Havmanden Class Submarine (1911)

The ''Havmanden'' class was a class of six submarines built for the Royal Danish Navy from 1911 to 1914. Also later known as the A class, the boats were designed by the Austro-Hungarian firm Whitehead & Co. of Fiume. The first three submarines were built by the company, while the remaining three were constructed under license in Copenhagen.

The boats were just over long and their armament consisted of two bow torpedo tubes, later supplemented with an machine gun. The boats had a single shaft and were propelled by a Fiat or M.A.N. diesel engine on the surface and two electric motors while submerged.

Although there was at least one close call for the class leader during World War I, none of the six boats was sunk in service. All six boats of the class remained active in the Royal Danish Navy from their time of construction until 1928, when the first two boats were stricken. The remaining boats were all stricken by 1932. The ''Havmanden'' class served as the basis for the Austro-Hungarian Navy's s built during World War I.

Design and construction

After taking delivery of its first submarine—the problematic , built at La Spezia by Fiat-Laurenti in 1909Miller, p. 70.—the Royal Danish Navy looked for a submarine design that could be built in Denmark.Miller, pp. 16–17. In 1910, the Navy contracted with Whitehead & Co. of Fiume for the class' namesake boat, , to be built by Whitehead, and plans for a second, , to be built at the Copenhagen Navy Yard. In May 1911, while the first two were still under construction, the Navy ordered two more boats from Whitehead, and , and plans for a final two, and .

The ''Havmanden''-class boats were submarines that displaced surfaced and submerged. The boats were long with a beam of and a draft of . For propulsion, they featured a single shaft, a single Fiat or M.A.N. diesel engine for surface running, and twin electric motors for submerged travel. The diesels of the Whitehead boats were rated at , while the Copenhagen boats were .

The boats were equipped with two bow torpedo tubes of , but had no deck guns. In 1917, all were outfitted with a single machine gun. The complement of the boats as built was ten men, but was later increased to fourteen.

In December 1911, ''Havmanden'' became the first boat of the class to be launched, with ''Havfruen'' and ''Thetis'' following in 1912. ''Triton'' and ''Najaden'' were launched in 1913, while ''Nymfen'', the final ship constructed, was launched in February 1914.

After the outbreak of World War I, the Austro-Hungarian Navy seized plans for the ''Havmanden'' boats from Whitehead & Co. and used them as the basis for its four s.Gardiner, p. 341.

Service careers

Initially ''Havfruen'', ''Havmanden'', and ''Thetis'' received pennant numbers of ''H 1'', ''H 2'', and ''T 1'', respectively, but were changed to ''2'', ''3'', and ''4'' in April 1913. The other three submarines—''2den April'' (the newly renamed ''Triton''), ''Najaden'', and ''Nymfen''—received pennant numbers ''5'', ''6'', and ''7'' at the same time.

Sources do not report when any of the ''Havmanden'' boats were commissioned, but all boats were active for neutral Denmark during World War I.Miller, p. 22. ''Havmanden'' had a narrow escape in September 1914 when a British submarine mistook her for a German U-boat and launched an unsuccessful torpedo attack on her.Compton-Hall, p. 140.

Late in their careers, the class was identified as the A class and the pennant numbers of all the submarines were prefixed with an ''A'', becoming ''A-2'' to ''A-7''. None of the boats, however, ever displayed an ''A'' on their conning towers. ''Havmanden'' and ''Thetis'' were the first two boats taken out of service when they were stricken in April 1928. ''Havfruen'' was the last boat removed from service when she was stricken in May 1932.

Class members

There were six submarines of the ''Havmanden'' or A class.

''Havfruen'' (A 2)

The plans for ''Havfruen'' were purchased in 1910 and the boat was built at the Copenhagen Navy Yard. She was launched on 31 August 1912. She initially received the pennant number of ''H 1'', but was assigned the number ''2'' in April 1913. She was later designated ''A 2'' when the class became known as the ''A class'' late in her career. ''Havfruen'' was the last ship of the class to be removed from service when she was stricken on 3 May 1932.

''Havmanden'' (A 3)

''Havmanden'' was ordered in 1910 from Whitehead & Co. in Fiume. She was launched on 23 December 1911. She initially received the pennant number of ''H 2'', but was assigned the number ''3'' in April 1913. In September 1914, ''Havmanden'', displaying her pennant number of ''3'' on her conning tower, was mistaken for the German U-boat by the British submarine , but ''Havmanden'' escaped without damage when ''E11''s torpedo missed its mark. ''Havmanden'' was designated ''A 3'' when the class became known as the ''A class'' later in her career. Along with ''Thetis'', she was one of the first two boats of the class removed from service when stricken on 26 April 1928.

''Thetis'' (A 4)

''Thetis'' was ordered in May 1911 from Whitehead & Co. in Fiume. She was launched on 19 June 1912. She initially received the pennant number of ''T 1'', but was assigned the number ''4'' in April 1913. ''Thetis'' was designated ''A 4'' when the class became known as the ''A class'' later in her career. She and ''Havmanden'' were stricken on 26 April 1928, the first two boats of the class to be removed from service.

''2den April'' (A 5)

''Triton'' was ordered in May 1911 from Whitehead & Co. in Fiume. She was launched on 31 March 1913. Her purchase was financed by a subscription offer made by the public and, as a result, she had been renamed ''2den April''—in honor of the first Battle of Copenhagen, fought on 2 April 1801—by the time she was assigned the pennant number ''5'' in April 1913. She was designated ''A 5'' when the class became known as the ''A class'' later in her career. After ''2den April'' was stricken on 15 January 1929, she was used as a target and ultimately broken up in 1932.

''Najaden'' (A 6)

The plans for ''Najaden'' were purchased in May 1911 and the boat was built at the Copenhagen Navy Yard. She was launched on 9 July 1913. She was assigned the pennant number of ''6'' in April 1913. She was designated ''A 6'' when the class became known as the ''A class'' later in her career and was stricken on 9 September 1931.

''Nymfen'' (A 7)

The plans for ''Nymfen'' were purchased in May 1911 and the boat was built at the Copenhagen Navy Yard. She was launched on 10 February 1914, and was the final ship of the class launched. She was assigned the pennant number of ''7'' in April 1913, but designated ''A 7'' when the class became known as the ''A class'' later in her career. ''Nymfen'' was stricken on 11 March 1932.

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Submarine classes