RN Submarines

H class boats

RN Submarines by Class

RN Submarine Timeline Distribution of RN Submarines WW1 The 1912-1920 Submarine Build Strategy

1901 - 1913: Holland Class

1902 - 1920: A Class

1903 - 1906: B Class

1903 - 1906: C Class

1907 - 1919: D Class

1911 - 1924: E Class

1912 - 1919: V (early) Class

1912 - 1915: S Class

1913 - 1919: Nautilus Class

1914 - 1916: Swordfish Class

1914 - 1922: F Class

1914 - 1921: G Class

1914 - 1916: W Class

1915 - 1929: J Class

1915 - 1926: K Class

1916 - 1945: L Class

1916 - 1932: M Class

1917 - 1945: H Class

1917 - 1934: R Class

1918 - 1931: K26 Class

1921 - 1925: X1 Class

1924 - 1945: Oberon Class

1925 - 1946: Odin Class

1927 - 1946: Parthian Class

1929 - 1946: Rainbow Class

1929 - 1945: River Class

1930 - 1946: Grampus Class

1935 - 1970: Improved S Class

1935 - 1970: T Class

1936 - 1958: U Class

1940: Archimede Class

1940 - 1946: The 9th Foltilla

1940 - 1957: Turkish Class

1941 - 1944: VIIC Class

1941 - 1945: US R Class

1941 - 1944: US S Class

1941 - 1958: V Class

1942 - 1946: X Class

1943 - 1946: XT Class

1943 - 1977: Amphion Class

1944 - 1952: XE Class

1945 - 1949: XVIIB Class

1954 - 1958: Stickleback Class

1955 - 1970: Explorer Class

1956 - 1988: Porpoise Class

1959 - 1998: Oberon Class

1963 - 1980: Dreadnought Class

1966 - 1994: Valiant Class

1967 - 1996: Resolution Class

1970 - 1990: Churchill Class

1973 - 2010: Swiftsure Class

1983 - 2025: Trafalgar Class

1990 - 1994: Upholder Class

1993 - Present: Vanguard Class

2010 - Present: Astute Class

Future: Dreadnought Class

Future: AUKUS (SSN-A) Class

Pennant Numbers

All Royal Navy vessels were identified by Pennant, or Pendant, numbers, which had one or two components. These two components were known as the flag superior and the flag inferior. Flags superior consisted of a letter or a number, some of which were changed before and during the war. The flags inferior had numbers. The numbers themselves were apparently picked at random. (Excluding the coastal forces, where the boat's numerical name itself was worn as the flag inferior.) Besides being used for identification during signaling, the smaller vessels also had their pennant numbers painted on their hulls.

Pennant numbers were introduced to help to abbreviate signalling and to help make signals more secure, they also served to clear up confusion between ships with similar names and as an aid in identifying ships visually, particularly where ships of the same classification were grouped in a Squadron.

During the wars, many vessels were transferred between Commonwealth and Allied Navies. Where this did occur, the vessel usually kept the same Pennant Number (even though the vessels name may well have changed). If a vessel was sunk in action, it was usual for the Pennant Number of that ship to be allocated to the next vessel to be launched.

Between the wars the submarine pennant number was the reverse of the boats (numerical) name or an identifying number followed by the class letter in the case of a named boat. I.e., numeral pennant and a flag inferior. The flags used were H or L for the H and L class, P for the O and P class, R for the R class, F for the Thames class, M for the Porpoise class, S for the S class, T for the T class, and C for the U class.

Until the Second World War, it was usual for submarines to have only a Pennant Number and no name, Winston Churchill directed that all Submarines be named. Some minor ships had no Pennant Number, whilst others had them removed from photographs due to censorship. It is believed that the pennant system was last revised in 1947. At that time K, L and U all became F.

Then in 1939 all submarines were allocated pennant numbers ending with the N (N flag inferior), the numbers remained unchanged. In May 1940, this was changed to flag N superior. Again, the numbers themselves remained unchanged

Early in the war it was decided that submarines built (or acquired) during the war would no longer be given names but only the letter P and a number. (To prevent enemy recognition of new submarines.) Then in 1942, it was once again decided that all submarines would be named.

Have You Read?

Cmdr John Lorimer

Submariner who helped to mortally damage Tirpitz and spent six months in solitary confinement.

Read

Featured Film

"They were the only thing that really frightened me" So said the usually steadfast Winston Churchill of the German Navy's U-Boat fleet - the dreaded Wolf Pack, which stalked the Atlantic depths, bringing instant death to merchantman and warship alike.

Together with a formidable surface fleet, the U-Boats challenged the Royal Navy's traditional supremacy of the oceans, countering Britain's strength in numbers with a reign of silent terror. A decade of secret rebuilding had brought forth capital ships like the Scharnhorst, Gneisenau and Prinz Eugen - names to strike fear into any Allied seafarer.

However, it was from under the water that the biggest threat was to come. Commanded by Admiral Karl Doenitz, the submarines laid waste to shipping, cutting supply lines and striking from within convoys where Allied escorts dare not use guns. The U-Boat captains were the equivalent of Luftwaffe aces - ruthless, cunning and ice-cool under pressure. Enduring harsh conditions for months on end and working in darkness with no chance of escape, this was truly a war of nerves.

"There is no margin for error on a submariner" said one captain. "You are either alive or dead." on May 4 1945, Doenitz issued orders to cease hostilities. "You have fought like lions" he said to his valiant survivors. "You are laying down your arms after a heroic fight which knows no equals."

The story of that light is told hare using rare archive footage, much of which has been unavailable in the West since World War II.

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