HMS ''H32'' was a H-class

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 ...

constructed for 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 entered service in 1919 and served in 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 ...

, one of only seven of the 42 H-class submarines to do so. During Warship Week 1942 ''H32'' was adopted by Lydney RDC (Gloucestershire). The submarine was sold for

scrap Scrap consists of recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap can have monetary value, especially recover ...

in 1944.

Design

Like all post-''H20'' H-class submarines, ''H32'' had a

displacement Displacement may refer to: Physical sciences Mathematics and physics *Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...

of at the surface and while submerged.Gardiner and Gray, p.92 The submarine had a

length overall Length overall (LOA, o/a, o.a. or oa) is the maximum length of a vessel's hull measured parallel to the waterline. This length is important while docking the ship. It is the most commonly used way of expressing the size of a ship, and is also ...

of ,Walters, p.2 a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Radio beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially lo ...

of , and a draught of . The submarine was driven by a two-shaft diesel engine providing a total power of and two electric motors each providing power, for a speed of . The submarine would normally carry of fuel and had a maximum capacity of . The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a submerged speed of . Post-''H20'' H-class submarines had ranges of at speeds of when surfaced. ''H32'' was fitted with an

anti-aircraft gun Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-ba ...

, and four

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 fitted to the

bow BOW as an acronym may refer to: * Bag of waters, amniotic sac * Bartow Municipal Airport (IATA:BOW), a public use airport near Bartow, Florida, United States * Basic operating weight of an aircraft * BOW counties, made of Brown, Outagamie, and Winn ...

, with eight 21-inch torpedoes carried. The design was based on the

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 ...

, altered to meet Royal Navy specifications. The submarine had a

complement Complement may refer to: The arts * Complement (music), an interval that, when added to another, spans an octave ** Aggregate complementation, the separation of pitch-class collections into complementary sets * Complementary color, in the visu ...

of twenty-two crew members.

Construction and career

''H32'' was built by

Vickers Limited Vickers Limited was a British engineering conglomerate. The business began in Sheffield in 1828 as a steel foundry and became known for its church bells, going on to make shafts and propellers for ships, armour plate and then artillery. Entir ...

Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town and civil parish (as just "Barrow") in the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the county of Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borou ...

. She 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 ...

on 20 April 1917, launched on 19 November 1918,Colledge, p.280 and commissioned on 14 May 1919. Upon commissioning, HMS ''H32'' was assigned to be a tender to the

submarine depot ship A submarine tender, in British English a submarine depot ship, is a type of depot ship that supplies and supports submarines. Development Submarines are small compared to most oceangoing vessels, and generally cannot carry large amounts of food ...

. The submarine was also the first Royal Navy boat to be fitted with the

ASDIC Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances ( ranging), communicate with or detect objects o ...

(Anti Submarine Detector Investigation Committee) underwater sensor system. At the onset of the Second World War, ''H32'' was a member of the 6th Submarine Flotilla. From 26 to 29 August 1939, the flotilla deployed to its war bases at

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

and Blyth.Rohwer, p.1 Beginning on 22 March 1941, the Royal Navy and

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

began deploying submarines off

Brest, France Brest (; ) is a port, port city in the Finistère department, Brittany (administrative region), Brittany. Located in a sheltered bay not far from the western tip of a peninsula and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an impor ...

to prevent the German

battleship A battleship is a large, heavily naval armour, armored warship with a main battery consisting of large naval gun, guns, designed to serve as a capital ship. From their advent in the late 1880s, battleships were among the largest and most form ...

s and from leaving port. ''H32'' was among the submarines assigned to the patrol.Rohwer, p.65 HMS ''H32'' was sold for scrap at

Troon Troon (Scottish Gaelic: ''An Truthail'') is a town and sea port in South Ayrshire, situated on the west coast of Ayrshire in Scotland, about north of Ayr and northwest of Glasgow Prestwick Airport. Troon has a port with ferry and freight serv ...

on 18 October 1944.

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:H32 British H-class submarines Ships built in Barrow-in-Furness 1918 ships World War I submarines of the United Kingdom World War II submarines of the United Kingdom Royal Navy ship names

Design

Construction and career

See also

References

Bibliography