100 YEARS OF BARROW-BUILT RN SUBMARINES, 1901-2001
A, B AND C CLASSES, 1902-1910
Even before trials with the first Holland boat were completed, it became apparent that they would have limited speed and endurance on the surface and, as a result - which highlighted the changing attitude within the Admiralty - a larger submarine was ordered with the hope of overcoming these problems.
This, the submarine A1, although based on the Holland Class was of all-British design (Capt Bacon, now Inspecting Captain of Submarines, and Vickers, Sons and Maxim). She was 40 feet longer than the Hollands, and, at 207 tons, of about two-thirds greater displacement. Power was also increased.
Laid down in 1902, she was the first of a class of thirteen completed at Barrow between 1903 and 1905, except for A13 which was an experimental craft, fitted with diesel engines instead of petrol engines and completed in 1908.
The hoped for improvements in surface performance were achieved as the class developed and further changes in power were made, but in underwater performance there was little gained over the Hollands.
During the building of A1, it was decided that greater torpedo capability was required and from A2 onwards two bow tubes were fitted, side-by-side. So many modifications were made to the various boats during the building programme, that the A Class could almost be considered as four classes: A1; A2 to A4; A5 to A12 and A13, the diesel version.
But the A Class still had limitations in speed and endurance, accommodation was cramped and they were not good sea boats.
'FISHER'S TOYS'
In an attempt to improve on these shortcomings, a larger vessel was designed, some 40 feet longer than A1, 10 inches more in beam, and of 100 tons greater displacement. This was the start of the B Class of which eleven were built between 1903 and 1906. The B Class were the first submarines to be fitted with deck casings.
Surface performance was improved over that of the A Class, but underwater performance was substantially the same.
The C Class followed and 38 were built between 1905 and 1910 - all but six being built at Barrow. The other six were built at Chatham - (First instance of Lead-Yard?).
The B and C Classes were almost identical, being larger versions of the A Class, with petrol engines for surface propulsion and batteries for propulsion when submerged.
Many improvements were made from B1 to C38, particularly in the superstructure, to improve surface running and seaworthiness.
The A, B and C Classes were designed for coastal defence work and had a limited range. They became known in naval circles as 'Fisher's Toys' - a reference to Admiral Sir John Fisher who was a keen advocate of the submarine as a weapon of war.
These infant submarines led eventful lives.
The unluckiest vessel of the era was surely the submarine A1. Some of the things that happened in her have served as a warning to all submariners from that day to this. Before delivery, A1 suffered the first explosion in a submarine - this was due to a pocket of hydrogen gas.
On another occasion, when on passage off Land's End the engines became unreliable and she was taken under tow. A1 rolled in the heavy seas and seawater entered the batteries, filling the submarine with choking chlorine gas and prompting the crew to abandon ship. When she was eventually delivered to Portsmouth, A1 was berthed in the northern and remote part of the harbour so that this 'dangerous craft' could do as little damage as possible if she blew up.
In the summer of 1904, during manoeuvres against the Fleet, A1 was dispatched to attack a battleship. When she neared Spithead, the ocean liner SS Berwick Castle was going into Southampton. No one on watch noticed the tiny periscope jutting from the waves, nor did any of her crew feel anything more than a slight tremble as the massive ship ran over a small unknown object. When A1 failed to report that night, it was realized that a disaster had occurred. Eleven men lost their lives in this tragedy, which caused great concern throughout the country. Bad weather and lifting problems delayed her salvage for a full month.
The A1 disaster prompted the fitment of a second hatch leading from the Control Room to the conning tower in future submarines. Indeed, the early years of submarine building were a time of innovation:
In 1908, approval was given to fit C12 to C16 with 'airlocks' or 'air-traps' as they were sometimes known. Divided into three airlocks, with a fourth fitted on the starboard side, the enclosed spaces had stowed in them sixteen diving helmets - one for each member of the crew. The escape route was through the torpedo hatch. These airlocks were subsequently fitted to all B and C Class submarines.
The first submarine to carry a boat appears to have been C1, which had a 10ft berthon boat - a practice that was adopted for the remainder of the class. In 1905, the hitherto unknown dangers of petrol vapour caused an explosion in A5, which killed her commander and several others, and led to the move to adopt diesel engines which used heavy oil with a higher flash point. A13 was fitted with an experimental diesel engine for trials at sea. During these trials, the B and C Class vessels continued to be fitted with the same sixteen cylinder Wolseley petrol engine as in A5 to A12, but now made by Vickers and called the Vickers engine. In C19 to C38 the number of cylinders was reduced to twelve. Following the trials in A13, diesels were adopted for the D Class, and the use of petrol engines in new designs came to an end.
The A, B and C Classes, although intended for coastal defensive work, proved that the submarine was here to stay and with greater range could have an even more important role to play. On 1st December 1914, the B11, commanded by Lt Holbrook RN, negotiated the Dardenelles to torpedo the Turkish battleship Messoudieh. For this action Lt Holbrook received the first submarine VC.
MAIN PARTICULARS A CLASS B CLASS C CLASS
Length Overall 105 ft 1/2 in 142 ft 2 1/2 in 142 ft 2 1/2 in
Beam 12 ft 8 3/4 in 13 ft 7 in 13 ft 7 in
Depth, pressure hull 12 ft 8 3/4 in 13 ft 7 in 13 ft 7 in
Displacement,
surface 190 tons 287 tons 290 tons
submerged 205.5 tons 316 tons 320 tons
Diving Depth 100 ft 100 ft 100 ft
No. of shafts 1 1 1
Propeller 1, 3 blades, 1, 3 blades, 1, 3 blades,
4 ft 4 in diameter 5 ft diameter 5 ft 7 in diameter
Pre-First World War British submarines also carried three white mice, which were entered on the pay-roll as part of the crew. Being extremely sensitive they notified the slightest escape of petrol fumes - by squeaking excitedly.
