"M" Class Submarine (1917)

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M 1 shows off her unusual armament.[1]

Three of four projected "M" class submarine monitors were completed for the Royal Navy.

Only M 1 saw war service.

Overview of 4 vessels
Citations for this data available on individual ship pages
Name Builder Laid Down Launched Completed Fate
M 1 Vickers 9 Jul, 1917 Collision 12 Nov, 1925
M 2 Vickers 19 Oct, 1918 Foundered 26 Jan, 1932
M 3 Armstrong, Whitworth & Company 19 Oct, 1918 Sold Feb, 1932
M 4 Armstrong, Whitworth & Company 20 Jul, 1919 Cancelled 1918

Armament

Guns

  • one 12-in 40 cal Mark IX, 50 shells

The 12-in gun could train 15 degrees to either side, elevate 20 degrees or depress 5 degrees.

It proved remarkably workable, and even after the war the British were considering how this might be preferable as an anti-submarine weapon to firing a spread of torpedoes. The submarine was able to transition from periscope depth to firing depth in 25 seconds, and to return to periscope depth after firing in 15 seconds.[2] Unfortunately, the gun had to be reloaded in the surface.

Torpedoes

M 1, M 2:

  • four 18-in tubes forward, eight torpedoes

M 3:

  • four 21-in tubes forward, eight torpedoes

Mines

M 3 was converted to a minelaying submarine in 1927. She had a capacity for 100 mines, which were laid off the stern.

See Also

Footnotes

  1. The Technical History and Index, Vol. 3, Part 21. Plate 9.
  2. The Technical History and Index, Vol. 3, Part 21. p. 8.

Bibliography


"M" Class Submarine
  M 1 M 2 M 3 M 4  
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