HMS_E32

HMS <i>E32</i>

HMS E32

British E class submarine

HMS E32 was a British E-class submarine built by J. Samuel White, Cowes, Isle of Wight. She was launched on 16 August 1916 and commissioned in October 1916. HMS E32 was sold in Sunderland on 6 September 1922.

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Design

Like all post-E8 British E-class submarines, E32 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)[1] 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.[2][3] 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).[1] E32 was capable of operating submerged for five hours when travelling at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph).

E32 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.[2]

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

Crew

Her complement was three officers and 28 men.[1]

Service

E32 was built by J. Samuel White at their Cowes, Isle of Wight shipyard. She was launched on 16 August 1916 and completed in October 1916.[4]

In November 1916, E32 was listed as a member of the Ninth Submarine Flotilla, part of the Harwich Force.[5] In February 1917, E32 was one of for submarines that deployed with the depot ship Vulcan for anti-U-boat patrols off Eagle Island. Patrols in the Irish Sea continued, with E32 spotting a German submarine on 8 March, but the German submarine escaped on the surface, outpacing E32.[6] On 5 April 1917, E32 was operating with the decoy ship Q.13 (the sloop Aubrietia), when the merchant ship Benheather was torpedoed by the German submarine U-46, but did not immediately sink. E32 waited by the still floating wreck of Benheather for U-46 to approach, and when the German submarine closed, fired three torpedoes, which missed.[7]

References

  1. [1]
    Innes McCartney; Tony Bryan (20 February 2013). British Submarines of World War I. Osprey Publishing. pp. 11–12. ISBN 978-1-4728-0035-0.
  2. [2]
    Akerman, P. (1989). Encyclopaedia of British submarines 1901–1955. 149–150. Maritime Books. ISBN 1-904381-05-7
  3. [3]
    "E Class". Chatham Submarines. Archived from the original on 13 August 2015. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  4. [4]
    Harrison, A.N. (1979). "Appendix I: List of RN Submarines in the 1901 to 1936 Programmes" (PDF). BR 3043: The Development of HM Submarines. p. App I.7. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  5. [5]
    "Supplement to the Monthly Navy List Showing Organisation of the Fleet, Flag Officers' Commands &c.: II.–Harwich Force: Ninth Submarine Flotilla". The Navy List. November 1916. p. 13 – via National Museum of Scotland.
  6. [6]
    Naval Staff Monograph No. 34 1933, p. 335
  7. [7]
    Naval Staff Monograph No. 34 1933, p. 304

Bibliography
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