HMS E42

Summary

HMS E42 was a British E-class submarine built by Cammell Laird, Birkenhead. She was launched on 22 October 1915 and commissioned in July 1916. She served during the First World War, hitting with a torpedo the battlecruiser SMS Moltke on 25 April 1918 and making an unsuccessful attack on U-92 on 1 July 1918.[1]E42 was sold for scrap at Poole on 6 September 1922.

HMS E42 on trials
History
United Kingdom
NameE42
BuilderCammell Laird, Birkenhead
Launched22 October 1915
CommissionedJuly 1916
FateSold, 6 September 1922
General characteristics
Class and typeE-class submarine
Displacement
  • 662 long tons (673 t) surfaced
  • 807 long tons (820 t) submerged
Length181 ft (55 m)
Beam15 ft (4.6 m)
Propulsion
  • 2 × 800 hp (597 kW) diesel
  • 2 × 420 hp (313 kW) electric
  • 2 screws
Speed
  • 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) surfaced
  • 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) submerged
Range
  • 3,000 nmi (5,600 km) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced
  • 65 nmi (120 km) at 5 kn (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) surfaced
Complement31
Armament

Design edit

Like all post-E8 British E-class submarines, E42 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)[2] 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.[3][4] 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).[2] E42 was capable of operating submerged for five hours when travelling at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph).

E42 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.[3]

E-Class submarines had wireless systems with 1-kilowatt (1.3 hp) power ratings; in some submarines, these were later upgraded to 3-kilowatt (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.[2]

Notes edit

  1. ^ Koerver, Hans Joachim. Room 40: German Naval Warfare 1914-1918. Vol II., The Fleet in Being (Steinbach, Germany: LIS Reinisch, 2009).
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ a b Akerman, P. (1989). Encyclopaedia of British submarines 1901–1955. 149–150. Maritime Books. ISBN 1-904381-05-7 [1]
  4. ^ "E Class". Chatham Submarines. Archived from the original on 13 August 2015. Retrieved 20 August 2015.

References edit

  • Koerver, Hans Joachim. Room 40: German Naval Warfare 1914-1918. Vol II., The Fleet in Being. Steinbach, Germany: LIS Reinisch, 2009.
  • 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.