HMS ''E12'' was a

British E class submarine The British E-class submarines started out as improved versions of the British D-class submarine. The E class served with the Royal Navy throughout World War I as the backbone of the submarine fleet. The last surviving E class submarines wer ...

built by HM Dockyard, Chatham. She was laid down on 16 December 1912 and commissioned on 14 October 1914. Her construction costs totalled £101,900. During the Great War, anti-submarine nets in the Dardanelles entangled her forward hydroplanes, forcing her down to a depth of 245 feet. At the time, this was the greatest depth achieved by any British

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 ...

. ''E12'' managed to surface only to come under fire by shore batteries, but avoided further damage. She survived the war and was sold for scrap in Malta on 7 March 1921.

Design

Like all post-''E8'' British E-class submarines, ''E12'' had a displacement of at the surface and while submerged. She had a total length of and a beam of . She was powered by two Vickers eight-cylinder two-stroke diesel engines and two electric motors.Akerman, P. (1989). ''Encyclopaedia of British submarines 1901–1955''. p.150. Maritime Books. The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a submerged speed of . British E-class submarines had fuel capacities of of diesel and ranges of when travelling at . ''E12'' was capable of operating submerged for five hours when travelling at . ''E12'' was armed with a single 4-inch QF gun mounted forward of the conning tower, and five 18 inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes, two in the bow, one either side amidships, and one in the stern; a total of 10 torpedoes were carried. E-Class submarines had wireless systems with power ratings; in some submarines, these were later upgraded to systems by removing a midship torpedo tube. Their maximum design depth was although in service some reached depths of below . Some submarines contained

Fessenden oscillator A Fessenden oscillator is an electro-acoustic transducer invented by Reginald Fessenden, with development starting in 1912 at the Submarine Signal Company of Boston. It was the first successful acoustical echo ranging device. Similar in operating ...

systems.

Crew

Her complement was three officers and 28 men.

References

* Akerman, P. (1989). ''Encyclopaedia of British submarines 1901–1955''. p. 150. Maritime Books. {{DEFAULTSORT:E12 British E-class submarines of the Royal Navy Ships built in Chatham 1914 ships World War I submarines of the United Kingdom Royal Navy ship names