Class J submarine (Royal Navy)

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J class
Royal Navy
HMAS J7
General data
Ship type :
Navy :
Builders :
Units:
  • 7th
Boats of the class
J1 , J2 , J3 , J4 , J5 , J6 , J7
Technical specifications
Crew :
  • 45 men
    • 5 officers
    • 40 teams
Displacement :
  • over water: 1210  ts
  • under water: 1760 ts
Length :
Width:
  • 7.26 m (23 ft 1 ″)
Draft :
  • 4.87 m (16 ft)
Drive  :
Speed :
  • over water: 19.5 kn (36  km / h )
  • under water: 9.5 kn (18 km / h)
Driving range :
  • surfaced at 12 kn:
    • 4000 NM (7408 km)
Diving depth :
  • maximum 91 m (300 ft)
Armament
Torpedo tubes :
  • 6 × 18 ″ (457 mm)
Artillery :

The J-Class was a class of submarines of the Submarine Service of the British Royal Navy in the First World War . A submarine was lost in the war. The remainder were handed over to the Royal Australian Navy after the war ended .

Building history

The British navy leadership demanded even before the war began, a submarine, which should be fast enough to get together with fast overwater warships as introduced since 1906 Dreadnoughts to operate. In addition, there were incorrect intelligence reports claiming that the German Imperial Navy had extremely fast submarines. The desired submarines should be able to reach a speed of at least 21 kn (39  km / h ) over water  .

Eight boats were commissioned in January 1915. The design, powered by three 12-cylinder diesel engines, just missed the required values ​​with a maximum speed of 19.5 kn (36 km / h). In addition, it has since become known that the Germans did not own any submarines of this speed. The construction contract was then reduced to six units, which were laid down in the spring of 1915. The planned J7 and J8 have been renamed J3 and J4 . By the summer of 1916 three submarines had been completed in Portsmouth , two in Pembroke Dock and one in Devonport .

In 1916 another boat was laid in Devonport after all, which was put into service in September 1917.

Constructive features

The submersibles had three propellers , each powered by a 12-cylinder diesel engine over water. Each diesel engine delivered an output of 1200  hp (895  kW ). Under water, the submarines used two electric motors with 600 HP (447 kW) each. The above water range was up to 4000 nautical miles (7408 km) at a speed of 12 kn (22 km / h  ).

Over water, the J-class boats, together with the steam turbine-powered British K-class boats, which are 4½ kn faster, are among the fastest submarines ever built. Modern submarines are optimized for high underwater speeds and are considerably slower over water. Even the fastest nuclear submarines have surfaced at lower speeds.

The two-hulled boats could dive up to 300 feet (91 m  ).

A deck gun with the caliber 4  inches (101.6 mm) served as artillery armament. Air defense was not provided.

The torpedo armament consisted of six 18-inch (457-mm) torpedo tubes . Four pipes were in the bow. Two more were arranged laterally outside the pressure hull.

Mission history

The first six submarines were put into service during 1916 and patrolled the North Sea . The home base was Blyth in the northwestern county of Northumberland .

On November 5, 1916, the J1 was able to successfully torpedo the German large-line ships SMS Kronprinz and SMS Großer Kurfürst off Horns Rev. The two capital ships could not be sunk, but were severely damaged, had to abandon their advance and retreat to their home bases for repairs.

The J2 sank the German submarine SM U 99 with torpedoes on July 7, 1917.

On October 15, 1918, the J6 was erroneously identified as a German submarine by the British Q-ship Cymric off Blyth and sunk.

The remaining six boats of the class were handed over to the Australian Navy in March 1919.

Whereabouts

The Australians used the submarines until 1922 and sold them for scrapping in 1924. The cannibalized hulls were sunk as a breakwater in front of the entrance to Port Phillip off Melbourne in 1926 . The J4 had already sunk in the port in July 1924. The remains were lifted and also sunk off Port Phillip in 1927.

The six wrecks now form artificial coral reefs and are popular destinations for scuba divers from all over the world.

Boats of the class

  boat   Shipyard Keel laying Launch Commissioning comment
HMS J1 Portsmouth Dockyard April 26, 1915 November 6, 1915 March 15, 1916 Transferred to Australia in 1919; Self-submerged in 1926 as an artificial reef
HMS J2 Portsmouth Dockyard May 3, 1915 November 6, 1915 June 1, 1916 Transferred to Australia in 1919; Self-submerged in 1926 as an artificial reef
HMS J3 Pembroke Dockyard March 2, 1915 4th December 1915 April 27, 1916 Transferred to Australia in 1919; Self-submerged in 1926 as an artificial reef
HMS J4 Pembroke Dockyard March 8, 1915 February 2, 1916 July 17, 1916 Transferred to Australia in 1919; Self-submerged in 1927 as an artificial reef
HMS J5 Devonport Dockyard April 26, 1915 September 9, 1915 May 6, 1916 Transferred to Australia in 1919; Self-submerged in 1926 as an artificial reef
HMS J6 Portsmouth Dockyard April 26, 1915 September 9, 1915 July 31, 1916 sunk by mistake by fire on October 15, 1918 off Blyth .
HMS J7 Devonport Dockyard August 5, 1916 February 21, 1917 September 15, 1917 Transferred to Australia in 1919; Self-submerged in 1926 as an artificial reef

See also

literature

  • Anthony Preston: The History of the Submarines. Karl Müller Verlag, Erlangen, German edition 1998, ISBN 3-86070-697-7 .

Web links

Commons : Submarine Class J  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files