B 11 (I 00)
| Built By: | Vickers (Barrow) |
| Build Group: | B |
| Fate: | Converted to Surface Patrol Craft and renamed S11 for service on the Otranto Barrage. Bombed and sunk in harbour at Venice in 1918. Sold for scrap in Italy 1919 |
B11
B11
B11
Commanders
| 1906: | Lieutenant | Basil Beal | |
| 1914: | Lieutenant | Norman Douglas Holbrook | |
| 1915: | Lieutenant | S Gravener | |
| 1915: | Lieutenant | F C C Kennedy |
1914: Attached to Mediterranean Fleet, Tenedos.
Adriatic Squadron, 1915. Marco Polo, Venice.
Dardanelles Flotilla. Hindu Kush at Mudros, Lemnos
She was the first British submarine to attempt to force her way into the Sea of Marmara. She not only succeeded in doing so but also sank the battleship Messudieh from a range of some 800 yards. This was an incredible feat for a submarine which was designed for coastal work.
Holbrook was awarded the first submarine VC of the war, his First Lt, Lt. S. T. Winn the DSO and the remainder of the crew were awarded either the DSC or DSM.
Also made an unsuccessful attempt to sink E15 after she had run aground trying to enter the Sea of Marmara.
She also scored a first when capturing the crew of the Austrian flying-boat L59 which had been forced down whilst experiencing engine trouble during January of 1916.
Renamed S11 after being converted to a patrol boat.
Related Pages
Lieutenant Norman Douglas Holbrook
For most conspicuous bravery on 13th December, when in command of the Submarine B11, he entered the Dardanelles, and, notwithstanding the very difficult current, dived his vessel under five rows of mines and torpedoed the Turkish Battleship
The Two Men Who Calmly Kept To Their Stations
By the time the Holland's and the A class submarines had come from the berths at Barrow and entered service, the Royal Navy's Submarine Service - every man a volunteer, by the way - had become accustomed to dicing with death.
Events
| 21-02-1906 | Launched |
| 11-07-1906 | Completed |
| 12-12-1914 | Sailed from Tenedos in an attempt to break into the Sea of Marmara. |
| 13-12-1914 | Lieutenant Holbrook took the HMS B-11 up the Dardanelles, probably the most heavily defended waterway in the world at the time. B-11 was, even by the standards of the First World War, a small (300 ton), under-powered (225hp electric motor) and obsolete boat dating back to 1905 and the early days of submarine development. The compass was actually mounted outside the hull and viewed through a small glass in the conning tower. Despite the treacherous current in the Straits, Holbrook successfully got through a minefield to torpedo the Turkish battleship Messudiyeh. He then managed to return safely down the Dardanelles, despite coming under fire from shore batteries and enemy torpedo boats. B-11 had been submerged for no less than nine hours - a remarkable achievement in such a primitive craft. Holbrook was awarded the Submarine Services first Victoria Cross. |
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