HMS ''L33'' was a

British L-class submarine The British L-class submarine was originally planned under the emergency war programme as an improved version of the British E-class submarine. The scale of change allowed the L class to become a separate class. The armament was increased when ...

built by

Swan Hunter Swan Hunter, formerly known as Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson, is a shipbuilding design, engineering, and management company, based in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, England. At its apex, the company represented the combined forces of three powe ...

Wallsend Wallsend is a town in North Tyneside, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne. History Roman Wallsend In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of Segedunum. This fo ...

, laid down in September 1917, launched in May 1919, and completed in December 1920. She was armed with six torpedo tubes, and had a top speed of while surfaced. She had an uneventful career that included a deployment to the

China Station The Commander-in-Chief, China was the admiral in command of what was usually known as the China Station, at once both a British Royal Navy naval formation and its admiral in command. It was created in 1865 and deactivated in 1941. From 1831 to 18 ...

in 1928. Obsolescent by the early 1930s, ''L33'' was sold in February 1932 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 parts, which can be sold for re-use, or for the extraction ...

Description

''L33'' was

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 ...

and she had 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 at normal loading. She displaced surfaced and submerged. Her propulsion system consisted of two

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 ...

s for use while surfaced and two corresponding electric motors for use submerged. The diesel engines were rated at , while the electric motors produced . She could cruise at while surfaced and while submerged. While running on the surface at , the ship could cruise for a range of .Gardiner & Gray, p. 93 ''L33'' was armed with a primary armament of 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. These were supplied with eight

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 in total. Two additional, tubes were located on the

broadside Broadside or broadsides may refer to: Naval * Broadside (naval), terminology for the side of a ship, the battery of cannon on one side of a warship, or their near simultaneous fire on naval warfare Printing and literature * Broadside (comic ...

, with a single torpedo apiece. She was also equipped with a

deck gun A deck gun is a type of naval artillery mounted on the deck of a submarine. Most submarine deck guns were open, with or without a shield; however, a few larger submarines placed these guns in a turret. The main deck gun was a dual-purpose ...

for use whilst surfaced. The gun was mounted on a revolving platform on the bridge level to increase its range and permit it to engage surfaced enemy submarines beyond torpedo range and in heavier seas. She had a crew of thirty-eight."Destroyers and Submarines Built By Swan, Hunter, and Wigham Richardson, Ltd.", p. 407

Service history

''L33'' was built at the

shipyard; she was laid down on 26 September 1917, and she was launched on 29 May 1919.

Fitting-out Fitting out, or outfitting, is the process in shipbuilding that follows the float-out/launching of a vessel and precedes sea trials. It is the period when all the remaining construction of the ship is completed and readied for delivery to her o ...

was completed on 22 December 1919. After construction was completed, she underwent

sea trial A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a " shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and ...

s on the Tyne, which included both submerged and surface trials. On 16 March 1926, ''L33'' collided with another unknown vessel, though there were no injuries in the incident. In 1928, ''L33'' was assigned to the

, along with her

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 . By the 1930s, the L-class submarines had become obsolescent, and so most of them were removed from the Royal Navy's inventory. Accordingly, ''L33'' 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 ...

ping in February 1932 and subsequently

.Akermann, pp. 169–170

Footnotes

References

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Description

Service history

Footnotes

References

Further reading