HMS E42

History
Name: HMS E42
Builder: Cammell Laird, Birkenhead
Laid down: 23 October 1915
Commissioned: July 1916
Fate: Sold, 6 September 1922
General characteristics
Class & type: E class submarine
Displacement:
  • 662 long tons (673 t) surfaced
  • 807 long tons (820 t) submerged
Length: 181 ft (55 m)
Beam: 15 ft (4.6 m)
Propulsion:
  • 2 × 1,600 hp (1,193 kW) diesel
  • 2 × 840 hp (626 kW) electric
  • 2 screws
Speed:
  • 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) surfaced
  • 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) submerged
Range:
  • 3,000 nmi (5,600 km) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced
  • 65 nmi (120 km) at 5 kn (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) surfaced
Complement: 30
Armament:

HMS E42 was a British E class submarine built by Cammell Laird, Birkenhead. She was laid down on 23 October 1915 and commissioned in July 1916.

She served during the First World War, making an unsuccessful attack on U-92 on 1 July 1918.[1]

E42 was sold in Poole on 6 September 1922.

Design

Like all post-E8 British E-class submarines, E42 had a displacement of 622 tonnes (686 short tons) at the surface and 807 tonnes (890 short tons) while submerged. It had a total length of 180 feet (55 m)[2] and a beam length of 22 feet 8.5 inches (6.922 m). It contained two diesel engines each providing a power of 1,600 horsepower (1,200 kW) and two electric motors each providing 840 horsepower (630 kW) power.[3] Its complement was thirty-one crew members.[2]

The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) and a submerged speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). British E-class submarines had fuel capacities of 50 tonnes (55 short tons) of diesel and ranges of 3,255 miles (5,238 km; 2,829 nmi) when travelling at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).[2] E42 was capable of operating submerged for five hours when travelling at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph). It was fitted with a 12 pounds (5.4 kg) quick-firing gun gun (12 pounder), five 18 inches (460 mm) torpedo tubes, and one spare torpedo tube. Its torpedo tubes were fitted at the front and the aft; unlike pre-E9 submarines, the two midship section torpedo tubes were not included.[2]

E-Class submarines contained wireless systems with 1 kilowatt (1.3 hp) power ratings; in some submarines, these were later upgraded to 3 kilowatts (4.0 hp) systems by removing a midship torpedo tube. Its claimed highest dive depth was 100 feet (30 m) although it was capable of reaching depths of below 200 feet (61 m). Some submarines contained Fessenden oscillator systems.[2]

Notes

  1. Koerver, Hans Joachim. Room 40: German Naval Warfare 1914-1918. Vol II., The Fleet in Being (Steinbach, Germany: LIS Reinisch, 2009).
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Innes McCartney; Tony Bryan (20 February 2013). British Submarines of World War I. Osprey Publishing. pp. 11–12. ISBN 978-1-4728-0035-0.
  3. "E Class". Chatham Submarines. Retrieved 20 August 2015.

References


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