K13

Built By:	Fairfield (Clyde)
Build Group:	K Group 1
Fate:	K13 which sank on 29th January 1917 when carrying out Acceptance Trials in the Gareloch off shore of the Shandon Hydropathic Hotel. Shortly after lunch the Submarine dived to carry out some final checks when the after end of the Submarine was flooded through the Engine Room Ventilators which had failed to shut properly. All personnel in the after part of the submarine were drowned. The survivors from the front end of Submarine K13 were rescued on 31st January. The Submarine was raised on 15th March 1917 and was refitted and returned to service as K22. Scrapped in December 1926.

K13

K13

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Survivors

Officers

Commander Godfrey Herbert
Lieutenant Paris Graham Singer
Lieutenant (E) Leonard Chichester Rideal

Ratings

CPO Reginald Atkinson O/N 233659
PO Robert Oscar Moth 220366
PO Robert William Nicholls 195631
PO Stanley Albert White 220128
L/Sea Charles Frederick Osborne 225038
L/Sea Robert Henry Hudd 231390
L/Sea Arthur Travers 238252
AB James Patrick O’Regan 238673
AB Frank Harry Byrnes J5561
AB Albert Knight J373
AB Arthur Henry Kirk 235218
AB Henry John George Akers 195047
AB Ernest Edward Stevens J5146
AB Henry William Frederick Mackrell J26655
AB Richard John Pring Wattley J16437
AB Robert Young J10983
AB Thomas Arnold Guthrie J8959
AB George Edmondson O/N 228678
L/Sig Arthur Reginald Riley J21077
L/Tel Charles Albert Harry Freestone J15536
Boy Tel Joseph Swift J44055
ERA Owen Charles Lewis M3716
CERA Albert Denne M4470
SPO Charles Smith 302886 (Po)
Sto Ernest Alfred Smith K19554
Sto George Baker O/N K7178

Civilians

Frederick W Searle, Admiralty Ship Overseer
Edward Hepworth, Admiralty Overseer (Boilers)
William Hancock, Admiralty Overseer
Robert Lake, Brotherhoods Ltd
Frederick C Cocks, RCNC
Prof. Percy Hillhouse, Fairfield Chief Engineer
Edward Skinner, Fairfield Electrical Department
William MacLean, Fairfield
Donald Hood, Fairfield
Frank Bullen, Fairfield
John Green, Fairfield Mechanical Foreman
Henry Kerr, Fairfield
William Struthers, Fairfield
Edward Powney, Chadburns of Liverpool
Donald Renfrew Kelvin, Bottomley & Baird
Sidney Black Kelvin, Bottomley & Baird
William Williams, Brown Brothers (Boilers)
Captain Joseph Duncan, Clyde Pilot

The Civilian dead from the accident are commemorated on a memorial drinking fountain erected by the Fairfield Company in Elder Park – opposite the site of the Fairfield Building Yard on the Clyde. The Civilian Staff who died in the accident are as listed below:

Roll of Honour

Name	Rank	Number	Hons	Age
Bevis, George William	Stoker	K 8719		25
Bradley, Tom	Engine Room Artificer 3rd Class	272472		24
Clark, Stephen Clutson	Acting Leading Stoker	K 5824		25
Cornish, Herbert	Stoker	K 9219		22
Dickinson, John	Stoker	K11895 (Po)		24
Dymond, Ridgeway	Stoker	K14330		23
Fenson, Walter Abraham	Chief Stoker	297570 (Ch)		34
Fieldwick, George William	Stoker Petty Officer	301111		35
Goddard, Henry Charles	Stoker	K20432		22
Goodhart, Francis Herbert Heaveningham	Commander			32
Hallihan, Timothy	Stoker	K12408		24
Hole, Frederick Stephen	Admiralty Overseers Assistant (Civilian)
Hooper, Richard	Stoker	K 9871		24
Howard, Frederick James	Leading Stoker	K 9207		24
Kirk, James	Engine Fitter (Civilian)
Lane, Arthur Ernest	Engineer Lieutenant
Lewis, William John	Engine Fitter (Civilian)
Mitchell, Thomas	Leading Stoker	302275		36
Neate, Frank Thomas	Foreman Electrician (Civilian)
Porter, Frederick Raymond	Petty Officer	171745	DSM	39
Pratt, Herbert	Bosun	Ex203959		33
Roberts, John Arthur	Engine Room Artificer 2nd Class	1629/EA		29
Born Perth, Western Australia 15/12/1887
Roberts, William	Stoker	K1715 (Dev)		26
Scarlett, Alfred	Stoker	K/12902		23
Simpson, Horace	Stoker	K 4303 (Dev)		25
Smith, Frederick William George	Chief Engine Room Artificer	270355		38
Smith, William Chalmers	Engine Fitter (Civilian)
Steel, John P	Engine Fitter (Civilian)
Strachan, William Alfred	Engine Fitter (Civilian)
White, Leonard	Stoker	K15229		26
Williams, Robert William	Able Seaman	J3706		25
Williamson, George Jenkins	Stoker Petty Officer	229331		29

Events

01-10-1915 :	Laid Down
11-11-1916 :	Launched
29-01-1917 :	Just after noon HMS K13, on trials in the Gareloch, signaled 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 30th 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 31st K13's bow had been raised ten feet above the water. By 2100 the pressure hull had been breached using oxyacetylene cutting equipment the survivors being transferred to safety. K13 was finally raised on 15th March, refitted and returned to service as HMS K22.
18-10-1917 :	Completed

Comments

1 comment

Many thanks for the list of survivors of the K13 submarine. My husband's grandfather was a survivor of this incident. We have both searched the internet many times for a list of survivors, without success. Today I have spent over 3 hours searching and have stumbled on this web-site!
Sandra Smith Thu, 9 Sep 2021

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Length overall	339'
Beam	26' 6"
Draught	20' 11"
Displacement	1980 tons (surface)
	2566 tons (submerged)
Diving Depth	200'
Speed	Surface 24 knots (design)
	Surface 24 knots (service)
	Submerged 10 to 10.5 knots (design)
	Submerged 9 knots (service)
No. of shafts	2
Propeller	3 blades, 7' 8" diameter
Armament	4 18" bow tubes
	4 18" beam tubes
	(16 torpedoes carried)
	2 4" guns
	1 3" gun
Endurance	Surface: 960 miles at full power (design)
	Surface: 800 miles at full power or 12500 miles at 10 knots (service)
	Submerged: 13.5 miles at 9 knots (design)
	Submerged: 8 miles at 8 knots or 30 miles at 4 knots (service)
Complement	59

RN Subs

K13

Survivors

Officers

Ratings

Civilians

Roll of Honour

Events

Comments

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K Group 1 Specification

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