Name H21 Commissioned 28 January 1918 Construction started 20 October 1917 | Laid down 20 October 1917 Fate Sold, 13 July 1926 Length 52 m | |
Displacement 423 long tons (430 t) surfaced510 long tons (518 t) submerged Builders Vickers Limited, Barrow-in-Furness | ||
HMS H21 was a British H class submarine built by Vickers Limited, Barrow-in-Furness, as the first of the Batch 3 H class submarines. She was laid down on 20 October 1917 and was commissioned on 28 January 1918. H21 was an improved design of the H class which produced a larger displacement and the latest 21 inch torpedo tubes replacing the old 18 inch torpedo tubes. This would be incorporated into all batch 3 H class submarines. HMS H21 was sold to John Cashmore Ltd on 13 July 1926 for scrapping at Newport.
Design
Like all post-H20 British H-class submarines, H21 had a displacement of 440 tonnes (490 short tons) at the surface and 500 tonnes (550 short tons) while submerged. It had a total length of 171 feet (52 m), a beam length of 15 feet 4 inches (4.67 m), and a draught length of 12 metres (39 ft). It contained a diesel engines providing a total power of 480 horsepower (360 kW) and two electric motors each providing 320 horsepower (240 kW) power. The use of its electric motors made the submarine travel at 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph). It would normally carry 16.4 tonnes (18.1 short tons) of fuel and had a maximum capacity of 18 tonnes (20 short tons).
The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph) and a submerged speed of 10.5 knots (19.4 km/h; 12.1 mph). Post-H20 British H-class submarines had ranges of 2,985 nautical miles (5,528 km; 3,435 mi) at speeds of 7.5 knots (13.9 km/h; 8.6 mph) when surfaced. H21 was fitted with an anti-aircraft gun and four 21 inches (530 mm) torpedo tubes. Its torpedo tubes were fitted to the bows and the submarine was loaded with eight 21 inches (530 mm) torpedoes. It is a Holland 602 type submarine but was designed to meet Royal Navy specifications. Its complement was twenty-two crew members.