HMS C17

HMS C17
History
United Kingdom
Name:	HMS C17
Builder:	Chatham Dockyard
Laid down:	11 March 1907
Launched:	13 August 1908
Commissioned:	13 May 1909
Fate:	Sold for scrap, 20th Nov. 1919
General characteristics
Class and type:	C-class submarine
Displacement:	287 long tons (292 t) surfaced 316 long tons (321 t) submerged
Length:	142 ft 3 in (43.4 m)
Beam:	13 ft 7 in (4.1 m)
Draught:	11 ft 6 in (3.5 m)
Installed power:	600 bhp (450 kW) petrol 300 hp (220 kW) electric
Propulsion:	1 × 16-cylinder Vickers petrol engine 1 × electric motor
Speed:	12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph) surfaced 7 kn (13 km/h; 8.1 mph) submerged
Range:	910 nmi (1,690 km; 1,050 mi) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph) on the surface
Test depth:	100 feet (30.5 m)
Complement:	2 officers and 14 ratings
Armament:	2 × 18 in (450 mm) bow torpedo tubes

HMS C17 was one of 38 C-class submarines built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. The boat survived the First World War and was sold for scrap in 1919.

Design and description

The C class was essentially a repeat of the preceding B class, albeit with better performance underwater. 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 287 long tons (292 t) on the surface and 316 long tons (321 t) submerged. The C-class submarines had a crew of two officers and fourteen ratings.^[1]

For surface running, the boats were powered by a single 16-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.^[1] They could reach 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) on the surface and 7 knots (13 km/h; 8.1 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).^[2]

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.^[3]

Construction and career

C17 was built by Vickers at their Barrow-in-Furness shipyard, laid down on 11 March 1907 and was commissioned on 13 May 1909. The boat collided with C16 in the North Sea, south of Cromer, Norfolk on 14 July 1909, and in May 1917 she collided with the destroyer Lurcher and sank.^[4][5] She was repaired, but was sold for scrap on 20 November 1919.

Notes

1. Gardiner & Gray, p. 87
2. Harrison, Chapter 3
3. Harrison, Chapter 27
4. "Submariners Association (Barrow in Furness Branch) - Losses". Archived from the original on May 26, 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-19.
5. "C17 at battleships-cruisers.co.uk website". Retrieved 2008-08-19.

References

• Akermann, Paul (2002). Encyclopaedia of British Submarines 1901–1955 (reprint of the 1989 ed.). Penzance, Cornwall: Periscope Publishing. ISBN 1-904381-05-7.
• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8. OCLC 67375475.
• Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal, eds. (1984). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships: 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
• Harrison, A. N. (January 1979). "The Development of HM Submarines From Holland No. 1 (1901) to Porpoise (1930) (BR3043)". Submariners Association: Barrow in Furness Branch. Retrieved 19 August 2015.

External links

• MaritimeQuest HMS C17 pages