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K13

Built By: Fairfield (Clyde)
Build Group: K1
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
K13
K13

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Related Pages
Read
Unlucky Thirteen

K13 was carrying out her final acceptance trials prior to the Admiralty officially taking her over from her Clydeside builders. She had already covered the measured mile at a record 23" knots to gain the honour of the world's fastest submarine and there was a festive air about the pre-diving lunch which continued to 3:15 pm. And 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 Fairfield, 13 other civilians, and two Royal Navy submarine officers acting as observers. When she arrived at the loch she picked up two more civilian experts. She dived smoothly enough but to Lt-Cdr Herbert's consternation she refused to trim level at 20 feet and continued plunging toward the bottom.

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Steam Submarines

The gargantuan steam submarines were treated as a joke by the hardened veterans of the Submarine Service when they first appeared. But on the fateful afternoon of January 29th, 1917 the K boats suddenly developed a new and more sinister reputation. From that day onwards 'K' stood for Killer. And by apt coincidence the drama featured No 13.

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Wartime Memoirs of Coxn Oscar Moth

A survivor Of K13 - It must "be clearly understood, by all those who read my War Experiences, that, they were only written under pressure from my relatives and also the Friends I made during the Great War. They all tell me that my experiences are so varied that they deem it my duty that I should try and write them in Book Form. I think myself that my effort should prove very interesting to everyone and instructive to the younger generation.

Roll of Honour
32
Died: 26-01-1917
Bevis, George William  K 8719
Stoker Died: 26-01-1917 Aged: 25
Bradley, Tom  272472
Engine Room Artificer 3rd Class Died: 26-01-1917 Aged: 24
Clark, Stephen Clutson  K 5824
Acting Leading Stoker Died: 26-01-1917 Aged: 25
Cornish, Herbert  K 9219
Stoker Died: 26-01-1917 Aged: 22
Dickinson, John  K11895 (Po)
Stoker Died: 26-01-1917 Aged: 24
Dymond, Ridgeway  K14330
Stoker Died: 26-01-1917 Aged: 23
Fenson, Walter Abraham  297570 (Ch)
Chief Stoker Died: 26-01-1917 Aged: 34
Fieldwick, George William  301111
Stoker Petty Officer Died: 26-01-1917 Aged: 35
Goddard, Henry Charles  K20432
Stoker Died: 26-01-1917 Aged: 22
Goodhart, Francis Herbert Heaveningham 
Commander Died: 26-01-1917 Aged: 32
Hallihan, Timothy  K12408
Stoker Died: 26-01-1917 Aged: 24
Hole, Frederick Stephen  (Civilian)
Admiralty Overseers Assistant Died: 26-01-1917
Hooper, Richard  K 9871
Stoker Died: 26-01-1917 Aged: 24
Howard, Frederick James  K 9207
Leading Stoker Died: 26-01-1917 Aged: 24
Kirk, James  (Civilian)
Engine Fitter Died: 26-01-1917
Lane, Arthur Ernest 
Engineer Lieutenant Died: 26-01-1917
Lewis, William John  (Civilian)
Engine Fitter Died: 26-01-1917
Mitchell, Thomas  302275
Leading Stoker Died: 26-01-1917 Aged: 36
Neate, Frank Thomas  (Civilian)
Foreman Electrician Died: 26-01-1917
Porter, Frederick Raymond  DSM 171745
Petty Officer Died: 26-01-1917 Aged: 39
Pratt, Herbert  Ex203959
Bosun Died: 26-01-1917 Aged: 33
Roberts, John Arthur  1629/EA
Engine Room Artificer 2nd Class Born: 15-12-1887 Died: 26-01-1917 Aged: 29
from Perth  Western Australia
Roberts, William   K1715 (Dev)
Stoker Died: 26-01-1917 Aged: 26
Scarlett, Alfred  K/12902
Stoker Died: 26-01-1917 Aged: 23
Simpson, Horace  K 4303 (Dev)
Stoker Died: 26-01-1917 Aged: 25
Smith, Frederick William George  270355
Chief Engine Room Artificer Died: 26-01-1917 Aged: 38
Smith, William Chalmers  (Civilian)
Engine Fitter Died: 26-01-1917
Steel, John P  (Civilian)
Engine Fitter Died: 26-01-1917
Strachan, William Alfred  (Civilian)
Engine Fitter Died: 26-01-1917
White, Leonard  K15229
Stoker Died: 26-01-1917 Aged: 26
Williams, Robert William  J3706
Able Seaman Died: 26-01-1917 Aged: 25
Williamson, George Jenkins  229331
Stoker Petty Officer Died: 26-01-1917 Aged: 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

Comment by: Sandra Smith on September 9, 2021

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!

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