HMS E19 was an E-class submarine

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....

 of the Royal Navy

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...

, commissioned

Ship commissioning

Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...

 in 1914 at 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 &...

, Barrow-in-Furness

Barrow-in-Furness

Barrow-in-Furness is an industrial town and seaport which forms about half the territory of the wider Borough of Barrow-in-Furness in the county of Cumbria, England. It lies north of Liverpool, northwest of Manchester and southwest from the county town of Carlisle...

. During 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...

 she was part of the British submarine flotilla in the Baltic

British submarine flotilla in the Baltic

A British submarine flotilla operated in the Baltic Sea for three years during the First World War. The squadron of nine submarines was attached to the Russian Baltic Fleet. The main task of the flotilla was to prevent the import of iron ore from Sweden to Imperial Germany...

.

Under the command of Lieutenant Commander Francis Cromie

Francis Cromie

Captain Francis Newton Allen Cromie, CB, DSO, was the commander of the British submarine flotilla in the Baltic during World War I.He took part in suppressing the Boxer Uprising in Peking....

, E19 was able to sink several German ships, most notably on the 11 October 1915 when she sank 4 German transport ships, just south of Öland

Öland

' is the second largest Swedish island and the smallest of the traditional provinces of Sweden. Öland has an area of 1,342 km² and is located in the Baltic Sea just off the coast of Småland. The island has 25,000 inhabitants, but during Swedish Midsummer it is visited by up to 500,000 people...

, within a few hours and without any casualties.
On 7 November 1915 E19 sunk the German light cruiser SMS Undine

SMS Undine

SMS Undine was an Imperial German light cruiser of the Gazelle Class, 105 meters long and was built in Kiel in 1902. Undine was used in the Naval warfare of World War I and was part of the German High Seas Fleet....

.

E19 was scuttled by her crew outside Helsinki

Helsinki

Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...

 1.5nm south of Harmaja

Harmaja

Harmaja is an island and a lighthouse outside Helsinki, south of the Suomenlinna sea fortress. The island has been functioning as a landmark since the 16th century. A landmark structure was built on the island in the 18th century and a light house in 1883. The first lighthouse was only 7.3 m high...

 Light, Gulf of Finland

Gulf of Finland

The Gulf of Finland is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland and Estonia all the way to Saint Petersburg in Russia, where the river Neva drains into it. Other major cities around the gulf include Helsinki and Tallinn...

, along with E1

HMS E1

HMS E1 was a British E class submarine built by Chatham Dockyard and cost £101,700. E1 was laid down on 14 February 1911. She was launched on 9 November 1912 and was commissioned on 6 May 1913...

, E8

HMS E8

HMS E8 was a British E class submarine built at Chatham Dockyard. She was laid down on 30 March 1912 and was commissioned on 18 June 1914. She cost £105,700. During World War I she was part of the British submarine flotilla in the Baltic.-Service history:...

, E9

HMS E9

HMS E9 was a British E class submarine built by Vickers, Barrow. She was laid down on 1 June 1912 and was commissioned on 18 June 1914.-Service history:...

, C26

HMS C26

HMS C26 was a British C class submarine built by Vickers, Barrow. She was laid down on 14 February 1908 and was commissioned on 28 May 1909.-Service history:HMS C26 was part of the Baltic operations from 1915 to 1918....

, C27

HMS C27

HMS C27 was a British C class submarine built by Vickers, Barrow. She was laid down on 4 June 1908 and was commissioned on 14 August 1909.-Service history:...

, and C35

HMS C35

HMS C35 was a British C class submarine built by Vickers, Barrow. She was laid down on 3 March 1909 and was commissioned on the 1 February 1910.-Service history:HMS C35 was part of the Baltic operations from 1915 to 1918....

 to avoid seizure by advancing German forces

Baltic Sea Division

The Baltic Sea Division was a 10,000 man German military unit commanded by Rüdiger von der Goltz. During the Finnish Civil War, in April 1918, it landed at Hanko and moved towards Helsinki and Lahti. The Baltic Sea Division quickly took back Helsinki from the Social Democrats of Finland, who had...

who had landed nearby.

Trivia

A beer, Slottskällans Vrak, has been brewed using yeast recovered from beer bottles found on the wreck of SS Nicomedia, a ship sunk by E19 off Öland.