The Chilean submarine ''Fresia'' was an
H-class 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 ...
of the
Chilean Navy. The vessel was originally ordered by the United Kingdom's
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 ...
as HMS ''H20'', but was handed over to Chile in 1917 as ''H6''.
Description
''Fresia'' was a single-hulled submarine, with a pressure hull divided into five watertight compartments. The submarine had a length of
overall, 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
draught of . She
displaced on the surface and submerged. The H-class submarines had a crew of 22 officers and enlisted men.
[Gardiner & Gray, pp. 92, 409]
The submarine had two propellers, each of which was driven by a
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 ...
as well as 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 ...
s. This arrangement gave ''Fresia'' a maximum speed of while surfaced and submerged. She had a range of at while on the surface and at while submerged. The boat had a capacity of of
fuel oil
Fuel oil is any of various fractions obtained from the distillation of petroleum (crude oil). Such oils include distillates (the lighter fractions) and residues (the heavier fractions). Fuel oils include heavy fuel oil, marine fuel oil (MFO), bun ...
. The H-class submarines were equipped with 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 in the bow and carried eight torpedoes.
[
]
Career
''H20'' was a H-class submarine built by Fore River Yard of Quincy, . She was launched on 25 August 1915. Because the United States was neutral (having not yet entered 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 ...
), ''H20'' along with sister ship
A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...
s , , , , , , , , and were all interned by the United States government. As a result, ''H20'' was never commissioned into the Royal Navy. Instead, she and ''H13'', ''H16'', ''H17'', ''H18'', and ''H19'' were transferred to the Chilean Navy as partial recompensation for the appropriation of two 28,000-ton dreadnoughts ( and ). Originally named ''H6'' when turned over to Chile in 1917, she was renamed ''Fresia'' in 1924. She served with the Chilean Navy until she was stricken in 1945.
Notes
References
*
*
See also
* List of submarines of the Second World War
This is a list of submarines of World War II, which began with the German invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 and ended with the surrender of Japan on 2 September 1945.
Germany used submarines to devastating effect in the Battle of the At ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fresia
British H-class submarines
Ships built in Quincy, Massachusetts
1915 ships
World War I submarines of the United Kingdom
British H-class submarines of the Chilean Navy
World War II submarines of Chile