HMS ''E3'' was the third E-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 ...

to be constructed, built at Barrow by

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 ...

in 1911-1912. Built with compartmentalisation and endurance not previously achievable, these were the best submarines in 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 ...

at the start of 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 ...

. She was sunk in the first ever successful attack on one submarine by another, when she was torpedoed on 18 October 1914 by .

Design

The early

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 ...

s, from ''E1'' to ''E8'', had a displacement of at the surface and while submerged. They had a length overall of and a beam of , and were 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 class had a maximum surface speed of and a submerged speed of , with a fuel capacity of of diesel affording a range of when travelling at , while submerged they had a range of at . The early 'Group 1' ''E'' class boats were armed with four 18 inch (450 mm)

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, one in the bow, one either side amidships, and one in the stern; a total of eight torpedoes were carried. Group 1 boats were not fitted with a deck gun during construction, but those involved in the Dardanelles campaign had guns mounted forward of the conning tower while at Malta Dockyard. 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 A complement is something that completes something else. Complement may refer specifically to: The arts * Complement (music), an interval that, when added to another, spans an octave ** Aggregate complementation, the separation of pitch-class ...

was three officers and 28 men.

Service history

When

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

was declared with

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

on 5 August 1914, ''E3'' was based at

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-on- ...

, in the 8th Submarine Flotilla of the

Home Fleet The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy that operated from the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967. In 1967, it was merged with the Mediterranean Fleet creating the new Western Fleet. Before the First ...

Loss

''E3'' sailed from

on 16 October to patrol off

Borkum Borkum ( nds, Borkum, Börkum) is an island and a municipality in the Leer District in Lower Saxony, northwestern Germany. It is situated east of Rottumeroog and west of Juist. Geography Borkum is bordered to the west by the Westerems strait ...

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 ...

. On 18 October, she spotted some

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

s ahead but was unable to get into a position to take a shot at them. Unable to pass them,

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

Cholmley retreated into the bay to wait for them to disperse. As he did so, he failed to see that the bay was also occupied by , under ''Kapitänleutnant'' Bernd Wegener. Wegener was surfaced and patrolling between the Ems and Borkum when at 11:25, an object resembling a

buoy A buoy () is a floating device that can have many purposes. It can be anchored (stationary) or allowed to drift with ocean currents. Types Navigational buoys * Race course marker buoys are used for buoy racing, the most prevalent form of yac ...

was spotted where no buoy should be. Suspecting a British submarine, ''U-27'' immediately dived and closed the object.Naval Staff Monograph No. 24 1924, pp. 122–123. Although 'conned down', the number 83 was clearly visible on the

conning tower A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armored, from which an officer in charge can conn the vessel, controlling movements of the ship by giving orders to those responsible for the ship's engine, rudder, lines, and gro ...

of the British boat, now identified as such beyond reasonable doubt. Wegener tracked the submarine for two hours until able to approach 'up sun'. He noted that the look-outs were staring intently in the other direction, towards the Ems. When the distance had closed to , a single torpedo was fired by ''U-27''. Detonation followed shortly after, and ''E3'' sank immediately. Survivors were visible in the water but fearing a second British submarine might have been lurking nearby, ''U-27'' dived and withdrew. 30 minutes later, the U-boat returned to the scene to search for evidence and possible survivors but without success. All 31 members of ''E3''s crew were lost.Kemp 1999, p. 10.

The Wreck

In 1990, the

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. Ori ...

section was snagged by a

fishing boat A fishing vessel is a boat or ship used to catch fish in the sea, or on a lake or river. Many different kinds of vessels are used in commercial, artisanal and recreational fishing. The total number of fishing vessels in the world in 2016 was es ...

, which in turn alerted divers from Zeester. The wreck of ''E3'' was discovered on 14 October 1994. The stern of ''E3'' had been blown off in the explosion and was found to be completely detached. The stern section— including the stern torpedo chamber — was later raised. The stern hatch was open, but the nature of the explosion indicates that men in the engine room and motor compartments would have died instantly. The motor and engine rooms are fully exposed and have consequently been looted of all removable fittings, including the

bell A bell is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be made by an inter ...

. The conning tower has been removed by fishing nets and the broken periscope standards are still evident. The conning tower ladder is said to have been donated to the

Submarine Museum Submarine Museum ( ms, Muzium Kapal Selam) is a museum made out of a decommissioned submarine situated in Klebang, Malacca, Malaysia. The decommissioned submarine is a France-made Agosta class 70 submarine named Quessant (S623), which was us ...

but is not officially listed within their collections. ''E3''s torpedo loading hatch is open and the bow section is largely intact.

References

* *

External links

A movie about the discovery of the E3 with English subtitles'Submarine losses 1904 to present day' - Royal Navy Submarine Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:E03 British E-class submarines of the Royal Navy Ships built in Barrow-in-Furness 1912 ships World War I submarines of the United Kingdom Maritime incidents in October 1914 Ships sunk by German submarines in World War I World War I shipwrecks in the North Sea Lost submarines of the United Kingdom Royal Navy ship names