HMS ''D1'' was one of eight D-class submarine built for the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

during the first decade of the 20th century.

Description

The D-class submarines were designed as improved and enlarged versions of the preceding C class, with

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-cal ...

s replacing the dangerous

petrol engine A petrol engine (gasoline engine in American English) is an internal combustion engine designed to run on petrol (gasoline). Petrol engines can often be adapted to also run on fuels such as liquefied petroleum gas and ethanol blends (such as ' ...

s used earlier. The submarines had a length of overall, a beam of and a mean draught of . They displaced on the surface and submerged. The D-class submarines had a crew of 25 officers and ratings and were the first to adopt saddle tanks.Gardiner & Gray, p. 87 For surface running, the boats were powered by two diesels, each driving one

propeller shaft A drive shaft, driveshaft, driving shaft, tailshaft (Australian English), propeller shaft (prop shaft), or Cardan shaft (after Girolamo Cardano) is a component for transmitting mechanical power and torque and rotation, usually used to connect ...

. When submerged each propeller was driven by a

electric motor An electric motor is an electrical machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a wire winding to generate f ...

. They could reach on the surface and underwater. On the surface, the D class had a range of at . The boats were armed with three 18-inch (45 cm)

torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...

s, two in the bow and one in the stern. They carried one reload for each tube, a total of six torpedoes.

Construction and career

''D1'' was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

Vickers Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999. It was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law, and soon became famous for casting church bells. The company went public i ...

on 14 May 1907 and was launched on 16 May 1908 at Barrow. She was commissioned in September 1909. In 1910, ''D1'' took part in the annual manoevures, during which she "torpedoed" two "Blue Fleet"

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several ...

s off Colonsay. This showed that the D class could operate a considerable distance from their base at

Fort Blockhouse Fort Blockhouse is a military establishment in Gosport, Hampshire, England, and the final version of a complicated site. At its greatest extent in the 19th century, the structure was part of a set of fortifications which encircled much of Gos ...

. ''D1'' was sunk as a target on 23 October 1918 near Dartmouth.

Wreck discovery

The wreck was discovered by divers looking for the remains of German

U-Boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...

s and has been afforded protected status.''Dartmouth: WW1 submarine wreck given protection''
at bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 14 May 2021.

References

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:D01 British D-class submarines Royal Navy ship names 1908 ships Ships built in Barrow-in-Furness Ships sunk as targets Maritime incidents in 1918 Protected Wrecks of England