British G class submarine
Encyclopedia
The Royal Navy
's G-class of diesel
/electric submarine
s were launched between 1914 and 1917, and intended for operations in the North Sea
and German Bight
in World War I
against German U-boat
s. The design was based on the E-class
, adopting the double hull concept, but in practice showed little improvement, the ships notoriously slow to dive . http://www.yorkshire-divers.com/forums/wreck-diving/54555-submarine-wreck-howick.html.
A total of 14 boats were built at four yards: G1 to G5 by Chatham Dockyard
, G6 & G7 by Armstrong Whitworth
, G8 to G13 by Vickers
, and G14 by Scott's on the Clyde. G15 was ordered from Samuel White
's yard at Cowes
, Isle of Wight
, but cancelled http://www.rnsubmus.co.uk/archives/archives.htm. The class was distinguished by the 21" torpedo, an electric oven in the galley, and Fessenden
Underwater Sound Telegraphy. The G-class had their bows raised during the war to increase buoyancy and improve seakeeping.
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
's G-class of diesel
Diesel engine
A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber...
/electric submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
s were launched between 1914 and 1917, and intended for operations in the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
and German Bight
German Bight
German Bight is the southeastern bight of the North Sea bounded by the Netherlands and Germany to the south, and Denmark and Germany to the east . To the north and west it is limited by the Dogger Bank. The Bight contains the Frisian and Danish Islands. The Wadden Sea is approximately ten to...
in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
against German U-boat
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
s. The design was based on the E-class
British E class submarine
The British E class submarines started out as improved versions of the British D class submarine. All of the first group and some of the second group were completed before the outbreak of World War I....
, adopting the double hull concept, but in practice showed little improvement, the ships notoriously slow to dive . http://www.yorkshire-divers.com/forums/wreck-diving/54555-submarine-wreck-howick.html.
A total of 14 boats were built at four yards: G1 to G5 by Chatham Dockyard
Chatham Dockyard
Chatham Dockyard, located on the River Medway and of which two-thirds is in Gillingham and one third in Chatham, Kent, England, came into existence at the time when, following the Reformation, relations with the Catholic countries of Europe had worsened, leading to a requirement for additional...
, G6 & G7 by Armstrong Whitworth
Armstrong Whitworth
Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd was a major British manufacturing company of the early years of the 20th century. Headquartered in Elswick, Newcastle upon Tyne, Armstrong Whitworth engaged in the construction of armaments, ships, locomotives, automobiles, and aircraft.-History:In 1847,...
, G8 to G13 by Vickers
Vickers
Vickers was a famous name in British engineering that existed through many companies from 1828 until 1999.-Early history:Vickers was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by the miller Edward Vickers and his father-in-law George Naylor in 1828. Naylor was a partner in the foundry Naylor &...
, and G14 by Scott's on the Clyde. G15 was ordered from Samuel White
J. Samuel White
J. Samuel White was a British shipbuilding firm based in Cowes, taking its name from John Samuel White . It came to prominence during the Victorian era...
's yard at Cowes
Cowes
Cowes is an English seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east Bank...
, Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
, but cancelled http://www.rnsubmus.co.uk/archives/archives.htm. The class was distinguished by the 21" torpedo, an electric oven in the galley, and Fessenden
Reginald Fessenden
Reginald Aubrey Fessenden , a naturalized American citizen born in Canada, was an inventor who performed pioneering experiments in radio, including early—and possibly the first—radio transmissions of voice and music...
Underwater Sound Telegraphy. The G-class had their bows raised during the war to increase buoyancy and improve seakeeping.
Boats
-
- G1HMS G1-War service:Like the rest of her class, G1s role was to patrol an area of the North Sea in search of German U-boats....
- Launched 14 August 1915. Sold for scrap 1920. - G2HMS G2-War service:Like the rest of her class, G2s role was to patrol the North Sea in search of German U-boats. On 27 October 1918 G2 detected low frequency communications from the German minelayer U-78 and sank her in the Skagerrak with the loss of the crew of 40 . The commonly listed sinking date of...
- Launched 23 December 1915. Sank U-78 in the SkagerrakSkagerrakThe Skagerrak is a strait running between Norway and the southwest coast of Sweden and the Jutland peninsula of Denmark, connecting the North Sea and the Kattegat sea area, which leads to the Baltic Sea.-Name:...
, 28 October 1918. Sold for scrap 1920. - G3HMS G3HMS G3 was a British G class submarine of the Royal Navy from World War I.-War service:Like the rest of her class, G3s role was to patrol the North Sea in search of German U-boats.-Fate:...
- Launched 22 January 1916. Sold for scrap 1920. - G4HMS G4HMS G4 was a British G class submarine of the Royal Navy from World War I.-War service:Like the rest of her class, G4s role was to patrol the North Sea in search of German U-boats....
- Launched 23 October 1915. Sold 1928. - G5HMS G5HMS G5 was a British G class submarine of the Royal Navy from World War I.-War service:Like the rest of her class, G5s role was to patrol the North Sea in search of German U-boats....
- Launched 23 November 1915. Sold 1922. - G6HMS G6HMS G6 was a British G class submarine of the Royal Navy from World War I.-War service:Like the rest of her class, G6s role was to patrol the North Sea in search of German U-boats....
- Launched 7 December 1915. Sold 1921. - G7HMS G7HMS G7 was a British G class submarine of the Royal Navy from World War I.-War service:Like the rest of her class, G7s role was to patrol the North Sea in search of German U-boats.-Loss:...
- Launched 14 March 1916. Last British submarine lost in World War I, on or about 23 October 1918, cause unknown. - G8HMS G8HMS G8 was a British G class submarine of the Royal Navy from World War I.-War service:Like the rest of her class, G8s role was to patrol the North Sea in search of German U-boats....
- Launched 1 May 1916. Lost in the North Sea for reasons unknown on or about 14 January 1918. - G9HMS G9HMS G9 was a British G class submarine, one of eight Royal Navy submarines lost to friendly fire in World War I.-Construction:The second of her class built by Vickers at Barrow-in-Furness, G9 was laid down on 8 December 1914...
- Launched 15 June 1916. Sunk in error by HMS Pasley [not HMS Petard as often quoted] on 16 September 1917. One survivor. - G10HMS G10HMS G10 was a British G class submarine of the Royal Navy from World War I.-War service:Like the rest of her class, G10s role was to patrol the North Sea in search of German U-boats. While on exercises, the submarine collided with a merchant vessel resulting in the destruction of the bridge and the...
- Launched 11 January 1916. Sold 1923. - G11HMS G11HMS G11 was a G-class submarine of the Royal Navy in service during the First World War. One of six of her class built by Vickers at Barrow in Furness, she was launched on 22 February 1916, and commissioned on 13 May 1916.-War service:...
- Launched 22 February 1916. Wrecked on rocks off Howick, NorthumberlandHowick, NorthumberlandHowick is a village in Northumberland, between Boulmer and Craster. It is just inland from the North Sea, into which Howick burn flows, from Howick Hall...
, (not HarwichHarwichHarwich is a town in Essex, England and one of the Haven ports, located on the coast with the North Sea to the east. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the northeast, Ipswich to the northwest, Colchester to the southwest and Clacton-on-Sea to the south...
, SuffolkSuffolkSuffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
, as stated by some authorities) in thick fog, 22 November 1918. Two crew drowned while abandoning ship. - G12HMS G12HMS G12 was a British G class submarine of the Royal Navy from World War I.-War service:Like the rest of her class, G12s role was to patrol the North Sea in search of German U-boats....
- Launched 24 March 1916. Sold 1920. - G13HMS G13HMS G13 was a British G class submarine of the Royal Navy from World War I.-War service:Like the rest of her class, G13s role was to patrol the North Sea in search of German U-boats. On 10 March 1917 G13 torpedoed and sank the German submarine UC-43 off the Shetland Islands, about NW of Muckle...
- Launched 18 July 1916. Sank UC-43 off Muckle Flugga, 10 March 1918. Sold 1923. - G14HMS G14HMS G14 was a British G class submarine of the Royal Navy from World War I.-War service:Like the rest of her class, G14s role was to patrol the North Sea in search of German U-boats....
- Launched 17 May 1917. Sold 1923. - G15 - Ordered 30 September 1914, cancelled 20 April 1915
- G1