Name HMS E55 Commissioned March 1916 Construction started 5 February 1916 | Laid down 5 February 1916 Fate Sold, 6 September 1922 Length 55 m | |
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Displacement 662 long tons (673 t) surfaced807 long tons (820 t) submerged Builder William Denny and Brothers | ||
HMS E55 was a British E class submarine built by William Denny, Dumbarton. She was laid down on 5 February 1916 and was commissioned in March 1916. E55 was sold for scrap at Newcastle on 6 September 1922.
Design
Like all post-E8 British E-class submarines, E55 had a displacement of 662 tonnes (730 short tons) at the surface and 807 tonnes (890 short tons) while submerged. She had a total length of 180 feet (55 m) and a beam length of 22 feet 8.5 inches (6.922 m). She was powered by two 800 horsepower (600 kW) Vickers eight-cylinder two-stroke diesel engines and two 420 horsepower (310 kW) electric motors. The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) and a submerged speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). British E-class submarines had fuel capacities of 50 tonnes (55 short tons) of diesel and ranges of 3,255 miles (5,238 km; 2,829 nmi) when travelling at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). E55 was capable of operating submerged for five hours when travelling at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph).
E55 was constructed with a 12-pounder QF gun mounted forward of the conning tower, although this was later removed. She had five 18 inches (460 mm) torpedo tubes, two in the bow, one either side amidships, and one in the stern; a total of 10 torpedoes were carried.
E-Class submarines had wireless systems with 1 kilowatt (1.3 hp) power ratings; in some submarines, these were later upgraded to 3 kilowatts (4.0 hp) systems by removing a midship torpedo tube. Their maximum design depth was 100 feet (30 m) although in service some reached depths of below 200 feet (61 m). Some submarines contained Fessenden oscillator systems.