishing. pp. 11–12. ISBN 978-1-4728-0035-0.
- ^ a b Akerman, P. (1989). Encyclopaedia of British submarines 1901–1955. 149–150. Maritime Books. ISBN 1-904381-05-7 [1]
- ^ "E Class". Chatham Submarines. Archived from the original on 13 August 2015. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
References edit
- Hutchinson, Robert (2001). Jane's Submarines: War Beneath the Waves from 1776 to the Present Day. London: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-00-710558-8. OCLC 53783010.
External links edit
- 'Submarine losses 1904 to present day' – Royal Navy Submarine Museum Archived 25 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine