HMS E24
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HMS ''E24'' was an E-class submarine of 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 ...
built 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 i ...
,
Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of B ...
. She was launched on 9 December 1915 and was commissioned on 9 January 1916. E24 was a mine-laying submarine. ''E24'' was mined off
Heligoland Bight The Heligoland Bight, also known as Helgoland Bight, (german: Helgoländer Bucht) is a bay which forms the southern part of the German Bight, itself a bay of the North Sea, located at the mouth of the Elbe river. The Heligoland Bight extends f ...
on 24 March 1916. A salvage operation was attempted in 1973 as she was believed to be a
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 **Ge ...
U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...
.


Design

Like all post-''E8''
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, ''E24'' 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 . ''E20'' was capable of operating submerged for five hours when travelling at . ''E24'' was armed with a 2-pounder deck gun, mounted forward of the conning tower. She had five 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, two in the bow, one either side amidships, and one in the stern; a total of 10 torpedoes were carried.Barrow Submariners Association. ''RN Subs - E24''
/ref> 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 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-clas ...
was three officers and 28 men.


Loss

''E24'' belonged to the Harwich-based 9th Flotilla at the time of her loss. She was the second E-class boat to be converted into a
minelayer A minelayer is any warship, submarine or military aircraft deploying explosive mines. Since World War I the term "minelayer" refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines. "Mine planting" was the term for installing control ...
. ''E24'' left Harwich on the morning of 21 March 1916 to lay mines in the
Heligoland Bight The Heligoland Bight, also known as Helgoland Bight, (german: Helgoländer Bucht) is a bay which forms the southern part of the German Bight, itself a bay of the North Sea, located at the mouth of the Elbe river. The Heligoland Bight extends f ...
. A positional report was issued late that night. Her commander, Lieutenant-Commander George W.E. Naper, was ordered to enter the Bight in darkness on the surface via the Amrum Bank. Once in position he was to lay mines in a zigzag formation. As mines were known to have been laid by the Germans off
Ameland Ameland (; West Frisian: It Amelân) is a municipality and one of the West Frisian Islands off the north coast of the Netherlands. It consists mostly of sand dunes. It is the third major island of the West Frisians. It neighbours islands Ter ...
, Naper was ordered to return by the same route. She did not return from the mission, and was logged as missing on 24 March 1916.


Salvage

Divers hunting for a Second World War-era
U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...
in 1973 raised sections of a mined submarine wreck, including the conning tower. The boat was towed to
Cuxhaven Cuxhaven (; ) is an independent town and seat of the Cuxhaven district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town includes the northernmost point of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the shore of the North Sea at the mouth of the Elbe River. Cuxhaven has ...
where the wreck was identified as a British E-class boat, rather than a German submarine. The German government then informed the
Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...
. Human remains found in the wreck are buried in
Ohlsdorf Cemetery Ohlsdorf Cemetery (german: Ohlsdorfer Friedhof or (former) ) in the Ohlsdorf quarter of the city of Hamburg, Germany, is the biggest rural cemetery in the world and the fourth-largest cemetery in the world. Most of the people buried at the cemete ...
,
Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...
. ''E24''s commander is buried in a separate grave to others. Lieutenant-Commander Naper was identified because of the 2+half rings on sleeve, and the fact that his skeleton was 6 ft tall. All the skulls of those in the boat were found in a pyramidal formation. The sunken wreck lay at a downward angle, causing the heads to become detached from the bodies and to roll down the slope into that position. Three bodies were found lying under the battery boards directly on top of the batteries, with arms folded. They may have died of the effects of chlorine gas before the rest of the crew. Artefacts from ''E24'' and her crew, such as
smoking pipe A smoking pipe is used to inhale the smoke of a burning substance; most common is a tobacco pipe, which can also accommodate almost any other substance. Pipes are commonly made from briar, heather, corn, meerschaum, clay, cherry, glass, porcela ...
s belonging to Naper, a bottle of
blackberries The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by many species in the genus ''Rubus'' in the family (biology), family Rosaceae, hybrids among these species within the subgenus ''Rubus'', and hybrids between the subgenera ''Rubus'' and ''Idaeobatus' ...
, the sextant, a firing pistol and boots are on display at Cuxhaven, as are the submarine's conning tower and propellers.


References

*


External links


'Submarine losses 1904 to present day' - Royal Navy Submarine Museum

War memorial outside the Parish Church of St Mary, Sullington, West Sussex - Public Sculptures of Sussex
{{DEFAULTSORT:E24 British E-class submarines of the Royal Navy Ships built in Barrow-in-Furness 1915 ships World War I submarines of the United Kingdom Maritime incidents in 1916 1916 disasters in the United Kingdom World War I shipwrecks in the North Sea Royal Navy ship names Ships sunk by mines