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RN Submarines: K-Class World Naval Ships Forums Archive

RN Submarines: K-Class

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Hi, My nameis margaret Wright and I am conducting some research regarding the worst British submarine disaster in 1918 just off the Anstruther coast - near the May Island. I would really like to talk to anyone who has any information at all that might help me as I am hoping to make this a research project for myself.::)

Hi Margaret, welcome to the forum. The submarines yo mention were actually called the "K" class. There is a very informative book called "THE K boats" by Don Everitt. The amazing story of Britain's steam submarines. As far as I know it is the only book written about them. I have it in front of me now and it was first printed in 1972. If you search on ebay, ABE books or Amazon I am sure you will be able to get a copy. On the inside of the front page it says :- tThe classic story of the K boats was of the Captain who telephoned his First Lieutenant in the bows: "I say, number one, my end is diving: what the hell is your end doing?"- Commander Stephen King-Hall, My naval life 1906-1929. I have not yet mastered on what basis our submarines harm the enemy more than themselves! Lord Fisher, First Sea Lord, to Commodore (Submarines) Roger Keyes, November 8, 1914. Bob.

Here are some pictures of some "K" class Margaret and also some of the "M" class which in fact were modified "K" class of which two came to grief in tragic circumstances, but that is another story !
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I can also vouch for that book being a very good read. Once I started I read it from start to finish in one go - I couldn't put it down. Also just round the corner from us here is a memorial to those lost on K13 on the Gareloch. I beleive they have a memorial there possibly every year, perhaps less often though.

Builders Fate K1. Portsmouth dockyard. Sunk after collision with K4, Nov 17 1917. K2. Portsmouth. Scrapped 1926. K3. Vickers. Scrapped 1920. K4. Vickers. Sunk in collision with K6 Jan 31 1918. K5. Portsmouth. Lost on exercises Jan 20 1921. K6. Devonport. Scrapped 1926. K7. Devonport. Scrapped 1919. K8. Vickers. Scrapped 1923. K9. Vickers. Scrapped 1921. K10. Vickers. Scrapped 1921. K11. Armstrong Whitworth. Scrapped 1921. K12. Armstrong. Scrapped 1926. K13. Fairfields Clydeside. Sunk on acceptance trials Jan 29 1917 raised and renumbered K22. K14. Fairfields. Scrapped 1925. K15. Scott's Clydeside. Sunk in Portsmouth harbour Jun 25 1921 raised and beached scrapped 1923. K16. Beardmore's Clydeside. Scrapped 1923. K17. Vickers. Sunk in collision with HMS Fearless Jan 31. 1918. K18. Vickers. Became M1. Sunk in collision with SS Vidor Nov 12 1925. K19. Vickers. Became M2. Sunk on exercises Jan 26 !932. K20. Became M3. Armstrong. Scrapped 1932. K21. Became M4. Cancelled. K22. Alias Raised and refitted by Fairfields Scrapped. 1926. K13. K23. Ordered from K24. Armstrong Whitworth Cancelled K25. June 10th 1918. K26. Vickers and Chatham dockyard Scrapped 1931. K27. Ordered from K28. Vickers Jun 10th 1918. Cancelled. Hope this helps you out. Bob.

Margaret The accident you refer to became known as the 'Battle of May Island' although it did not involve any enemy ships. Around 40 Royal Naval vessels were leaving Rosyth for Scapa Flow where they were to take part in exercises with the rest of the Grand Fleet. Whilst near May Island and in the dark, the 13th Submarine Flotilla had to turn sharply to avoid a pair of minesweeping trawlers. There followed a series of mishaps and mechanical problems which led to collisions resulting in the sinking of two submarines with three others and a light cruiser being damaged. In addition, around 100 men lost their lives. The K Class submarines were built in response to a requirement for submarines to be able to operate with the Fleet.The only way of ensuring submarines had enough speed to operate with Battleships was to fit them with steam driven engines. This resulted in the vessels having 'too many damned holes' and they were extremely unsafe because of this. The Battle of May Island is well documented on the web should you require further info. Hope this helps. Details about the Battle of May Island here: [FONT=Verdana][URL="http://www.worldnavalships.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10125"][COLOR=#800080]http://www.worldnavalships.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10125[/COLOR][/URL][/FONT]

Bob - here as requested are some pictures of K and M class submarines that I have. Hope some prove to be of interest to you my friend...
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And a handful more. When I hook up my other computer I will put on here any others that I have...
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You are a Trojan Terry! I have some of them but yours are better than mine so I can do a bit of swopping around. Did you ever read The "K" boats by Don Everitt. Well worth reading if you haven't? Cheers, Bob.

Cheers Bob - I will keep my eye open for that one.

Margaret, The archivist at the RN Submarine Museum may also be able to help you - contact details on here somewhere [url]http://www.rnsubmus.co.uk/[/url]

Margaret, the crews of the K class spoke of themselves as members of the "suicide club."

When Lieut Commander Godfrey Herbert took the newly built submarine, K-13, on her acceptance trials on the 29th January, 1917, he probably thought that the day would not have much significance in his life. If all went well, he would be signing the acceptance forms and tomorrow his ship would be joining the fleet. At 8am, everything was in order, there were 80 men on board the submarine, and the giant steam submarine, her funnels belching thick black smoke, moved slowly down the Clyde. As was becoming common with others of the ‘K’ class, things went wrong from the start. She had only moved a mile when the steering motor was accidentally switched off. K13 grounded her bows on the soft mud of the bank, and with the ebbing tide pulling her stern around she was soon athwart the river. Herbert allowed the tide to bring the stern right around before going astern on the engines and proceeding, somewhat incongrously, backwards down the Clyde. It was only when he reached a tributary, known as the Cart, that he had room to put her about. By 11.30, K-13 was on the Gareloch, working up to full power, and undergoing the various tests that a new vessel undergoes: starting, stopping, full speed, turning, going astern. All proceeded smoothly. On her first dive though, there was a problem. Her depth increased throughout the dive, and when she resurfaced her Engineer-Lieutenant, Arthur Lane, reported that there was a small leak in the boiler room and that some 200 tons of water had entered the compartment. The heat of the boiler room had been such that it had prevented anyone ascertaining the source of the leak. Herbert proposed to have lunch, whilst the boiler room was pumped out and ventilated, and then to do a test dive afterwards. Eighty men reboarded the submarine after lunch for the final dive. Herbert headed her towards the head of the Gareloch and then ordered “diving stations”. As the submarine prepared to submerge he even had time to personally walk aft along the superstructure to pass the order personally down the open engine room hatch and to watch the funnels being lowered into place. Electric motors swung the funnels on hinges into wells in the superstructure. The holes left were then sealed off by hatches operating in unison with the funnels. Herbert walked back to the conning tower. In the control room below a red light came on illuminating the word, “shut”. The first lieutenant reported, “Engine room shut off for diving.” As Herbert descended into the control room he saw the red light shining. It was too bright to miss. In the control room Herbert watched the bows through the periscope. He ordered, “Dive to 20 feet.” And watched the bows begin to submerge. Suddenly, an ERA emerged from the boiler room saying, “The boiler room is flooding freely, tell the Captain to surface.” Water was pouring through the fans which hung below the ventilators. Herbert ordered, “Hard-a-rise, blow two and three.” With the indicators showing a depth of 10 feet the hydroplane wheels were spun and compressed air hissed into the tank. K-13 continued to sink. A blast of warm air blew from the aft compartments into the control room. “Close water tight doors, drop forward keel, blow all forward tanks.” Nothing worked. 50 feet down, the submarine came gently to rest, listing slightly to port and 4 degrees up by the bow. As Herbert ordered, “Stop both motors,” three thick jets of water shot from the voice pipes leading to the aft compartments and dowsed the port switchboard. Before anyone could move, fuses began to blow, electric cables crackled, and smoked, and then burst into flames, producing thick acrid smoke. Men beat the flames with the bare hands, electric shocks threw them back. Others poked wet sacking on the burning switchboard. Other men were trying to stop the flow of water through the voice pipes. At last, by ramming pieces of sacking into them the flow was mostly staunched. An investigation of the crew and compartments found that the submarine was flooded aft of the midships torpedo room, and of the 80 men on board, only 49 answered the roll call. 31 men were missing, presumed dead. Estimates were made that the air would last for 8 hours. In the midships torpedo room water was pouring through the aft bulkhead at 2 feet an hour, the electric bilge pump kept the level down. It was 3pm, and the submarine would not be missed until 3.30pm. Darkness would fall about 4pm, so the crew would have to ride out the night alone. On the surface, a fellow submarine, E-50, had seen the K-13 dive, and her commander had been intrigued by the manner of her diving. As she had submerged, two specks had appeared and disappeared (thought by the E-50’s commander, Lieut-Commander Mitchell to be the tips of her periscopes) and rowed his submarines skiff on the loch above the K-13. He wondered if her conning tower had flooded allowing salt water into the batteries, but testing of a sample of water showed n o chlorine. Only bubbles erupting on the surface showed the position of the K-13. At midnight a salvage vessel arrived, carrying a diving suit, but no diver. A car was sent to fetch the Fairfield’s own diver and at 4am he arrived and began to don the Gossamer’s diving suit. No sooner than he had entered the water though than the suit burst. It hadn’t been used in years, and the half drowned diver was pulled out of the water. The car raced back to Glasgow to collect another suit. Two more rescue ships arrived. A trawler, and an old sloop called “Thrush”. At daybreak the car returned with the fresh diving suit and the diver descended down to K-13. As soon as he landed on the sub, the men inside could hear him walking about. The men on the surface could also hear the tapped responses from the entombed men. “All well before engine room bulkhead” they reported. Inside the submarine the Co2 levels were rising, and that coupled with the high pressure was causing the men to labour in their breathing. At intervals the bilge pump was operated to keep the water in the midships torpedo room down, whilst some of the worst air was drawn off by a compressor into the air bottles, whilst fresher air was released from others. Herbert, and a visiting Captain from another K boat, Commander Francis Goodhart, discussed methods of escape. They were concerned that the salvors on the surface would concentrate too much on raising the submarine and not enough on rescuing the men. They decided to flood the conning tower and let Goodhart escape up to the surface. Inside the conning tower was a dome, where the compass was housed. By making modifications to the pipes entering and leaving the conning tower, it would be possible to flood the tower, allow Goodhart to esacape, and then drain the tower down again to allow Herbert to rejoin his men. Modifications took until mid day, which was also the lowest point of the tide. Herbert wrote a brief description of what had happened, the conditions inside the boat, and of what he felt the rescuers should do. Another man compiled a list of those men still alive. These notes, along with several farewell messages were pushed into a water tight tin. Goodhart said, “Well, if I don’t get up, this will” as he pushed the tin under his belt. Both Goodhart and Herbert entered the tower. They closed the lower hatch, and standing with their heads in the dome, flooded the conning tower. Herbert turned on the high pressure air and Goodhart knocked off the clips to the upper hatch. With the pressure equalised the hatch opened. “Well”, said Goodhart, “I’m off!” Herbert said, “Good luck” and Goodhart ducked under the surface and shot through the hatch. Herbert reached to close the hatch, but the expanding compressed air knocked him off his feet and through the hatch. He hit his head on the roof of the conning tower, but the air flow carried him through the upper hatch and up to the surface. On the surface the salvagers had been discussing how to get the men out. They had hit upon a plan to pass a sweep under the bows of K-13, in order to lift them, and to allow the men to escape through the bow torpedo tubes. There was some fear, by the builders ,that K-13 would break in half, but Mitchell went ahead with the sweeping. They passed the wire under the bows on the first attempt and began to pass the wire around a capstan. Thrush and the trawler took the strain. The next moment there was a huge eruption of air from below (Mitchell thought for one moment that K-13 HAD broken in two) and a man appeared from below. It was Herbert. “Where’s Goodhart?” he asked. “I’ve just blown him out of the conning tower.” No one had seen him. Herbert went aboard Thrush and told Mitchell that K-13 needed compressed air to replenish her air bottles. This would enable her to blow her forward tanks and assist in the lifting of the bows. E-50 had four lengths of high pressure air hose, just enough to reach the sunken submarine. Below on K13, the air had kept them men alive for 24 hours, but most were now listless as they sprawled on the deck. It was not until 6pm that the diver connected the air hose to the external connection on K-13. The compressors were banging away at 2500 psi, but nothing seemed to be getting into the sub. They tried morse code on the deck of the sub, telling the men to open the valve. Nothing worked. Eventually, Mitchell ordered the diver to uncouple the pipe and to bring it to the surface. It was there that they found it blocked with ice! Seven hours lost. Mitchell cleared the pipe and had it re-connected. This time, the hissing of the compressed air filled the submarine below. Men close to death sat up wide eyed and gathered around the air pipe. It was 35 hours since K-13 has sunk. The men below only allowed a small amount of air to escape before thet set about replenishing the air bottles. They filled several banks, and then blew every tank under their control. The forward bubble began to indicate 5 degrees, 6, 7, 8 as the bow began to rise. On the surface the salvage vessels hove in the line as the bows rose. The trawler was heeling badly under the strain, and, with the bows only 8 feet under the water, Mitchell called a halt to the lift (although it took 15 minutes to get through to the men in the sub to stop blowing the tanks). The divers now attached a second pipe, 4 inches in diameter, to the submarine, through which unlimited air, food and water could be passed. Passed, if only the men could be persuaded to open the hatch from inside the sub. The men though were preoccupied with keeping the water down in the midships torpedo room. Raising the bows had lifted the bilge pump above the water level. They resorted to bailing, passing the water forward with two buckets, one of which had a hole in it. After an hour of incessent bailing, they had a better idea. Waist deep in icy water they unscrewed a manhole to an empty fuel tank beneath the torpedo room. The water immediately drained into it. Then they blew the water into the Gareloch with compressed air. On the surface Mitchell sat in a bosun’s chair slung under the bows of the trawler. He had to sit in this position because the food pipe only projected 4 inches out of the water. He kept signalling to the men to open the hatch, even, with frustration, bellowing down the pipe, “Open the hatch.” It stayed closed. At daybreak Herbert relieved him, and almost immediately the men opened the hatch. The pressurised bad air in the submarine blew straight up the pipe and formed a small cloud over the surface. Herbert waited for it to clear and then passed a divers air pipe down the tube. The men used the pipe to out pockets of the bad air. They all felt a lot more comfortable. The only downside was that the high pressure had been helping to staunch the water flow through the bulkhead in the torpedo room. Now the flow was a lot faster. At the surface the direction in which to proceed was being hotly debated. Herbert, and some others wanted to lower the bow back down to the seabed and await a specially built rescue tube which would be 60 feet long. This would be fastened to one of the torpedo loading hatches and pumped dry. The men would then be able to climb up it to escape. Mitchell was worried that the bulkhead could give way. He said that they only had to lift the bows a few more feet to clear the bow torpedo tubes above the surface, through which the men could escape. He won the point. At midday on the Wednesday, Thrush and the trawler again hove in the line, and the bows of K-13 broke the surface and reared 10 feet clear. Then, a shout! “She’s slipping out of the slings!” Quick action prevented further movement, but K-13’s stern was now buried 12 feet deep in slippery mud, and they couldn’t risk that method again, and the lower lips of the torpedo tubes were still 3 inches below the water. The next decision made was to cut a hole in the roof of the forward torpedo compartment. This was deemed by some, “very bad salvage.” It was argued that you could close a torpedo tube if the need arose, but you couldn’t close a hole through the hull cut by torch. A t 2pm the torch was applied to the hull, but almost instantly a fire broke out in the barge ruining the equipment. Another set had to be sent for, and it wasn’t until 8pm that the hole began to be cut. The men were evacuated from the submarine, beginning at 9pm. Motor boats sped the men ashore. Their ordeal was over. Out on the Gareloch K-13 was getting heavier. The bulkhead was obviously leaking. At the end of the following day she tore the bollards out of the two barges holding her up and sank back to the bottom. The next day, before salvage operations began, divers investigated the submarine. They found Goodhart’s body still in the conning tower. He had struck his head on the roof of the conning tower and had drowned. The tin was still under his belt. They also found that all four of the 37 inch ventilators were in the open position, and that the indicator showed them to be open. And the engine room hatch was open! As the submarine was so large, control could not be done personally by the commanding officer , but had to be done remotely. It was the engine room staff that set the indicator which showed in the control room that the submarine was closed for diving. An investigation came to the conclusion that Herbert was justified in believing the submarine was closed up for diving, and solely blamed Engineer Lieutenant Lane for the accident. The investigation made several recommendations. In the K class the indicators in the control room were modified to operate directly from the hatches and openings, rather than the hands of the engine room staff, the number of civilians carried in future was to be strictly limited, and no more submarines were to be numbered 13. 6 weeks after the accident, the water was pumped out of K-13 and she resurfaced like a sleepy whale on the 15th March. During that afternoon the bodies of the drowned in the rear compartments were removed for burial. One clung to a ladder in the act of escaping, another had 13 pound notes in a pocket, all but two of which were dry. Thirty one coffins were prepared, but there were only 29 bodies. Two were missing, Lane, and a man called John Steel. Now the relevence of the open engine room hatch was understood, and the evidence of a maid called Annie McIntyre understood. When K-13 had dived, and people had seen the tips of her periscopes momentarily break surface before disappearing again, Annie had seen that those two specks were the heads of two men, who had cried out, before disappearing. Lane and Steel had waited for the pressure to equalise before opening the hatch. They had reached the surface, only to succumb to the drop in pressure in their lungs. Lane’s body was found 2 months later miles down the Clyde on a mud bank. He was buried with the rest in a small plot overlooking the scene of the incident. They never did find John Steel’s body. K-13 was towed back to the yard to be refitted, but her involvement with death and misbehaviour was not over yet. She would again have her day. (But that will be another story).

The Admiralty lists 32 casualties from that day. The K boats were a fiasco from start to finish, it is no wonder that their crews described themselves as members of "The suicide club."

Absolutely correct, the 31 that were lost in the aft section, and Goodhart in the escape attempt from the conning tower. Regards

This a plaque that is at the priory at BIRKENHEAD,and going up the tower of the church is all the names of lads who lost there lives. R.I.P cylla
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good story, Berg. Interesting to read.

Thank you, we aims to please. When I get time I've a few more stories about the K subs to tell. Regards,

I recently posted an article on the sinking of K-13 in the Gareloch. A long time ago, I saw a photograph of the K-13 in the Gareloch, periscopes sticking out of the water and salvage vessels around about. Has anyone got a copy? I can't remember where I saw it, but it's not on my old computer. Please don't confuse it with the one of K-3, bows on to the camera, entering a floating dock after she had nose dived to the bottom with the future king on board! You can almost convince yourself that the K-3 says K-13. The photo I recall of K-13 is taken from her starboard quarter looking forward. Hope you can help, Regards,

I have numerous pictures of the "K" boats but cannot recall that particular one. The only pic I have of the K.13 is this one. If you look through the search you will find a thread on the K boats but not that picture. Let me know if you come across it! Cheers, Bob.
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Loss of the K5 In June 1919, the victory cruise around the British isles by units of the Grand Fleet saw the K-boats out in force. Unsuspecting members of the public in coastal towns up and down the country could not help but be impressed by the giant 339 foot steam powered submarines that turned up in their harbour. These monsters must surely have played a conspicuous part in the victory at sea. In the 12 months since the armistice was signed, the K-boats actually had lost none of their ability to get into trouble. K-15, twice in one month, dived out of control in the North Sea, hitting the sea bottom, K-8 caught fire in Chatham whilst refitting, K-14 was all but lost when a boiler explosion forced open her mushroom ventilators as she was diving. Only quick action by her crew brought her back to the surface with a flooded boiler room. Then, when she was repairing, she suffered another fire and explosion, this time in the batteries. During the spring cruise of 1920, the re-formed Atlantic Fleet visited Arosa Bay, Gibraltar, Majorca and Algiers. It was a busy time for the crews and only at Algiers did they get a few days shore leave. At the end of the leave, the Senior Submarine Officer, Commander John Hutchings in K-5, led the 1st submarine flotilla out of Algiers port at 18 knots. Arriving back at their home ports, the K-boat crews were dispersed for easter leave. When they returned, K-5 had a new commander, Lieut-Commander John Austin Gaimes, DSO. ‘Jackie’ Gaimes had spent 6 months with the flotilla, serving in their escort cruiser, Inconstant’. He had earned his DSO as a commander of a minelaying E-boat, operating out of Harwich. He was proud to be appointed to the large K boats, but would soon be initiated into their fickle behaviour. It was early in the summer, during exercises in Largo Bay, in the Firth of Forth, that K-5 nose dived to the bottom of the estuary, sticking her nose in the bottom mud. For 10 minutes she lay at an angle of 45 degrees, her depth gauges indicating 120 feet, and her stern sticking out of the water. Gaimes put the motors full astern, but the huge bronze propellors, sticking out of the water, only glinted impotently in the sunshine and attracted the attention of Inconstant. Presently, Gaimes blew the forward tanks and the submarine surfaced witout damage. A Board of enquiry failed to find a cause. In July, the 1st flotilla, gathered at Scapa, sailed south to rejoin the Atlantic Fleet anchored in Tor Bay. The submarines called at Milford Haven on the way, and were then ordered hurriedly to sea. K-5 rammed an obsolete destroyer which was on its way to the scrappers, and hadn’t been pulled in alongside its tug for the night. The damage to both vessels was superficial and above water, but the swan bows of K-5 were visibly crumpled. Gaimes pressed on ahead of the other submarines and arrived 24 hours ahead of the surface ships. Gaimes, determined to hide all traces of the damage until his report reached the C-in-C, used wire, glue and canvas to build a dummy bow. This fooled the C-in-C ,as he passed not 50 yards away in his barge, for 3 days. On the 4th day, the structure was washed away when the flotilla was ordered to sea, but by then Gaimes’ report had reached the flagship. The end of the year saw K-5 in Chatham, completing a refit. During the refit a large number of officers and crew were relieved. Of the officers, only Gaimes remained. His number one, Lieut Arthur Ashworth was replaced by Lieut Frederick W. F. Cuddeford from K-11. None of the other new officers had any K-boat experience. Fresh from christmas leave, K-5 joined K-9 at Portsmouth. The two submarines left to rejoin the Atlantic Fleet, again at Tor Bay. K-5 called in at Portland on the way to pick up a spare Captain, Lieut- Commander Reginald Darke. Arriving in Tor Bay, the two K-boats anchored near to K-8, K-15 and K-22 at the edge of a g iant armada. The fleet was departing to Spain the next morning for exercises, but, during the night, a gale blew in and pinned the ships in the bay for the next three days. On January 20th, the weather moderated and the fleet sailed, seperating into ‘Red’ Force and ‘Blue’ force. At the head of one force, Inconstant disposed her submarines in line formations behind her, K-5 and K-9 on the starboard quarter, K-22, K-15 and K-8 on the port. It was a dark moonless night, with a still heaving sea, and the shaded stern light each boat showed was difficult to see. In K-9 the officer of the watch lost sight of K-5’s stern light. He was about to order an increase of speed when K-5’s stern loomed rapidly into sight and K-9 had to take evasive action. A winking light from K-5’s signalman, “OOW to ditto. Sorry. Lost suction.” In mid morning the mock battle began. Inconstant made a sighting report and signalled to her submarines to spread out to attack. Over the western horizon the masts of the oppositions force’s cruiser screen could be seen. On K-5 a signalman flagged a course for each submarine, followed by the order, “Dive”. K-5 herself went down first. The opposition cruisers were moving fast and if the submarines were to get in a surprise attack they had to get out of sight fast. K-9 had trouble getting under. With all tanks flooded she was still showing 10 feet of conning tower. On the Cox’n’s spirit level the bubble was forward. She was still light by the bows. “Flood B” was the captain’s order. B tank was an internal tank of 18 tons capacity. As it filled the depth gauges moved a couple of feet, and then stopped. Still 8 feet of conning tower above the surface! The First Lieutenant vaguely visualised the bow vents as he had left the conning tower. In his mind’s eye they were closed. A quick look through the periscope confirmed his thoughts; both the bow vents were tightly closed. The officer pointed at the man at the control panel and snapped, “Bow vents.” The operating lever was in the open position, but two safety stop valves either side of the lever had been overlooked when K-9 had put to sea. The tanks in the bows of the submarine were full of air. The seaman reached to open the valves but the first lieutenant grabbed his wrist. B tank had to be emptied first. Two minutes later, with B tank empty, the submarine dived perfectly. The first lieutenant silently reflected on what would have happened if the crewman had realised the mistake and silently opened the valves with B tank still full. Whilst K-9 had been struggling to submerge, K-22 had been struggling to surface. As soon as she submerged she had taken a steep bow down angle. Her Captain, Commander Allan Poland, knew sufficient about K-boats to reverse the engines and blow all tanks at full pressure, putting her out of the battle. K-5 dived fast, too fast, and immediately took a bow down angle. Gaimes ordered the fore hydroplanes set to “hard a rise”, and to “Blow all tanks” but the long flat foredeck acting as a giant hydroplane, maintained the downward angle. The high pressure air began to hiss into the tanks, but the downward motion continued. The man operating the forward hydroplanes reported, “Forward hydroplanes jammed, Sir”. The external pressure was beginning to distort the hull, and the submarine began to groan under the strain. Gaimes Ordered, “Full ahead” and “stern planes to hard -a-dive”, but that only compounded the problems that were gaining faster then they could be solved. As the depth gauges showed 280 feet, and the creaking K-5 began to adopt an even keel the dome in the control room, which rose into the conning tower and was the pressure hulls weakest point, imploded. The remorseless dark sea poured in like a wall, sweeping Officers and crewmen alike off of their feet before they could blink and flooding the submarine. The lights flicked out and the submarine, completely flooded, tumbled through the stygian darkness to the seabed, 12,000 feet below. An hour or so later, the other K-boats began to reappear at widely scattered points and to report their position by radio. The cruiser asked each in turn if they had seen K-5. Every answer was no. It was just after midday. About an hour before dusk the flotilla returned to the area where the K-boats had dived. There, ahead, was a mile square of calmed water, and exactly at the point where K-5 had dived, they slithered into a thick oil slick. In the centre of the slick were two pieces of timber. K-9 picked them up. Their sides were painted red, with consecutive numbers picked out in red. Every K-boat man recognised them. They were the beams from the battery covers in a K-boat. The moveable floorboards in the control room of a K-boat rested on these beams. The white numbers indicated each different cell of the battery. The position of K-5’s loss was Lat 48o 51’ 5’’ N Long. 9o 5’ W, about 120 miles west-sou-west of the Scilly Islands. At first the spare captain, Lieut-Commander Darke, was also presumed to have been lost with the boat, but it was then discovered that he had left K-5 when the fleet was anchored in Tor Bay. The next morning one of the searching ships found the lid of the torpedo gunners’ mate’s ditty box. That was all that was ever found. The public were horrified. Rear Admiral (retd) Sydney Hall wrote in the Times, [I]K class submarines were designed solely for action with the Grand Fleet in the North Sea. They are the largest and fastest submarines in existence, certainly by far the most complicated, and they need an exceptionally well trained crew.[/I] [I]It is not known what rapidity of diving was being demanded by the operation orders, but it seems certain that the first lieutenant, on whom would fall the chief duty of supervision below, was recently appointed, and that many of the crew were also newly joined…..[/I] [I]The accident is deplorable in the loss of so many gallant officers and men, and it is not clear why the K class should be taken for cruises in the Atlantic in the winter. The vessels may with accuracy be described as ‘freak’ submarines, built entirely for the peculiar conditions of the last war. The high surface speed necessitates great length, and the further complication of steam demands large openings for funnels and air intakes to the boiler room. These have always been a source of great anxiety in bad weather or in rapid diving…..[/I] [I]Presumably these vessels were kept in commission in order to perfect the conduct of such submarines in fleet battle, but it appears to be a very questionable policy, since the K class will be obsolete long before such a battle can take place. They were designed solely for the North Sea, and have neither the qualifications nor the sea endurance to accompany a battle fleet under war conditions except in home waters.[/I] [I]The keenness of all submarine officers is well known. It is to be hoped that this has not been overstrained from a lack of understanding of the delicacy of this very special type of submarine, with the result of the vessels’ being employed for work for which they were never intended, and for which they would be highly dangerous if the personnel were not thoroughly trained….[/I] [I]It has always been recognised that owing to their size and complications the K class cannot dive as rapidly as smaller submarines. For work with the fleet this was no disadvantage, since they could expect to get good warning, but a highly trained crew, thoroughly familiar with every detail of the vessel, is required. With such conditions the K boats could dive from twenty knots on the surface in about 4 minutes, but with anything but a perfectly trained crew, any attempt to do this would be highly dangerous in deep water. With water entering the tanks at two hundred tons a minute, the vessel might be trimmed to such an extent that the slightest hitch in getting the compressed air to act could take the vessel too deep for recovery. It will be easily understood that as the vessel now weighs over two and a half thousand tons and has way on her the downward momentum may be considerable. If there is much sea or swell it may be imperative to give her negative buoyancy to get her away from the surface, and though the compressed air will blow one or two tanks rapidly there is often considerable delay in checking the vessel’s downward motion. This is especially the case if the tank or tanks to which the air is admitted is not quite full and the vessel is already deep. The air has first to raise the pressure in the whole of the empty portion of the tank. During this time the water is still entering and rising in pressure, and only when the air pressure exceeds this and commences to drive the water out will buoyancy begin to be gained. Even then it will be an appreciable time before the vessel is checked and then begins to rise….[/I] [I]It will be readily understood that diving a vessel of this size and intricacy is a delicate operation, demanding the complete knowledge of his duty from every member of her crew and with a perfect system of drill and control from the central compartment before rapid diving can be safely undertaken.[/I] Commander Arthur Ashworth, RN (Retd) (and formerly First Lieutenant in K-5)commented in 1959, [I]“I think we realised that we were expected to do things with our K boats after the war that were beyond their capability; instead of being sulky and unwilling about it, there arose rather a ‘devil may care’ attitude of “We’ll do it – or bust.”[/I] The Admiralty never did make a public comment on this disaster other than to announce its regret, but they did order the fitting of high pressure air systems to the forward external tanks of all K boats.
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A really first-class account Richard. They certainly were a "freak" class of submarine.

Thanks, Terry, that is appreciated. I've got a few more to tell yet. It's the time it takes thats the problem. regards,

I do know exactly what you mean - but please rest assured that they will be appreciated. That last piece you wrote ranks amongst the very best written here.

One more pic to add to one of my favourite threads. HMS 'K5',built by Portsmouth Dockyard,launched 16/12/1916.Sunk,Bay of Biscay,20/1/1921. HMS 'K5' was one of the K-class submarines that served in the Royal Navy between 1917 and 1921. She was lost with all hands when she sank en route to a mock battle in the Bay of Biscay. At the end of the war in 1918 K5 was part of the 12th Submarine Flotilla based at Rosyth, along with 6 others of the K class. The K5 left Torbay on 19 January 1921 with the K8, K10, K15 and K22 for a mock battle in the Bay of Biscay. The submarine was commanded by an experienced officer, Lieutenant-Commander John A Gaimes, DSO, RN, but had a new crew. The other officers on board were Lieutenant F Cuddeford, Engineer-Lieutenant E Bowler, Acting Engineer-Lieutenant G Baker, Lieutenant B Clark and Acting Lieutenant R Middlement. The full complement included 51 other ranks on board. All 57 hands were lost on 20 January about 120 miles south-west of the Isles of Scilly. She had signalled that she was diving but she did not surface at the end of the exercise. After a battery cover and a sailor's "ditty box" were recovered it was presumed that she had somehow gone past her maximum depth. On return from her exercises in the Mediterranean in 1922 the HMS Hood and the rest of the fleet dropped wreaths and held a memorial service where the K5 had gone down.
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Some K boat stories in 'The Admiralty Regrets...." thread in the Royal Navy section.

Everitt writes a good story, but if you look hard enough you'll find plenty of R.N. submariners and other naval officers who don't regard the K-Class as "a suicide club" (a term which is by no means unique to the K-Class). Even though he includes it in his book "The World's Worst Warships", the late popular/technical naval historian Antony Preston didn't damn the type, citing operational drawbacks as well as certain detail flaws in the design - K.26 (which sailed round the world) showed what could have been achieved with a little less haste and better crew training. It is interesting to note that Preston, by no means an uncritical author, "talk of a 'jinx' on the class should not be exagerrated." He says the losses off May Island "cannot be blamed on design". The tactical use of them can't really be blamed either in the light of what the navy was attempting to achieve with them., using them as an adjunct to the battle fleet, and the only way that was going to be achieved as with anything is with practice. Simon

Margaret, My Grandfather was a Leading Stoker on HMS Fearless that was also involved in the Isle of May incident. I to have been looking for information on it, and have not found a great deal. One place is a Polish website. [url]http://www.op.osw.pl/op/iws/?aid=225&OPS=fd8f7eaccacafd9b60e624f4feff439b[/url]. If you can get it translated it has a lot of information. Regards, David Collins

[quote=astraltrader;10383] When I hook up my other computer I will put on here any others that I have...[/quote] Sorry for the delay in doing this Bob - but hopefully a case of better late than never my friend!!!
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Hi My first post -- I live in Fife Scotland and am also member of the Uk Submariners Association The K4 and the K17 have now got a memorial sited at Anstruther that we attend each year to lay wreaths and do a small service of rememberance. K13 that sank in the Gareloch on acceptance trials is also commemorated each year at the Faslane Base and also at Garelochhead cemetery where the fatalities were buried. Hope it helps Fred

Good to have you aboard Fred and thanks for the information. Here is a picture of the K13 you mentioned...:)
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Thank you for that Terry, I have always been fascinated by this class of submarine especially after reading Don Everitt's book. I have seen them all before but haven't got them at this size. I like the one alongside accompanied by the fleet destroyer HMS Swift. Those funnels are something else don't you think? Bob. [COLOR=red]Moderator Note: Original information posted regarding HMS Swift moved to new thread here:[/COLOR] [URL]http://www.worldnavalships.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9089[/URL]

Also a few more K-class submarines...
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Very interesting account -- Would you by chance have any stories on the K-3 other than the CO LCDR Shove (a relative of mine) was "a man who kept a tame white rat in the pocket of his monkey jacket"

[QUOTE=HMS Bergamot;14399]K-5 dived fast, too fast, and immediately took a bow down angle. Gaimes ordered the fore hydroplanes set to “hard a rise”, and to “Blow all tanks” but the long flat foredeck acting as a giant hydroplane, maintained the downward angle. The high pressure air began to hiss into the tanks, but the downward motion continued. The man operating the forward hydroplanes reported, “Forward hydroplanes jammed, Sir”. The external pressure was beginning to distort the hull, and the submarine began to groan under the strain. Gaimes Ordered, “Full ahead” and “stern planes to hard -a-dive”, but that only compounded the problems that were gaining faster then they could be solved. As the depth gauges showed 280 feet, and the creaking K-5 began to adopt an even keel the dome in the control room, which rose into the conning tower and was the pressure hulls weakest point, imploded. The remorseless dark sea poured in like a wall, sweeping Officers and crewmen alike off of their feet before they could blink and flooding the submarine. The lights flicked out and the submarine, completely flooded, tumbled through the stygian darkness to the seabed, 12,000 feet below.[/QUOTE] How did/does the author know this? If everyone was lost in her, how can he ce certain that the forward hydroplane operator reported “Forward hydroplanes jammed, Sir”? Interesting thread. cheers

Does anyone have any information about a sub which sank in 1917? I believe several (if not all) crew were rescued, but only after an extended period of restricted / unsafe air supply. My uncle was a casualty, with lung damage, which eventually led to tuberculosis. He was invalided out and spent about twenty years needing intermittent treatment and permanent care. Ednamay

[quote=Ednamay;71192]Does anyone have any information about a sub which sank in 1917? I believe several (if not all) crew were rescued, but only after an extended period of restricted / unsafe air supply. My uncle was a casualty, with lung damage, which eventually led to tuberculosis. He was invalided out and spent about twenty years needing intermittent treatment and permanent care. Ednamay[/quote] Hi there, I would imagine this to have been the [I]K13[/I] of the ill-fated K Class submarines, in January 1917. I haven't checked, but I expect there may be other threads relating to this elsewhere in this forum. However, this is basically what happened. [COLOR=black][I]K-13[/I] was carrying out her final acceptance trials prior to the Admiralty officially taking her over from her Clydeside builders, Fairfields. She had just covered the measured mile at a record 23 knots to gain the honour of the world's fastest submarine. [/COLOR] [COLOR=black]As she glided slowly down to the diving area in Gareloch she was carrying not only her regular crew of 53 officers and men but also 14 directors and employees of Fairfields, 13 other civilians, and two Royal Navy submarine officers acting as observers to gain K-boat experience. When she arrived at the loch she picked up two more civilian experts. [/COLOR] [COLOR=black]As she dived she refused to trim level at 20 feet and continued plunging toward the bottom. The boiler room started to flood and the watertight door to the stern section was promptly closed and locked. It was a drastic remedy, but if the submarine was to be saved there was no alternative even though it meant certain death for the men trapped in the compartments aft of the engine room bulkhead. The ballast tanks were blown, but [I]K-13[/I] showed no desire to surface, and in a desperate effort to avoid disaster Lt. Cdr. Herbert dropped the forward 10-ton keel. Even this failed to stop the submarine's dive and moments later her stern settled on the bottom of the loch in 50 feet of water. To make matters worse, the main switchboard then caught fire and consumed valuable oxygen before the fire was put out. [/COLOR] [COLOR=black]Thirty-one of the men aboard were already dead — trapped and drowned in the flooded stern section. Only one watertight door separated the remaining survivors from a similar death. Professor Percy Hillhouse, the naval architect who had embarked at the loch shortly before the fatal dive, was busy calculating how much air was left and how long it would last, and it was not an encouraging answer — only eight hours at most. [/COLOR] [COLOR=black]There was confusion at the surface. Although the escorting tug wirelessed an urgent message reporting a probable disaster within an hour of K-13's disappearance, it was six hours before a gunboat and two salvage tugs left the Clyde. [I]Gossame[/I]r arrived at midnight with a diving suit, but no diver. When one was finally found the suit proved to have perished with age and nearly drowned its occupant. [I]Thrush[/I] arrived on the scene shortly afterwards but she had neither suit nor diver. Finally however, one of Fairfield's civilian divers went down and, groping his way along the sunken hull, he made contact with the trapped men by tapping Morse messages on the hull. [/COLOR] [COLOR=black]Aware that time was running out Lt. Cdr. Herbert decided to send one of the officer passengers, Captain Goodhart, D.S.O., who was captain of the note yet completed K-14, to the surface by flooding the conning-tower and blowing him upwards in a bubble of compressed air. The two men climbed into the conning-tower, closed the lower hatch, and opened the valves so that the compartment slowly flooded and compressed the air inside it. When the water level reached their waists [I]K-13's[/I] skipper released the submarine’s own high pressure air and clung to the steel supports while Cpt Goodhart pulled the clips and opened the upper hatch. The men standing on [I]Thrush's[/I] deck saw a confused upheaval of water as the air rushed to the surface and Lt. Cdr. Herbert's head suddenly bobbed into sight. He was dragged aboard the tug. But Cpt. Goodhart never made it. Caught up in the rush of escaping air, he was hurled against the roof of the bridge, knocked unconscious, and drowned. [/COLOR] [COLOR=black]The trapped men below were becoming desperate for air and the priority now was to get some to them. High pressure hoses were taken down but the divers were unable to find any way of connecting them to K-13's hull. It was six o'clock the following evening — long past Prof. Hillhouse's deadline — before the pipes were secured. Then it was found that no air was getting through. More discussions followed and, while the experts argued and wrangled over the problem, the divers picked up more Morse signals from the trapped men: “Give us air. Give us air.” [/COLOR] [COLOR=black]By midnight the fault was traced to an ice blockage in the line itself and within minutes fresh pure air was being pumped into the poisoned hull to revive the half dead survivors. A further tube was used to send food down, and by 6.30 a.m. voice communication had been established. [/COLOR] [COLOR=black]A steel wire was next latched under [I]K-13's[/I] hull and slowly, creaking with strain, the forward end of the submarine was lifted until the bows were standing clear of the surface. [/COLOR] [COLOR=black]Finally, after many more hours a hole was cut in the bows with an oxy-acetylene torch and, just after 3 p.m., 57 hours after [I]K13[/I] had started her fatal dive beneath the surface of Gareloch, the 46 survivors were helped through the escape hole . [/COLOR] [COLOR=black]The submarine was finally salvaged on March 15, repaired, and re-commissioned as [I]K-22[/I]. She was eventually sold for scrap in December 1926 in Sunderland. [/COLOR] It must have been a terrible experience for your uncle, and he must have been extremely brave. How tragic he had to endure all those years of illness. Clive [FONT=Arial][FONT=Verdana]([/FONT][I][FONT=Verdana]Hope it was this submarine[/FONT] ...!!)[/I][/FONT]

[B][SIZE=3]Submarine K5[/SIZE][/B] Readers of this thread all, I am sure, have sufficient knowledge about the ‘Kalamity K’s’ such that it is unnecessary for me to go into much detail about this catastrophic phase of British submarine development. The then short sighted attitude of the Grand Fleet traditionalists towards adapting to modern submarine warfare, and the misconception that a “submersible destroyer” was the answer to underwater supremacy, resulted in an unforgivable and unnecessary loss of lives. The loss of the [I]K5[/I] was one of the worst submarine disasters in peace times. She left Torbay on 19th January 1921 with the [I]K8, K15, K10 and K22[/I] for a mock battle in the Bay of Biscay. On 20th January, when 120 miles south west of the Scilly Isles, she signaled her intention to dive. She never surfaced. All fifty seven officers and men were killed. All that was recovered was a battery cover and a sailor’s ditty box. There were, and probably still are, numerous theories about her disappearance. Rear Admiral S.S Hall, who was in charge of the submarine service during the war, gave his theory in the ‘ Times’ days after the disaster. “It may be taken as certain that the loss of the vessel was due to some delay in the checking the downward momentum gained by the vessel being over-trimmed in diving, either by admitting compressed air too slowly into too many tanks at one time, to tanks only partially full, or to a sea connection being closed prematurely” The Admiral asserts that the water was so deep that the submarine would inevitably be crushed, and it would be impossible to regain control, owing to the entry of water. This, also, would prevent the use of the underwater signal plant. He says that The K-Class was designed solely for the North Sea and was not fitted to endure the open sea. He goes on to say, “These submarines are the largest and most complicated craft of that type in existence and need exceptionally well trained crews, whereas many of the crew of the K5, including the Lieutenant on whom the duty of supervision would fall, had newly joined the vessel”. Just about sums up the whole saga regarding the history of these craft as I understand it – bad concept and cumbersome design. Therefore, highly trained crews were required, particularly in the complex preparation for diving, and then, in controlling the unpredictable dive process itself. How brave for any volunteer to join the “Suicide Club” Clive [I]Two postcards from my personal collection, and a photograph that shows K5 in dry dock. Does anybody recognise this dry dock ... is it Chatham? K5 had a refit there in 1920, having not long before had another diving mishap, burying her bows in the muddy bottom of the Firth of Forth.[/I]
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[quote=rumrat;71609]No worries mate i was getting a tad confused with all this bunting flapping around, it was beginging to look like the fleet review with all thise flags and pennants blowing in the breeze. Regards Dave[/quote] Bunting gone now ... so thought I would just show this one of K26 from an original news photograph I have. Photograph was taken upon it's return from it's endurance test in 1926, when it covered a greater distance than any submarine by any other nation. Clive
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Just to put some meat on what Batstiger has already said: K1 The Light-cruiser HMS Blonde was heading K1, K3, K4 and K7 in line ahead off the Danish coast when she was forced to turn sharply to port to avoid three cruisers, that crossed her bows from starboard to port and collided ith K4. The abrupt change of course took the submarines by surprise and K1 and K4 collided. K1 had lost way due to salt-water, instead of fuel, coming through the sprayers and extinguishing the boilers. K3 passed close on the port side. K4, following K3, suddenly observed the red light of K1, and, although taking avoiding action, struck K1 a glancing blow abreast the conning tower. Water poured into the control room. Within minutes, chlorine gas was being released from the batteries. Blonde was signalled that K1 was sinking, and the cruiser closed, lowering two cutters. The rescue boats made five trips and transferred all 56 members of the crew to Blonde. A discussion was then held as to whether K1 could be saved, and it was decided to sink her. K2 Scrapped July 1926. K3 Scrapped October 1921. K4 On 31 January 1918 HMS K4 left harbour bound for a North Sea exercise. In what became known as the Battle of May Island a number of submarines were lost. Several collisions occurred, including K6 colliding with K4. So great was the collision that K4 was cut almost in two and sank immediately with the loss of all onboard. K5 On 20 January 1921 HMS K5 sailed from Torbay as part of a fleet bound for Spain, which included the Cruiser Inconstant and Submarines K8, K9, K15 and K22. It was decided to conduct a mock battle in the Bay of Biscay and the vessels split up to take their positions. A signal was received from K5 that she was diving, but she failed to reappear at the end of the exercise. An hour before dusk a battery cover from a K boat was recovered and the next morning a sailor’s ditty box was found - the last trace of K5. It is believed an accident caused K5 to exceed her maximum diving depth K6 Scrapped in July 1926. K7 Came to the rescue of the crew of K17 in 1918. Scrapped in September 1921. K8 Scrapped October 1923. K9 Scrapped in July 1926. K10 Scrapped in November 1921. K11 Scrapped in November 1921. K12 Scrapped in July 1926. K13 Just after noon on 29 January 1917, HMS K13, on trials in the Gareloch, signalled to nearby HMS E50 her intention to dive. As the submarine submerged the engine room began to flood. The submarine became uncontrollable and came to rest on the bottom with the engine room and after torpedo room flooded. The crew of E50 witnessing K13’s rapid dive closed in on the area discovering traces of oil and escaping air breaking the surface. The first rescue vessel arrived around midnight. Divers were sent down to inspect the submarine and just after daybreak on the 30 morse signals were exchanged between the divers and the trapped crew. At 1700 an airline was successfully connected, empty air bottles recharged and ballast tanks blown. With the aid of a hawser slung under her bows K13 was brought to within 8 feet of the surface. By midday of the 31 K13’s bow had been raised ten feet above the water. By 2100 the pressure hull had been breached using oxy-acetylene cutting equipment the survivors being transferred to safety. K13 was finally raised on 15 March, refitted and returned to service as HMS K22. K14 Scrapped in December 1926. K15 On the 25 June 1921 K15 was moored alongside the light cruiser HMS Canterbury, in the tidal basin at Portsmouth. Most of the crew were on leave when a watch keeper discovered that the submarine was sinking, with the stern already awash. The watch were quickly roused and scrambled aboard the Canterbury. The submarine slowly submerged amid streams of bubbles. The accident was caused by hydraulic oil expanding in the hot weather and contracting as the temperature dropped causing a loss of hydraulic pressure and causing vents to open. K16 Scrapped in August 1924. K17 Whilst taking part in exercises off May Island, K17 was astern of HMS Courageous when the latter changed course to avoid two trawlers, which were spotted ahead. K17 turned but K22 and K14 were involved in a collision. Meanwhile HMS Fearless was steaming at 21 knots towards the area oblivious of the accident. Suddenly the Fearless appeared over the horizon and ploughed into K17, water gushed into the boat through the pierced pressure hull. The order to abandon ship was quickly given. Within 8 minutes K17 had disappeared. The survivors were now in the water and the other submarines attempted to pick them up. Sadly the destroyers were unaware of the location of the accident and ploughed through the survivors. K22 Cancelled K23 Cancelled K24 Cancelled K25 Cancelled K26 Broken Up March 1931 K27 Cancelled K28 Cancelled

Here is a Commemorative Envelope to the loss of H M Submarine K.17. it was No. 233 of 246 Covers Issued. Produced by R N Marriott. Sign by member of the crew of K.17. Sadsac

Whats a commerative envelope Denis? Fred

Apologies FRED, it seems the pic never came out - trying again. Got it this time. Hope it is self explanitory. Nice - what !!! Sadsac
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[FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3][B]Submarine K2[/B][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Verdana]HMS [I]K2[/I] was one of five K-Class submarines to built at HM Dockyard Portsmouth; the others being [I]K1,K5, K6[/I], and [I]K7[/I]. [I]K1[/I] and [I]K2[/I] were built alongside each other.[/FONT] [I][FONT=Verdana]K2[/FONT][/I][FONT=Verdana] was a Group 1 submarine of this Class. She was laid down on the 13th November 1915, launched on the 14th October 1916, and completed on the 1st February 1917. [/FONT] [FONT=Verdana]During her diving trials in the January of 1917 she suffered an onboard explosion. The insulation had broken down in her electric motors, and as the fuse blew, sheet of flame set fire to some planks and oily waste that had been left behind by dockyard workers. The submarine was not equipped with fire extinguishers and had to surface where the crew managed to put out the fire by passing buckets of sea water passed through the hatch to the engine room.[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana]At the end of the same month, [I]K2[/I] started her acceptance trials in choppy seas and freezing temperatures. Not long after leaving harbour, water began splashing into the casings below the funnels, and into the boiler room through the mushroom shaped ventilators. When the signal to was given to dive, the vents were opened to flood the main ballast tanks, and in the engine room, the lever was thrown to close the boiler-room vents.. However, the signal lamps did not light up, and the order was give to surface immediately. When the vents were subsequently examined, it was concluded that low temperature of the sea water had partially solidified the hydraulic oil in the vent actuating cylinders. This incident prompted instructions to be issued to all K-Boats to ensure that only low temperature hydraulic oil should be used.[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana]K2 was commissioned to the 12th Submarine Flotilla, and in June 1917, took part in a concerted submarine sweep in the North Sea with destroyers of the Grand Fleet. On one morning during this operation, the Fair Isle lighthouse keepers reported that [I]K2[/I] had struck a mine and had sunk with all hands. However, two days later [I]K2[/I] entered harbour, to the relief of the next of kin who had been mis-informed of their loss. It came to light that [I]K2[/I] was test firing her 4-inch gun just before beginning diving patrols. From a safe range, the gun was fired at the lighthouse, the shell exploding on the water. It then immediately dived. The lighthouse keepers observing this, were convinced [I]K2[/I] had hit a mine and then sunk beneath the waves.[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana]In December 1920 the Admiralty released news that [I]K2[/I], along with [I]K10[/I] and [I]K16[/I] were to be paid off. However, after the loss of [I]K5[/I] at Torquay in January 1921, [I]K2[/I] was reprieved from the scrapheap, and she joined the 1st Flotilla to replace the lost submarine.[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana]Early one morning in late 1923, [I]K2[/I] was leaving Portland Harbour when she collided with [I]K12[/I], carving a huge hole in her forward casing. During the collision, the stem of [I]K2[/I] was bent. Luckily for both boats, damage was superficial, and they soon returned to service.[/FONT] [I][FONT=Verdana]K2[/FONT][/I][FONT=Verdana] was eventually sold for scrap to Cashmore , Newport on the 13th July 1926.[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana]Two pictures of [I]K2[/I] previously posted in the RN Submarines 1900-1925 Gallery thread: [URL]http://www.worldnavalships.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1423[/URL][/FONT] [FONT=Verdana][URL="http://www.worldnavalships.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=4833&d=1207230374"][COLOR=#800080]http://www.worldnavalships.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=4833&d=1207230374[/COLOR][/URL][/FONT] [FONT=Verdana][URL="http://www.worldnavalships.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=80348&d=1276626310"][COLOR=#800080]http://www.worldnavalships.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=80348&d=1276626310[/COLOR][/URL][/FONT] [FONT=Verdana]K2_1: Photograph of [I]K2, not as good as the others but shots of K2 are rare, so worth posting for it's historical value[/I]; date and location unknown.[/FONT] [I][FONT=Verdana]Original source of photograph not determined. No evidence of copyright restrictions[/FONT][/I]
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Two more views of K2, which I hope haven’t been posted previously, the first showing the original bow, with which the early members of the class were built, before they were modified with the bulbous bow for better seakeeping and buoyancy forward. Dave
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Great photos Dave ... they just don't seem to be that common, so it is good to see them. As you say, the bulbous bow, known as "Swan Bows" were fitted to try and reduce the tendency of the boats to pitch badly whilst on the surface in heavy seas. The program of modifications started in 1917 with K6 being the first, fitted by Sawn Hunter. I cannot find definitive records of which boats actually ended up being modified. The wreck of K4 (sunk at the Battle of May Island, 31st January 1918, after the collision with K17) aparently does not show evidence of the a swan bow being fitted. K9 was fitted with hers at Chatham. K5 had them fitted. Looking through available photographs it seems that many of boats display them at some time, but as to those that didn't. I am not absolutely sure. Will do some further investigation ... unless anybody knows for a fact.

[QUOTE=Dreadnought;131017]Looking through available photographs it seems that many of boats display them at some time, but as to those that didn't. I am not absolutely sure. Will do some further investigation ... unless anybody knows for a fact.[/QUOTE] Yes it's not clear to me either, at least none of my sources say anything other than that the modifications were made. The completion dates would suggest that K1 to K14 and K17 were completed without the swan bow, as these boats were all completed by May 1917. K15 and K16 did not complete until April-May 1918 suggesting they were built with the swan bow? I have photos of K2, K3, K4, K5, K6, K13 & K14 with the original bow and K2, K5, K6, K7, K8, K9, K10, K11, K12, K22 [ex13], K14, K15 & K16 with the swan bow. I'll happily post any of these if you want them. As an aside, do you have a photo of K1, only I've never seen any images of this boat Rgds Dave

Hi Dave, The only photograph of K1 I have ever been able to find is the one attached. I guess becasue she wasn't around for very long might explain. Launched 14th November 1916 and lost a year later on 18th November 1917. See Post #27. Photograph shpws the keel of K1 being laid by Miss A.W. Weymouth at Portsmouth dockyard on the 6th October 1915. Original source of this photo unknown, although it is held by the Royal Navy Submarine Museum, Gosport. [I]This partucular copy in my personal collection. No copyright restrictions evident.[/I]
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[B]NOTE:[/B] Due to the fact there the K-Class submarine evokes much interest, I have merged all the existing descriptive threads/posts to this newly titled thread. This includes the recent posts regarding the "swan bows" in the photo gallery thread. The original photographs of K-boats in the photo gallery thread however, remain: [FONT=Verdana][URL]http://www.worldnavalships.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1423[/URL][/FONT] Those with an interest in the ensuing M-Class Submarines can read about them in this thread: [url]http://www.worldnavalships.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8179&highlight=M-class+submarines[/url]

K6 at Scapa 4th of December 1917 doing 20 knots.
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