HMS K8 was a British K class submarine built by Vickers, Barrow-in-Furness. She was laid down on 28 June 1915 and was commissioned on 6 March 1917. K8 was sold on 11 October 1923. It had a complement of fifty-nine crew members and had a length of 338 feet (103 m).
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMS K8 |
| Builder | Vickers, Barrow-in-Furness |
| Laid down | 28 June 1915 |
| Launched | 10 October 1916 |
| Commissioned | 6 March 1917 |
| Fate | Sold 11 October 1923 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | K class submarine |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 339 ft (103 m) |
| Beam | 26 ft 6 in (8.08 m) |
| Draught | 20 ft 11 in (6.38 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed |
|
| Range |
|
| Complement | 59 (6 officers and 53 ratings) |
| Armament |
|
Design
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K8 displaced 1,800 long tons (1,800 t) when at the surface and 2,600 long tons (2,600 t) while submerged.[1] It had a total length of 338 feet (103 m), a beam of 26 feet 6 inches (8.08 m), and a draught of 20 ft 11 in (6.38 m).[2] The submarine was powered by two oil-fired Yarrow Shipbuilders boilers each supplying one geared Brown-Curtis or Parsons steam turbine; this developed 10,500 ship horsepower (7,800 kW) to drive two 7 ft 6 in (2.29 m) screws. Submerged power came from four electric motors each producing 350 to 360 horsepower (260 to 270 kW).[2] It was also had an 800 hp (600 kW) diesel engine to be used when steam was being raised, or instead of raising steam.[3]
The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 24 kn (44 km/h) and a submerged speed of 9 to 9.5 kn (16.7 to 17.6 km/h).[2][4] It could operate at depths of 150 ft (46 m) at 2 kn (3.7 km/h) for 80 nmi (150 km).[1] K8 was armed with ten 18-inch (460 mm) torpedo tubes, two 4-inch (100 mm) deck guns, and a 3-inch (76 mm) anti-aircraft gun.[2] Its torpedo tubes were four in the bows, four in the midship section firing to the sides, and two were mounted on the deck in a rotating mounting.[1] Its complement was fifty-nine crew members.[4]
References
edit- ^ a b c Whitman, Edward C. (Winter 2013), "K for Katastrophe", Undersea Warfare, no. 49, US Navy, archived from the original on 24 September 2015, retrieved 20 August 2015
- ^ a b c d Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
- ^ Bruce, Anthony; Cogar, William (27 January 2014). Encyclopedia of Naval History. Routledge. p. 356. ISBN 978-1-135-93534-4.
- ^ a b Holland, Julian (1 May 2012). Amazing & Extraordinary Facts Steam Age. David & Charles. p. 145. ISBN 978-1-4463-5619-7.
Bibliography
edit- Robert Hutchinson, Submarines, war beneath the waves, from 1776 to the present day