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 F ...

's G class of

diesel Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engin ...

/electric

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

s were launched between 1914 and 1917, and intended for operations in the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

and

German Bight The German Bight (german: Deutsche Bucht; da, tyske bugt; nl, Duitse bocht; fry, Dútske bocht; ; sometimes also the German Bay) is the southeastern bight of the North Sea bounded by the Netherlands and Germany to the south, and Denmark and ...

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

against 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 role ...

Description

The G-class submarines were designed by the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

in response to a rumour that the Germans were building

double-hulled A double hull is a ship hull design and construction method where the bottom and sides of the ship have two complete layers of watertight hull surface: one outer layer forming the normal hull of the ship, and a second inner hull which is some dis ...

submarines for overseas duties. The submarines had a partial double hull, a length of

overall Overalls, also called bib-and-brace overalls or dungarees, are a type of garment usually used as protective clothing when working. The garments are commonly referred to as a "pair of overalls" by analogy with "pair of trousers". Overalls were ...

, 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 *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

of and a mean

draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vessel ...

of . They displaced on the surface and submerged. However, the design offered little improvement in practice, the ships being notoriously slow to dive.Arthur, M. (1997). ''Lost voices of the Royal Navy'', p.84. Hodder & Stoughton Ltd, London. HMS G14 IWM Q 18588

Most of the class had their bows raised during the war to increase buoyancy and improve seakeeping. For surface running, the boats were nearly all powered by two

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 ...

two-stroke A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a Thermodynamic power cycle, power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being comple ...

eight-cylinder

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-call ...

s, 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 ...

. These engines were the first in the world to use

Common Rail Common rail direct fuel injection is a direct fuel injection system built around a high-pressure (over ) fuel rail feeding solenoid valves, as opposed to a low-pressure fuel pump feeding unit injectors (or pump nozzles). High-pressure injection ...

injection, using four plunger pumps to deliver a pressure up to every 90° of rotation to keep the fuel pressure adequately constant in the 'rail' (pipe) serving all eight cylinders. ''G14'' was initially powered by

FIAT Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiary ...

diesels, but these proved unsuccessful, and were replaced by the standard Vickers engines. It was originally intended to fit more efficient

four-stroke A four-stroke (also four-cycle) engine is an internal combustion (IC) engine in which the piston completes four separate strokes while turning the crankshaft. A stroke refers to the full travel of the piston along the cylinder, in either directio ...

MAN A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromos ...

and Sulzer diesels to some of the class, but the outbreak of hostilities rendered such plans impossible.Friedman, N. (2014). ''Fighting the Great War at sea'', p.258. Seaforth Publishing. When submerged each propeller was driven by a

electric motor An electric motor is an Electric machine, 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 Electromagneti ...

. They could reach on the surface and underwater. On the surface, the G class had a range of at full speed. The boats were originally intended to be armed with one 21-inch (53.3 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 ...

in the bow and two 18-inch (45 cm) torpedo tubes on the beam. This specification was revised while they were under construction, the 21-inch tube moved to the stern and two additional 18-inch tubes added in the bow; they carried two 21-inch and eight 18-inch torpedoes. The G-class was also armed with a single

deck gun A deck gun is a type of naval artillery mounted on the deck of a submarine. Most submarine deck guns were open, with or without a shield; however, a few larger submarines placed these guns in a turret. The main deck gun was a dual-purpose ...

. The G-class submarines had a crew of 30 officers and ratings.Gardiner & Gray, p. 90

Boats

A total of 14 boats were built at four yards: G1 to G5 by

Chatham Dockyard Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham (at its most extensive, in the early 20th century, ...

, G6 & G7 by

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, Newcastle upon Tyne, Armstrong Whitworth built armaments, ships, locomotives, automobiles and a ...

, G8 to G13 by

, and G14 by Scott's on the Clyde. G15 was ordered from Samuel White's yard at

Cowes Cowes () is an English seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina, facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east bank. The two towns are linked by the Cowes Floa ...

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

, but cancelled. *'' G1'' - Launched 14 August 1915. Sold for scrap 1920. *'' G2'' - Launched 23 December 1915. Sank U-78 in the

Skagerrak The Skagerrak (, , ) is a strait running between the Jutland peninsula of Denmark, the southeast coast of Norway and the west coast of Sweden, connecting the North Sea and the Kattegat sea area through the Danish Straits to the Baltic Sea. The ...

, 28 October 1918. Sold for scrap 1920. *'' G3'' - Launched 22 January 1916. Sold for scrap 1920. *'' G4'' - Launched 23 October 1915. Sold 1928. *'' G5'' - Launched 23 November 1915. Sold 1922. *'' G6'' - Launched 7 December 1915. Sold 1921. *'' G7'' - Launched 14 March 1916. Last British submarine lost in World War I, on or about 23 October 1918, cause unknown. *'' G8'' - Launched 1 May 1916. Lost in the North Sea for reasons unknown on or about 14 January 1918. *'' G9'' - Launched 15 June 1916. Sunk in error by HMS ''Pasley'' on 16 September 1917. One survivor. *'' G10'' - Launched 11 January 1916. Sold 1923. *'' G11'' - Launched 22 February 1916. Wrecked on rocks off

Howick, Northumberland Howick ( ) is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Longhoughton, in Northumberland, England, between Boulmer and Craster. It is just inland from the North Sea, into which Howick Burn flows from Howick Hall. In 1951 the parish ...

, in thick fog, 22 November 1918. Two crew drowned while abandoning ship. *'' G12'' - Launched 24 March 1916. Sold 1920. *'' G13'' - Launched 18 July 1916. Sank ''UC-43'' off Muckle Flugga, 10 March 1917. Sold 1923. *'' G14'' - Launched 17 May 1917. Sold 1923. *''G15'' - Ordered 30 September 1914, cancelled 20 April 1915

Description

Boats

Notes

References

External links