| Built By: | Vickers (Barrow) |
| Build Group: | C2 |
| Fate: | Scrapped in China in 1919 |
1914: Attached to China Squadron
| Length overall | 143 ft |
| Beam | 13 ft |
| Draught | 11.5 ft |
| Displacement | Surface 290 tons |
| Submerged 321 tons | |
| Diving Depth | 100 ft |
| Speed | Surface 13 knots (design) |
| Surface 13+ knots (service) | |
| Submerged 7.5+ knots (design) | |
| Submerged 8 knots (service) | |
| Machinery | 600 hp petrol engine |
| 200 hp electric motor | |
| Fuel | 15.5 tons (Petrol) |
| No. of shafts | 1 |
| Propeller | 3 blades, 5 ft 7 inch diameter |
| Armament | 2 x 18 inch bow torpedo tubes (4 torpedoes carried) |
| Endurance | Surface: 1300 miles at 9 knots (design) |
| Surface: 910 miles at full power (service) | |
| Submerged: 16 miles at 8 knots | |
| Complement | 2 x officers, 14 x ratings |
K 17 |
|
| Class: | 1915 - 1926: K Class |
| Built By: | |
| Build Group: | K1 |
|
Fate: Submarine K17 was lost on the night of 31st January 1918. The submarine, which had been steaming on the surface in formation during a night exercise, was hit by HMS Fearless. K17 had altered course to avoid a collision with two trawlers that had been sighted. HMS Fearless, which was following K17, hit the submarine at 21 knots. Many of the crew managed to abandon ship before the submarine sank but were run down whilst in the water by escorting Destroyers which were unaware that any accident had taken place. The incident in which K17 was lost came to be referred to as the 'Battle of May Island'. |
|
The atom bombs dropped on Japan at the end of the Second World War opened the door to the nuclear age. Seeing the potential for developing nuclear energy for the US Navy, Captain Hyman Rickover initiated a research programme that culminated in the launch of USS Nautilus, the world's first nuclear-powered submarine.
Meanwhile, ballistic missile technology was developing fast but was still reliant on complex liquid fuels. The US Navy partnered with the army to develop a ballistic missile for both services but withdrew when solid fuels became a practical proposition.
Under the leadership of Rear Admiral William Raborn, the US Navy set up its own project: the Polaris weapon system. In 1960, the first missile-armed nuclear-powered submarine left on patrol, with forty more to follow in subsequent years.
Two years later, when Britain's Blue Streak and Skybolt plans were cancelled, Harold Macmillan and John F Kennedy agreed for Polaris to be supplied to the Royal Navy.
At a time of intensive re-examination of the NATO alliance, the 'special relationship' between the UK and USA, and Britain's role as a nuclear power, this is the first comprehensive history of Polaris.
It brings together technical aspects, the key characters, and the full stories of the American and British programmes.
19 pages added or updated in the last 1 month
Please help to maintain this site by reporting any Errors, Broken Links, Information or Site Issues on this page using this button
If you find this site useful, please consider supporting my work with a small Donation.
Please Note: Donations made using this option go directly to the site owner and not to the Submariners Association.
Thankyou for your support.
| Length overall | 143 ft |
| Beam | 13 ft |
| Draught | 11.5 ft |
| Displacement | Surface 290 tons |
| Submerged 321 tons | |
| Diving Depth | 100 ft |
| Speed | Surface 13 knots (design) |
| Surface 13+ knots (service) | |
| Submerged 7.5+ knots (design) | |
| Submerged 8 knots (service) | |
| Machinery | 600 hp petrol engine |
| 200 hp electric motor | |
| Fuel | 15.5 tons (Petrol) |
| No. of shafts | 1 |
| Propeller | 3 blades, 5 ft 7 inch diameter |
| Armament | 2 x 18 inch bow torpedo tubes (4 torpedoes carried) |
| Endurance | Surface: 1300 miles at 9 knots (design) |
| Surface: 910 miles at full power (service) | |
| Submerged: 16 miles at 8 knots | |
| Complement | 2 x officers, 14 x ratings |
K 17 |
|
| Class: | 1915 - 1926: K Class |
| Built By: | |
| Build Group: | K1 |
|
Fate: Submarine K17 was lost on the night of 31st January 1918. The submarine, which had been steaming on the surface in formation during a night exercise, was hit by HMS Fearless. K17 had altered course to avoid a collision with two trawlers that had been sighted. HMS Fearless, which was following K17, hit the submarine at 21 knots. Many of the crew managed to abandon ship before the submarine sank but were run down whilst in the water by escorting Destroyers which were unaware that any accident had taken place. The incident in which K17 was lost came to be referred to as the 'Battle of May Island'. |
|
The atom bombs dropped on Japan at the end of the Second World War opened the door to the nuclear age. Seeing the potential for developing nuclear energy for the US Navy, Captain Hyman Rickover initiated a research programme that culminated in the launch of USS Nautilus, the world's first nuclear-powered submarine.
Meanwhile, ballistic missile technology was developing fast but was still reliant on complex liquid fuels. The US Navy partnered with the army to develop a ballistic missile for both services but withdrew when solid fuels became a practical proposition.
Under the leadership of Rear Admiral William Raborn, the US Navy set up its own project: the Polaris weapon system. In 1960, the first missile-armed nuclear-powered submarine left on patrol, with forty more to follow in subsequent years.
Two years later, when Britain's Blue Streak and Skybolt plans were cancelled, Harold Macmillan and John F Kennedy agreed for Polaris to be supplied to the Royal Navy.
At a time of intensive re-examination of the NATO alliance, the 'special relationship' between the UK and USA, and Britain's role as a nuclear power, this is the first comprehensive history of Polaris.
It brings together technical aspects, the key characters, and the full stories of the American and British programmes.
19 pages added or updated in the last 1 month
Please help to maintain this site by reporting any Errors, Broken Links, Information or Site Issues on this page using this button
If you find this site useful, please consider supporting my work with a small Donation.
Please Note: Donations made using this option go directly to the site owner and not to the Submariners Association.
Thankyou for your support.

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