Name HMS Nautilus Laid down March 1913 Construction started March 1913 Length 79 m Beam 5.41 m | Ordered 1912 Renamed HMS N1 in June, 1917 Launched 16 December 1914 Draft 7.9 m | |
Displacement 1,441 tons surfaced/ 2,026 tons submerged | ||
HMS Nautilus was a Royal Navy submarine. She was the largest submarine built for the Royal Navy at the time. She was also the first to be given a name.
Nautilus was designed in response to recommendations for an overseas submarine displacing 1,000 tons and capable of 20 knots (37 km/h). The resulting design changed from the saddle tanks common at the time to a double hull.
The order was given to Vickers in 1912 and her keel was laid down in March 1913. Although launched in 1914 it took until 1917 to complete the vessel. Nautilus spent most of her life with the 1st Submarine Flotilla at Portsmouth as a depot ship and later as a battery charging vessel. She was renamed N1 in June 1917.
Following decommissioning she was sold for scrap to John Cashmore Ltd on 9 June 1922 and broken up at their yard at Newport, Wales.
Publications
The Royal Navy Submarine Service, A Centennial History, by Antony Preston.