| Built By: | Chatham Dockyard (Medway) |
| Build Group: | X1 |
| Fate: | Laid up and scrapped in 12/12/1936 |
X1 was a cruiser submarine. At the time of her completion in 1925 she was the largest submarine in the world at 363ft long and over 3000tons.
She mounted 4 5.2 in guns in twin turrets and six torpedo tubes.
Her engines were very troublesome and she spent most of her life in dockyard hands before being placed in reserve.
Special provision had to be made for her in the London Treaty.
The British Merchant Ship Attacker
Chapter 13: Cruiser-Submarine X1
The Development of HM Submarines from Holland 1 (1901) to Porpoise (1930)
| Displacement (Surfaced) | 2,820 tons |
| (Submerged) | 3,700 tons |
| Length | 363 ft 6 in |
| Beam | 29 ft 9 in |
| Draught | 15 ft |
| Propulsion | 2 x 8-cylinder Admiralty diesel engines, 3,000 hp (2,200 kW) total |
| 2 x MAN diesel engines, 1,200 hp (890 kW) | |
| 2 x GEC electric motors, 1,000 horsepower (750 kW) each | |
| Speed | |
| Surfaced | 19.5 knots |
| Submerged | 9 knots |
| Endurance | |
| Surfaced | 12,400 nmi at 12 knots, 18,700 nmi at 8 knots |
| Submerged | 50 nmi at 4 knots |
| Test depth | 350 ft |
| Complement | 111 (11 officers and 100 ratings) |
| Armament | 6 x 21 inch bow torpedo tubes |
| 4 x 5.2 inch/42 QF Mk I guns in 2 twin turrets | |
| 2 x 0.303 in machine guns |
Further Reading |
|
| X.1 |
Roger Branfill-Cook The 'X' stood for experimental, but it might equally have meant extraordinary, exotic or extravagant, as this giant submarine attracted superlatives. Built in the early 1920s, it was the world's largest, most heavily armed, and deepest diving submersible of the day. A controversial project conceived behind the backs of politicians, X.1 would remain an unwanted stepchild. As British diplomats attempted to outlaw the use of submarines as commerce raiders, the Admiralty was building the world's most powerful corsair submarine, designed to destroy entire convoys of merchant ships. |
Groton - When the USS Virginia goes to sea in 2004, it will represent perhaps the most radical change in submarine design since the Navy's first underwater Fighting vessel in 1900.
Television drama starring David Jason. 40 years after a British submarine goes missing at the end of the war, it re-appears, and the British government send the remaining crew member (Jason) with a new crew to trace the sub's last happenings. But the new crew start showing characteristics of the old crew.
13 pages added or updated in the last Array month
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| Displacement (Surfaced) | 2,820 tons |
| (Submerged) | 3,700 tons |
| Length | 363 ft 6 in |
| Beam | 29 ft 9 in |
| Draught | 15 ft |
| Propulsion | 2 x 8-cylinder Admiralty diesel engines, 3,000 hp (2,200 kW) total |
| 2 x MAN diesel engines, 1,200 hp (890 kW) | |
| 2 x GEC electric motors, 1,000 horsepower (750 kW) each | |
| Speed | |
| Surfaced | 19.5 knots |
| Submerged | 9 knots |
| Endurance | |
| Surfaced | 12,400 nmi at 12 knots, 18,700 nmi at 8 knots |
| Submerged | 50 nmi at 4 knots |
| Test depth | 350 ft |
| Complement | 111 (11 officers and 100 ratings) |
| Armament | 6 x 21 inch bow torpedo tubes |
| 4 x 5.2 inch/42 QF Mk I guns in 2 twin turrets | |
| 2 x 0.303 in machine guns |
Further Reading |
|
| X.1 |
|
Roger Branfill-Cook The 'X' stood for experimental, but it might equally have meant extraordinary, exotic or extravagant, as this giant submarine attracted superlatives. Built in the early 1920s, it was the world's largest, most heavily armed, and deepest diving submersible of the day. A controversial project conceived behind the backs of politicians, X.1 would remain an unwanted stepchild. As British diplomats attempted to outlaw the use of submarines as commerce raiders, the Admiralty was building the world's most powerful corsair submarine, designed to destroy entire convoys of merchant ships. |
Groton - When the USS Virginia goes to sea in 2004, it will represent perhaps the most radical change in submarine design since the Navy's first underwater Fighting vessel in 1900.
Television drama starring David Jason. 40 years after a British submarine goes missing at the end of the war, it re-appears, and the British government send the remaining crew member (Jason) with a new crew to trace the sub's last happenings. But the new crew start showing characteristics of the old crew.
13 pages added or updated in the last Array 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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