British H class submarine under construction

The British H-class submarines were

Holland 602 type submarine The Holland 602 type submarine, also known as the H-class submarine, was one of the most numerous submarines of World War I. The type was designed by the Electric Boat Co. of the United States, but most of the boats were built abroad: in Canada by ...

s used by the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

. The

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

s constructed for the British Royal Navy between 1915 and 1919 were designed and built in response to German boats which mined British waters and sank coastal shipping with ease owing to their small size. The H class was created to perform similar operations in German waters, and to attack German submarines operating in British waters. Despite their cramped size and lack of a deck gun on some submarines, the class was popular amongst submariners, and saw action all around the

British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...

, some being transferred as far as the

Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...

. Owing to the late arrival of most of the class, they were unable to have much impact in service, only destroying two German submarines and for the loss of four of their own number. Post-war, many were retained in the Royal Navy for training purposes, while four more were lost in accidents during the 1920s. At the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the class was obsolete, but retained in training and coastal warfare roles to help the Royal Navy cope with heavy losses to the submarine fleet during the early stages of the war. Two were sunk in this role by German countermeasures. The boats built in Canada, but not in the United States, were equipped with Fessenden transducers.

Boats

Group 1

Group 1 was built in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

at the Canadian Vickers Yards in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

before being transported across the Atlantic and deployed from Britain as British shipyards were too busy to construct submarines at this time: * – Launched 1 April 1915 * – Launched 1 April 1915 * – Launched 1 April 1915. Mined and sunk July 1916 * – Launched 1 April 1915 * – Launched 1 April 1915. Rammed and sunk March 1918 * – Launched June 1915. Interned and purchased by the Dutch January 1916 * – Launched June 1915 * – Launched June 1915 * – Launched June 1915 * – Launched June 1915. Disappeared 1918

Group 2

The second group was constructed simultaneously with the first group, but at Fore River Yard at Quincy,

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

in the then-neutral United States. When the

U.S. government The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct branches: legislative, executi ...

discovered the construction, they impounded all the completed units, releasing them only following their own declaration of war two years later. To escape this difficulty, the British government gave six units to the

Chilean Navy The Chilean Navy () is the naval warfare service branch of the Chilean Armed Forces. It is under the Ministry of National Defense (Chile), Ministry of National Defense. Its headquarters are at Edificio Armada de Chile, Valparaiso. History Ori ...

as partial payment for the appropriation of six Chilean ships for British service in 1914: * – Launched 1915. * – Launched 1915. * – Launched 1918, transferred to

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

* – Launched 1919, transferred to Canada * – Launched 1918, transferred to Canada * – Launched 1918, transferred to Chile * – Launched 1918, transferred to Chile * – Launched 1918, transferred to Chile * – Launched 1918, transferred to Chile * – Launched 1918, transferred to Chile

Group 3

Group 3 was the largest group, and was constructed in 1917–1919 in Britain, shipyard space having been granted to the project and more boats needed following the seizure of those building in the United States. They were built by

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 in 18 ...

Cammell Laird Cammell Laird is a British shipbuilding company. It was formed from the merger of Laird Brothers of Birkenhead and Johnson Cammell & Co of Sheffield at the turn of the twentieth century. The company also built railway rolling stock until 1929, ...

Armstrong Whitworth Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd was a major British manufacturing company of the early years of the 20th century. With headquarters in Elswick, Tyne and Wear, Elswick, Newcastle upon Tyne, Armstrong Whitworth built armaments, ships, locomot ...

and William Beardmore at several locations, and most of the boats enjoyed long careers in the Royal Navy: * – Launched 1918 * – Launched 1918 * – Launched 1918 * – Launched 1918 * – Launched 1918 * – Launched 1918 * – Launched 1918 * – Launched 1918. Sank in dockyard accident 1926 * – Launched 1918 * – Launched 1919. Mined and sunk 1941 * – Launched 1919 * – Launched 1919 * – Launched 1919 **Numbers ''H35-H40'' were ordered from Cammell Laird but cancelled in 1919 * – Launched 1918. Wrecked in collision 1920 * – Launched 1919. Wrecked in collision 1922 * – Launched 1919 * – Launched 1920 **Numbers ''H45'' and ''H46'' cancelled. * – Launched 1919. Wrecked in collision 1929 * – Launched 1919 * – Launched 1919. Sunk by German surface units 1940 * – Launched 1920 * – Launched 1919 * – Launched 1919 *''H53'' and ''H54'' cancelled.

Notes

Bibliography

External links

The Canadian built British H boats
{{Chilean submarines H class Submarines of the Royal Canadian Navy