The British V-class submarine (officially "U-Class Long hull 1941–42 programme") was a
class
Class, Classes, or The Class may refer to:
Common uses not otherwise categorized
* Class (biology), a taxonomic rank
* Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects
* Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used d ...
of
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 built for the
Royal Navy during the Second World War
The Royal Navy was an important component of the Allied forces during the Second World War and made a significant contribution to the victory over the Axis powers. Its main tasks included the protection of merchant ships in the Atlantic against ...
.
History
Forty-two vessels were ordered to this design, all to be built by
Vickers-Armstrong
Vickers-Armstrongs Limited was a British engineering conglomerate formed by the merger of the assets of Vickers Limited and Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Company in 1927. The majority of the company was nationalised in the 1960s and 1970s, w ...
at either
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 ...
or at
Walker-on-Tyne
Walker is a residential suburb and electoral ward in the south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne, in the county of Tyne and Wear, England.
History
The place-name 'Walker' is first attested in 1242, where it appears as ''Waucre''. This means 'wall-car ...
, but only 22 were completed. Note that seven of these vessels received 'U' names (conversely, four of the U class had received names beginning with 'V').
The V-class submarines were very similar to the preceding
U-class (short-hull) boats, of which they constituted a linear development, but had
pressure hull
A submarine hull has two major components, the ''superstructure'' and the ''pressure hull''. The external portion of a submarine’s hull—that part that does not resist sea pressure and is free-flooding—is known as the “superstructure” i ...
plating instead of for deeper diving, also a lengthened
stern
The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. O ...
and fining at the
bow to reduce noise and improve underwater handling.
They were sometimes referred to as ''Vampire''-class submarines after .
Vampire-class Submarines
/ref>
It was one of this class, , that is the only submarine to sink another submarine while submerged - that submarine was the German .
Ships
The vessels which were ordered are shown below in their programme order (not all completed construction):
The first eight vessels were ordered on 5 December 1941 under that year's programme.
* - sold to Norway in 1946, renamed as ''Utstein''
*
* , completed as ''Pipinos'' (Y8)
*
*
*
*
*
The next eighteen vessels were ordered on 21 May 1942 under that year's programme, but six of these were cancelled in early 1944.
*
*
* - Transferred to the Royal Danish Navy after the war as U2
*
*
*
* HMS ''Vineyard'' (P84), completed as
* , completed as HNoMS ''Utsira''
* , transferred to Greece in 1945 as
* , completed as
* cancelled
* HMS ''Veto'' (P88), cancelled 23 January 1944 and scrapped on the slip
* HMS ''Virile'' (P89), cancelled 23 January 1944 and scrapped on the slip
* HMS ''Visitant'' (P91), cancelled 23 January 1944 (never laid down)
* HMS ''Upas'' (P92), cancelled February 1944 and scrapped on the slip
* HMS ''Ulex'' (P93), cancelled February 1944 (never laid down)
* HMS ''Utopia'' (P94), cancelled February 1944 (never laid down)
*
*
A further six vessels were ordered on 17 November 1942 under the same year's programme, but four of these were cancelled on 23 January 1944.
*
*
* cancelled
* HMS ''Vantage'', cancelled 23 January 1944 (never laid down)
* HMS ''Vehement'' (P25), cancelled 23 January 1944 (never laid down)
* HMS ''Venom'' (P27), cancelled 23 January 1944 (never laid down)
* HMS ''Verve'' (P28), cancelled 23 January 1944 (never laid down)
Finally, a further ten vessels were ordered under the 1943 Programme, but all of these were cancelled on 20 November 1943; eight of these were never given names.
* cancelled
* HMS ''Unbridled'' (P11), cancelled 20 November 1943 (never laid down)
* HMS ''Upward'' (P16), cancelled 20 November 1943 (never laid down)
* Eight more unnamed boats
Notes
References
*
{{WWII British ships
V class