| Built By: | Varley Marine (Hamble) |
| Build Group: | XP |
| Fate: | Scrapped 1945 |
Unofficially named Piker
Submariner who helped to mortally damage Tirpitz and spent six months in solitary confinement.
| 01-09-1941 | Laid Down |
| 15-03-1942 | Launched |
| 20-03-1942 | Completed |
| 04-11-1942 | Submarine X-3 sank in a training accident in Loch Striven due to a leaking engine valve. The Submarine was raised later the same day by the Salvage Vessel HMS Tedworth. There were no casualties, all three Officers onboard (all Sub Lieutenants) were Trainees and managed to escape safely using DSEA sets after about 40 minutes on the bottom in approximately 110 feet of water. One (Sub Lieutenant John Thornton Lorimer RNVR) continued to serve in X-Craft but the other two, Sub Lieutenants Gay and Laites, transferred to another Branch of the Navy. After refitting at Vickers at Barrow in Furness the Submarine was returned to service. |
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| Official | ||
| Admiralty Approved | 22nd Nov, 1955 | |
| Symbology | These manned craft strike from under the water. | |
| Design Notes | In chief, wavy white overall, two tilting spears in saltire proper, each grasped by a gold gauntlet. | |
| Additional Notes | This is a 'Type' badge assigned to all X-Craft. | |
| Length overall | 43 ft |
| Beam | 8 ft (with charges) / 5 ft 6 inch (without charges) |
| Displacement | With Charges: 30 tons (surface) / 32 1/2 tons (submerged) |
| With Charges: 32 1/2 tons (submerged) | |
| Without Charges: 27 tons (surface) | |
| Without Charges: 29 1/2 tons (submerged) | |
| Diving Depth | 200 ft |
| Speed | With Charges: 6.5 knots (surface) |
| 5 knots (submerged) | |
| No. of shafts | 1 |
| Armament | 2 x 2-ton side charges |
| Limpet mines | |
| Endurance | Surface: 1100 miles at 4.5 knots (with charges) |
| Surface: 1400 miles at 4.5 knots (without charges) | |
| Submerged: 85 miles at 2 knots (with charges) | |
| Submerged: 85 miles at 2 knots (without charges) | |
| Complement | 3 |
During WWII, the standard camouflage scheme for British Submarines operating in the Mediterranean was light and dark green and some were even painted pink. Submarines operating in the Gulf waters have displayed a khaki colour.
The submarine revolutionized naval warfare, progressing from the crude, steam-driven craft of the American Civil War to the silent nuclear machines that can cruise for months underwater without surfacing, only limited by the endurance of their crews, and carry intercontinental missiles mounting multiple nuclear warheads.
Submarines and Deep-Sea Vehicles traces the history of these vessels, starting with the earliest submersible craft, to the stealthy nuclear giants of the modern age. Since the end of programs for the exploration and exploitation of space, man has turned his attention to a frontier much closer to home, the ocean.
This is a highly illustrated examination of the remarkable technology that has been developed to enable man to explore a hidden world tens of thousands of feet deep, in conditions just as extreme as those found in space.
The sea offers man numerous resources and is the medium for a wide range of activities, spawning an equally diverse array of vessels to exploit them. Ranging from the military stealth submarines of the Cold War to biological research vessels, to the latest remotely-operated machines,
Submarines and Deep-Sea Vehicles is a stunning guide to man's exploration and exploitation of the fascinating world under the ocean and still our greatest frontier.
12 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.
|
|
||
| Official | ||
| Admiralty Approved | 22nd Nov, 1955 | |
| Symbology | These manned craft strike from under the water. | |
| Design Notes | In chief, wavy white overall, two tilting spears in saltire proper, each grasped by a gold gauntlet. | |
| Additional Notes | This is a 'Type' badge assigned to all X-Craft. | |
| Length overall | 43 ft |
| Beam | 8 ft (with charges) / 5 ft 6 inch (without charges) |
| Displacement | With Charges: 30 tons (surface) / 32 1/2 tons (submerged) |
| With Charges: 32 1/2 tons (submerged) | |
| Without Charges: 27 tons (surface) | |
| Without Charges: 29 1/2 tons (submerged) | |
| Diving Depth | 200 ft |
| Speed | With Charges: 6.5 knots (surface) |
| 5 knots (submerged) | |
| No. of shafts | 1 |
| Armament | 2 x 2-ton side charges |
| Limpet mines | |
| Endurance | Surface: 1100 miles at 4.5 knots (with charges) |
| Surface: 1400 miles at 4.5 knots (without charges) | |
| Submerged: 85 miles at 2 knots (with charges) | |
| Submerged: 85 miles at 2 knots (without charges) | |
| Complement | 3 |
During WWII, the standard camouflage scheme for British Submarines operating in the Mediterranean was light and dark green and some were even painted pink. Submarines operating in the Gulf waters have displayed a khaki colour.
The submarine revolutionized naval warfare, progressing from the crude, steam-driven craft of the American Civil War to the silent nuclear machines that can cruise for months underwater without surfacing, only limited by the endurance of their crews, and carry intercontinental missiles mounting multiple nuclear warheads.
Submarines and Deep-Sea Vehicles traces the history of these vessels, starting with the earliest submersible craft, to the stealthy nuclear giants of the modern age. Since the end of programs for the exploration and exploitation of space, man has turned his attention to a frontier much closer to home, the ocean.
This is a highly illustrated examination of the remarkable technology that has been developed to enable man to explore a hidden world tens of thousands of feet deep, in conditions just as extreme as those found in space.
The sea offers man numerous resources and is the medium for a wide range of activities, spawning an equally diverse array of vessels to exploit them. Ranging from the military stealth submarines of the Cold War to biological research vessels, to the latest remotely-operated machines,
Submarines and Deep-Sea Vehicles is a stunning guide to man's exploration and exploitation of the fascinating world under the ocean and still our greatest frontier.
12 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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