HMCS ''CH-14'' 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 ...

originally ordered for 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 ...

as ''H14'' during the

First World War 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 ...

. Constructed in the United States during their neutrality, the submarine was withheld from the Royal Navy until after the US entry into the war. Entering service at the very end of the war, the submarine saw no action and was laid up at

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = " Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , e ...

following the cessation of hostilities. The submarine was gifted to Canada in 1919 and was in service with the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack s ...

from 1921 to 1922 as ''CH-14''. The submarine was sold for scrap and

broken up Ship-breaking (also known as ship recycling, ship demolition, ship dismantling, or ship cracking) is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for either a source of Interchangeable parts, parts, which can be sold for re-use, ...

in 1927.

Design and description

Ordered as part of the War Emergency Programme from

Bethlehem Steel The Bethlehem Steel Corporation was an American steelmaking company headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. For most of the 20th century, it was one of the world's largest steel producing and shipbuilding companies. At the height of its succe ...

of the United States, the H class were constructed at two shipyards,

Canadian Vickers Canadian Vickers Limited was an aircraft and shipbuilding company that operated in Canada during the early part of the 20th century until 1944. A subsidiary of Vickers Limited, it built its own aircraft designs as well as others under licence. ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

and the

Fore River Yard Fore River Shipyard was a shipyard owned by General Dynamics Corporation located on Weymouth Fore River in Braintree and Quincy, Massachusetts. It began operations in 1883 in Braintree, and moved to its final location on Quincy Point in 1901. In ...

Quincy, Massachusetts Quincy ( ) is a coastal U.S. city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest city in the county and a part of Greater Boston, Metropolitan Boston as one of Boston's immediate southern suburbs. Its population in 2020 was 1 ...

based on the US H-class design.Gardiner and Gray, p. 92 The boats displaced while surfaced and submerged. They were

long overall __NOTOC__ 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, an ...

with 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 . They had a complement of 4 officers and 18 ratings.Macpherson and Barrie, p. 16 The submarines were powered by a twin-shift,

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 ...

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 ...

and two electric motors. This gave the boats a maximum surfaced speed of and a submerged speed of . They had a fuel capacity of of diesel fuel.Cocker, pp. 40–41 This gave them a range of at 10 knots while surfaced. The H class had a designed diving depth of . The submarines were armed with four 18 inch (450 mm) tubes in the bow for the six

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...

es they carried.

Operational history

Royal Navy service

HMS ''H14'' was ordered in December 1914 from Bethlehem Steel, constructed at the Fore River Yard in Quincy,

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, and completed in December 1915. Due to the neutrality of the United States at the time, the submarines were constructed in secret and the vessel's launch date was not recorded. The intention was to construct the submarines and deliver them unarmed to Canada, where their armament would be installed. When the American government discovered the construction, they impounded ''H14'' and her nine completed sister boats, only releasing them following their own declaration of war two years later.Perkins (1989), pp. 187–188 During their internement, six of the ten completed submarines were ceded to Chile, leaving four at the Fore River Shipyard. Following the US entry into the war, the remaining four submarines were to sail to the United Kingdom by March 1918. On 29 March, ''H14'' got underway with three of her sister boats for the United Kingdom,Perkins (1989), p. 188 via

. On 15 April, ''H14'' departed

for the

Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

in a group that consisted of some 40

Allied 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 explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

ships led by . Shortly after leaving port, ''H14'' collided with the oiler , necessitating a return to Bermuda. ''H14'' was towed back to Bermuda by on 18 April. The vessel returned to

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

with serious defects. After repairs, ''H14'' and sister boat '' H15'' sailed for the United Kingdom, departing the United States on 9 November. The war ended while in transit and the two subs were ordered to Bermuda where they were laid up. The two subs were placed in reserve there until December 1918 when Canada agreed to their transfer from the Royal Navy.Perkins (1989), p. 203

Royal Canadian Navy service

''H14'' and ''H15'' were officially transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy on 7 February 1919. Taken to

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...

in May 1919, ''H14'' lay in a state of disrepair until April 1920 when the Royal Canadian Navy decided to refit and commission the submarine. The H class was used to replace the s. The two submarines were commissioned at Halifax on 21 April 1922. ''CH-14'' became operational in August and with her sister boat, made a series of port visits around the Maritimes. During the winter months of 1921–22, the two submarines sailed to Bermuda for training exercises. Due to budget cuts, plans were made to get rid of the H-class submarines and ''CH-14'' was

paid off Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to placing a warship in ...

on 30 June 1922. In 1923, the Royal Canadian Navy began planning to reactivate the submarines. However, this proved too costly and instead the submarine was sold for scrap in 1927.Ferguson, p. 208

References

Notes

Sources

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External links

CH type submarines

Canada's military submarines
{{DEFAULTSORT:CH-14 Ships of the Royal Canadian Navy British H-class submarines Ships built in Quincy, Massachusetts 1915 ships World War I submarines of the United Kingdom CH-class submarines