Name HMS A6 Commissioned 23 March 1905 Construction started 1 September 1903 Length 32 m | Laid down 1 September 1903 Launched 3 March 1904 Draft 3.25 m | |
Fate Sold, 8 October 1920 for breaking up Displacement 190 long tons (193 t) surfaced206 long tons (209 t) submerged Builders Vickers, Barrow-in-Furness | ||
HMS A6 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
A6 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 550-brake-horsepower (410 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 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph) on the surface and 7 knots (13 km/h; 8.1 mph) underwater. On the surface, A6 had a range of 500 nautical miles (930 km; 580 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
A6 was ordered as part of the 1903–04 Naval Programme from at Vickers. She was laid down at the shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness on 1 September 1903, launched on 3 March 1904 and completed on 23 March 1905.
A6 ran aground on a sandbank in Sandown harbour on 31 July 1906, but received little damage.