Name HMS C34 Commissioned 17 September 1910 Class and type C-class submarine Launched 8 June 1910 Test depth 30 m Builder Chatham Dockyard | Laid down 29 March 1909 Fate Sunk 17 July 1917 Construction started 29 March 1909 Length 43 m Draft 3.51 m | |
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Displacement 290 long tons (290 t) surfaced
320 long tons (330 t) submerged | ||
HMS C34 was one of 38 C-class submarines built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. The boat was sunk by a German submarine in 1917.
Contents
Design and description
The C-class boats of the 1907–08 and subsequent Naval Programmes were modified to improve their speed, both above and below the surface. The submarine had a length of 142 feet 3 inches (43.4 m) overall, a beam of 13 feet 7 inches (4.1 m) and a mean draft of 11 feet 6 inches (3.5 m). They displaced 290 long tons (290 t) on the surface and 320 long tons (330 t) submerged. The C-class submarines had a crew of two officers and fourteen ratings.
For surface running, the boats were powered by a single 12-cylinder 600-brake-horsepower (447 kW) Vickers petrol engine that drove one propeller shaft. When submerged the propeller was driven by a 300-horsepower (224 kW) electric motor. They could reach 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph) on the surface and 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) underwater. On the surface, the C class had a range of 910 nautical miles (1,690 km; 1,050 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 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 they would have to remove an equal weight of fuel in compensation.
Construction and career
HMS C34 was built by HM Dockyard, Chatham for the Royal Navy. She was laid down on 29 March 1909 and was commissioned on 17 September 1910. The boat was sunk by the Imperial German Navy submarine U-52 off Fair Isle in Shetland while on the surface on 17 July 1917. The only survivor was picked up by U-52.