HMS_H3 Knowpia

	HMS H4, another submarine of the same class
History
United Kingdom
Name	H3
Builder	Canadian Vickers, Montreal
Laid down	11 January 1915
Launched	1 April 1915
Commissioned	3 June 1915
Fate	Sunk, 15 July 1916
General characteristics
Class and type	H-class submarine
Displacement	364 long tons (370 t) surfaced; 434 long tons (441 t) submerged;
Length	150 ft 3 in (45.80 m)
Beam	15 ft 4 in (4.67 m)
Propulsion	1 × 480 hp (358 kW) diesel engine; 2 × 620 hp (462 kW) electric motors;
Speed	13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph) surfaced; 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) submerged;
Range	1,600 nmi (3,000 km) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced; 130 nmi (240 km) at 2 kn (3.7 km/h; 2.3 mph) submerged;
Complement	22
Armament	4 × 18 in (457 mm) bow torpedo tubes; 8 × 18 inch torpedoes; 1 × QF 6-pounder gun;

HMS H3 was a British H-class submarine built by Canadian Vickers Co, Montreal. She was laid down on 11 January 1915 and was commissioned on 3 June 1915. After commissioning she crossed the Atlantic from St. John's, Newfoundland to Gibraltar escorted by the armed merchant cruiser HMS Calgarian. She was accompanied by H1, H2 and H4. H3 was mined in the Gulf of Cattaro, Adriatic on 15 July 1916.

Design edit

Like all pre-H11 British H-class submarines, H3 had a displacement of 364 long tons (370 t) at the surface and 434 long tons (441 t) while submerged.^[2] It had a total length of 150 feet 3 inches (45.8 m), a beam of 15 feet 4 inches (4.67 m), and a draught of 12 feet (3.7 m).^[3] It contained a diesel engines providing a total power of 480 horsepower (360 kW) and two electric motors each providing 320 horsepower (240 kW) power.^[3] The use of its electric motors made the submarine travel at 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph). It would normally carry 16.4 long tons (16.7 t) of fuel and had a maximum capacity of 18 long tons (18 t).^[4]

The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph) and a submerged speed of 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph). British H-class submarines had ranges of 1,600 nautical miles (3,000 km; 1,800 mi).^[2] H3 was fitted with a 6 pounds (2.7 kg) Hotchkiss quick-firing gun (6-pounder) and four 18 inches (460 mm) torpedo tubes. Its torpedo tubes were fitted to the bows and the submarine was loaded with eight 18 inches (460 mm) torpedoes.^[2] It is a Holland 602 type submarine but was designed to meet Royal Navy specifications. Its complement was twenty-two crew members.^[2]

Citations edit

^ Britain 6-pdr / 8cwt [2.244"/40 (57 mm)] QF Marks I and II
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "H-class". Battleships-Cruisers, Cranston Fine Arts. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
^ ^a ^b Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8. Retrieved from Naval-History on 20 August 2015.
^ J. D. Perkins (1999). "Building History and Technical Details for Canadian CC-Boats and the Original H-CLASS". Electric Boat Company Holland Patent Submarines. Retrieved 20 August 2015.