HMS C29

HMS C21 was one of 38 C-class submarines built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century.

History
United Kingdom
Name: HMS C29
Builder: Vickers, Barrow
Laid down: 4 June 1908
Launched: 19 June 1909
Commissioned: 17 September 1909
Fate: Sunk by mine, 29 August 1915
General characteristics
Class and type: C-class submarine
Displacement:
  • 290 long tons (290 t) surfaced
  • 320 long tons (330 t) submerged
Length: 142 ft 3 in (43.4 m)
Beam: 13 ft 7 in (4.1 m)
Draught: 11 ft 6 in (3.5 m)
Installed power:
  • 600 bhp (450 kW) petrol
  • 300 hp (220 kW) electric
Propulsion:
Speed:
  • 13 kn (24 km/h; 15 mph) surfaced
  • 8 kn (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) submerged
Range: 910 nmi (1,690 km; 1,050 mi) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph) on the surface
Test depth: 100 feet (30.5 m)
Complement: 2 officers and 14 ratings
Armament: 2 × 18 in (450 mm) bow torpedo tubes

Design and description

The C-class boats of the 1907–08 and subsequent Naval Programmes were modified to improve their speed, both above and below the surface. The submarine had a length of 142 feet 3 inches (43.4 m) overall, a beam of 13 feet 7 inches (4.1 m) and a mean draft of 11 feet 6 inches (3.5 m). They displaced 290 long tons (290 t) on the surface and 320 long tons (330 t) submerged. The C-class submarines had a crew of two officers and fourteen ratings.[1]

For surface running, the boats were powered by a single 12-cylinder[2] 600-brake-horsepower (447 kW) Vickers petrol engine that drove one propeller shaft. When submerged the propeller was driven by a 300-horsepower (224 kW) electric motor.[1] They could reach 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph) on the surface and 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) underwater. On the surface, the C class had a range of 910 nautical miles (1,690 km; 1,050 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph).[3]

The boats were armed with two 18-inch (45 cm) torpedo tubes in the bow. They could carry a pair of reload torpedoes, but generally did not as they would have to remove an equal weight of fuel in compensation.[4]

Construction and career

HMS C29 was built by Vickers, Barrow. She was laid down on 4 June 1908 and was commissioned on 17 September 1909. The boat sank a merchant ship while patrolling the Gulf of Riga in the Baltic.

C29 was involved in the use of the U-boat trap tactic. The tactic was to use a decoy trawler to tow a submarine. When a U-boat was sighted, the tow line and communication line was slipped and the submarine would attack the U-boat. The tactic was partly successful, but was abandoned after the loss of two C-class submarines. In both cases, all the crew were lost. C29 was one of the two C-class submarines sunk while attempting to employ the tactic; she was mined when her trawler Ariadne strayed into a minefield in the Humber Estuary on 29 August 1915.[5]

Notes
  1. Gardiner & Gray, p. 87
  2. Harrison, Chapter 25
  3. Harrison, Chapters 3
  4. Harrison, Chapter 27
  5. Kemp, Paul J. (1990). British Submarines of World War One. London: Arms and Armour Press. p. 8. ISBN 9781854090102.

References

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