Name HMS A3 Commissioned 13 July 1904 Launched 9 March 1903 Draft 3.25 m | Laid down 6 November 1902 Fate Sunk, 12 May 1912 Construction started 6 November 1902 Length 32 m | |
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Displacement 190 long tons (193 t) surfaced206 long tons (209 t) submerged Builders Vickers, Barrow-in-Furness | ||
HMS A3 was an A-class submarine built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century.
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Design and description
A3 was a member of the first British class of submarines, although slightly larger, faster and more heavily armed than the lead ship, HMS A1. The submarine had a length of 105 feet 1 inch (32.0 m) overall, a beam of 12 feet 9 inches (3.9 m) and a mean draft of 10 feet 8 inches (3.3 m). They displaced 190 long tons (190 t) on the surface and 206 long tons (209 t) submerged. The A-class submarines had a crew of 2 officers and 11 ratings.
For surface running, the boats were powered by a single 16-cylinder 450-brake-horsepower (336 kW) Wolseley petrol engine that drove one propeller shaft. When submerged the propeller was driven by a 150-horsepower (112 kW) electric motor. They could reach 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) on the surface and 7 knots (13 km/h; 8.1 mph) underwater. On the surface, A3 had a range of 320 nautical miles (590 km; 370 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph); submerged the boat had a range of 30 nautical miles (56 km; 35 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph).
The boats were armed with two 18-inch (45 cm) torpedo tubes in the bow. They could carry a pair of reload torpedoes, but generally did not as doing so that they had to compensate for their weight by an equivalent weight of fuel.
Construction and career
A3 was built at Vickers, Barrow-in-Furness and was commissioned on 13 July 1904. She was accidentally rammed while surfacing by the submarine tender Hazard in the English Channel off the Isle of Wight on 2 February 1912 and sank with the loss of all on board. The wreck was salvaged and subsequently sunk as a gunnery target in the English Channel near Portland Bill on 12 May 1912, where she remains today. In July 2016 the wreck of A3 was officially designated as a protected site.