HMS A5

History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS A5
Laid down	19 February 1902
Launched	March 1904
Commissioned	11 February 1905
Decommissioned	December 1915
Fate	Scrapped in 1920 at Portsmouth Dockyard
General characteristics
Class and type	A-class submarine
Displacement	190 tons surfaced; 207 tons submerged;
Length	105.25 ft (32.08 m)
Beam	12.75 ft (3.89 m)
Draught	10.5 ft (3.2 m)
Propulsion	550 hp (410 kW) petrol engine; 150 hp (110 kW) electric engine;
Speed	11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph) maximum surfaced*8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) maximum submerged
Range	325 nautical miles (602 km; 374 mi) at 11 kn (20 km/h; 13 mph) surfaced; 20 nautical miles (37 km; 23 mi) at 6 kn (11 km/h; 6.9 mph) submerged;
Complement	11 (2 officers and 9 ratings)
Armament	2 × 18 in (450 mm) torpedo tubes, plus two reloads

Last updated November 14, 2024

HMS A5 was an early Royal Navy submarine. She was a member of Group Two of the first British A class of submarines. Like all members of her class, she was built at Vickers Barrow-in-Furness.

Design and construction

The A-class was designed by Vickers as an improvement on the previous American designed Holland-class submarines, and were the first class of British-designed submarines.^[1] Four submarines, A1–A4, were ordered as part of the 1902–1903 construction programme for the Royal Navy, with a further nine (A5–A13) ordered under the 1903–1904 programme.^[2] The design of the submarines was revised between the prototype boat, A1, and the other three submarines of the first order, and again for the submarines of the 1903–04 programme, with this batch being fitted with a second torpedo tube.^[1]

A5 was 105 feet 0+1⁄2 inch (32.0 m) long overall, with a beam of 12 feet 8+3⁄4 inches (3.9 m) and a draught of 10 feet 1 inch (3.1 m) when surfaced. Displacement was about 190 long tons (190 t) surfaced and 205–207 long tons (208–210 t) submerged. A 550 horsepower (410 kW) 16-cylinder Wolsey petrol engine powered the submarine on the surface, driving the submarine's single propeller shaft, while submerged propulsion was via a 150 horsepower (110 kW) electric motor, giving a speed of 11.5 knots (13.2 mph; 21.3 km/h) on the surface and 7 knots (8.1 mph; 13 km/h) dived. Armament was two 18 inch (45.7 cm) torpedo tubes in the ship's bow. Four torpedoes were carried.^[1]

A5 was laid down at Vicker's Barrow-in-Furness shipyard in 1903, was launched on 3 March 1904 and completed on 11 February 1905.^[3]

Service history

Immediately after commissioning she and her tender HMS Hazard travelled to Queenstown, (now Cobh) Ireland. On 16 February 1905 at 10:05 whilst tied up alongside Hazard an explosion occurred on board, with a second explosion about 30 minutes later. Five of the crew were killed by the explosion. The captain, Lieutenant H J G Good, and the other four crew members survived.^[4]

An enquiry into the accident concluded that petrol fumes had been ignited by an electrical spark, with the second explosion caused by smouldering debris from the first event.^[4]

She was returned to Barrow-in-Furness the following month for repairs and returned to service in the Home Fleet in October. She was used for training until paid off for disposal in December 1915 and was finally broken up in Portsmouth in 1920.

Memorial

The Irish Naval Service donated a granite block with a brass plaque giving details of the A5 tragedy, and this was unveiled in March 2000.

On 13 February 2005 there was a ceremony to mark the centenary of the accident. LÉ Eithne of the Irish Naval Service and HMS Richmond of the Royal Navy visited Cobh for the occasion.

Citations

1 2 3 Gardiner & Gray 1985 , p. 86
↑ Harrison, A. N. (2018) [1979, London: Ministry of Defence]. "Chapter 3: The Spindle Hull Types - Holland, A, B and C Classes". BR3043: The Development of British Submarines: From Holland No. 1 (1901) to HMS Porpoise (1930). RN Subs: Website of the Barrow Submariners Association. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
↑ Harrison, A. N. (2018) [1979, London: Ministry of Defence]. "Appendix I: List of RN Submarines in the 1901 to 1936 Programmes" (PDF). BR3043: The Development of British Submarines: From Holland No. 1 (1901) to HMS Porpoise (1930). RN Subs: Website of the Barrow Submariners Association. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
1 2 "HM Submarine A5 (Forgotten Submariners)". RN Subs: Website of the Barrow Submariners Association. Retrieved 12 June 2022.

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References

Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.

External links

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[conwaysp86-1] 1 2 3 Gardiner & Gray 1985 , p. 86

[BR3043c3-2] Harrison, A. N. (2018) [1979, London: Ministry of Defence]. "Chapter 3: The Spindle Hull Types - Holland, A, B and C Classes". BR3043: The Development of British Submarines: From Holland No. 1 (1901) to HMS Porpoise (1930). RN Subs: Website of the Barrow Submariners Association. Retrieved 25 March 2018.

[BR3043app1-3] Harrison, A. N. (2018) [1979, London: Ministry of Defence]. "Appendix I: List of RN Submarines in the 1901 to 1936 Programmes" (PDF). BR3043: The Development of British Submarines: From Holland No. 1 (1901) to HMS Porpoise (1930). RN Subs: Website of the Barrow Submariners Association. Retrieved 25 March 2018.

[forgotA5-4] 1 2 "HM Submarine A5 (Forgotten Submariners)". RN Subs: Website of the Barrow Submariners Association. Retrieved 12 June 2022.

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v t e British A-class submarines
A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 A6 A7 A8 A9 A10 A11 A12 A13
Preceded by: Holland class Followed by: B class
List of submarines of the Royal Navy List of submarine classes of the Royal Navy