HMS ''L23'' was a
L-class submarine built for the Royal Navy during World War I. The boat was not completed before the end of the war and was one of three L-class boats to serve during World War II. ''L23'' was sold for
scrap
Scrap consists of Recycling, recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap Waste valorization, has monetary ...
in 1946.
Design and description
''L9'' and its successors were enlarged to accommodate
21-inch (53.3 cm) torpedoes and more fuel. 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 mean
draft of .
[Gardiner & Gray, p. 93] They
displaced on the surface and submerged. The L-class submarines had a crew of 35 officers and
ratings.
[Akermann, p. 165] They had a diving depth of .
[
For surface running, the boats were powered by two 12-cylinder Vickers diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a electric motor.][ They could reach on the surface and underwater. On the surface, the L class had a range of at .][Harrison, Chapter 11]
The boats were armed with four 21-inch torpedo tubes in the bow and two 18-inch (45 cm) in broadside mounts. They carried four reload torpedoes for the 21-inch tubes for a grand total of ten torpedoes of all sizes.[Harrison, Chapter 27] They were also armed with a deck gun.[
]
Construction and career
HMS ''L23'' was laid down on 26 July 1917 by Vickers at their Barrow-in-Furness shipyard
A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...
, launched on 1 July 1919. The boat was then towed to Chatham Royal 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, ...
and finished on 31 October 1924. She served on the China Station in the 1920s. HMS ''L23'' survived a heavy depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth ...
attack by two 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 ...
destroyers in February 1940. An oil leak occurred, which lead the Germans to believe that the submarine was destroyed. ''L23'' was sold for scrap in May 1946.
Notes
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:L23
British L-class submarines
Ships built in Barrow-in-Furness
1919 ships
World War I submarines of the United Kingdom
Royal Navy ship names