Holland 1 (or HM submarine Torpedo Boat No 1) is the first submarine commissioned by the Royal Navy. The first in a five-boat batch of the Holland-class submarine, launched in 1901, she was lost twelve years later in 1913 while under tow to be scrapped following her decommissioning. Recovered in 1982, she was put on display at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum, Gosport. Her battery bank found in the boat was discovered to be functional after being cleaned and recharged.
She was ordered in 1901 from John Philip Holland and built at Barrow-in-Furness. Her keel was laid down 4 February 1901.[1] In order to keep the boat's construction secret, she was assembled in a building labelled "Yacht Shed", and the parts that had to be fabricated in the general yard were marked for "pontoon no 1".[2] She was launched on 2 October 1901 and dived for the first time (in an enclosed basin) on 20 March 1902.[3] Her sea trials began in April 1902.[4]
In September 1902 she arrived at Portsmouth, along with the other completed Holland boat and their tender, HMSHazard. Together they made up the "First Submarine Flotilla", commanded by Captain Reginald Bacon. Holland 1 suffered an explosion 3 March 1903 that caused four injuries.[5]
On 24 October 1904, with the rest of the Holland fleet and three A-class boats, Holland 1 sailed from Portsmouth to attack a Russian fleet that had mistakenly sunk a number of British fishing vessels in the North Sea in the Dogger Bank incident. The boats were recalled before any attack could take place.[6]
The submarine was decommissioned and sold in 1913 to Thos. W. Ward for £410.[6] By the time the submarine was sold she was considered so obsolete that she was sold with all fittings intact, and the only requirement put on the purchaser was that the torpedo tube be put out of action.[6]
Loss
Holland 1 in 1991
While being towed to the scrapyard, Holland 1 encountered very severe weather and sank about a mile and a half off Eddystone Lighthouse.[6] No one was on board the submarine at the time, and, since the submarine had been seen to be sinking earlier in the journey, the crew of the tug were ready to release the tow rope, preventing any damage to the tug.[6]
Recovery
The torpedo tube on Holland 1
The wreck was located in 1981 by Plymouth historian Michael Pearn and she was raised in November 1982.[7] From 1983, after coating in anti-corrosion chemicals, she was displayed at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum. Work on restoring the submarine continued until September 1988.[8] A talking figure was included to explain the details of the craft to visitors.[8] However, by 1993 it was apparent that the treatment had proved inadequate. A fibreglass tank was built around her, and she was immersed in sodium carbonate solution from 1995. After four years the corrosive chloride ions had been removed, and she was able to be displayed again after restoration work.[9]
The original bank of batteries, recovered with the wreckage, were submitted for testing by the original manufacturer, Chloride Industrial Batteries Ltd based in Swinton, Greater Manchester. Following the initial clean, the lead batteries were recharged and found to be in good working order. Some of the original batteries still remain in the possession of Enersys (ex-CIBL) at the Newport plant, in South Wales.
↑ Compton-Hall, Richard (1983). Submarine boats The beginnings of underwater warfare. London: Conway maritime press. p.117. ISBN0-85177-288-9.
↑ Compton-Hall, Richard (1983). Submarine boats The beginnings of underwater warfare. London: Conway maritime press. p.120. ISBN0-85177-288-9.
↑ Compton-Hall, Richard (1983). Submarine boats The beginnings of underwater warfare. London: Conway maritime press. p.115. ISBN0-85177-288-9.
↑ Compton-Hall, Richard (1983). Submarine boats The beginnings of underwater warfare. London: Conway maritime press. p.140. ISBN0-85177-288-9.
1 2 3 4 5 Compton-Hall, Richard (1983). Submarine boats The beginnings of underwater warfare. London: Conway maritime press. p.11. ISBN0-85177-288-9.
↑ Dunmore, Spencer (2002). Lost Subs From the Hunley to the Kursk, the greatest submarines ever lost – and found. Madison press books. p.44. ISBN1-903985-48-X.
1 2 Tait, Simon (1989). Palaces of Discovery The Changing World of Britain's Museums. Quiller Press. pp.130–132. ISBN1870948009.
USS Holland (SS-1) was the United States Navy's first submarine, although not its first underwater watercraft, which was the 1775 submersible Turtle. The boat was originally laid down as Holland VI at the Crescent Shipyard of Elizabeth, New Jersey for John Philip Holland's Holland Torpedo Boat Company, and launched on 17 May 1897. She was acquired by the USN on 11 April 1900 and commissioned on 12 October 1900, Lieutenant H. H. Caldwell commanding.
HMS A3 was an A-class submarine built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. She sank in 1912. The wreck is a Protected Wreck managed by Historic England.
HMS A10 was an A-class submarine built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. After surviving World War I, she was sold for scrap in 1919.
HMS A7 was an A-class submarine built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. She sank in a training accident in 1914 with the loss of her entire crew. Efforts to salvage her failed and her wreck is a protected site. Diving on her is prohibited without a licence from the Ministry of Defence.
The British C-class submarines were the last class of petrol engined submarines of the Royal Navy and marked the end of the development of the Holland class in the Royal Navy. Thirty-eight were constructed between 1905 and 1910 and they served through World War I.
The Holland class were the first submarines built for the Royal Navy. They were built by Vickers, Barrow-in-Furness. The first three were designed by John Philip Holland. The Hollands were built under licence from the Holland Torpedo Boat Company/Electric Boat Company during the years 1901 to 1903. The Admiralty hoped to keep the Holland class a secret, and very few senior officers even knew of their existence. This led to the myth of the Admiralty not taking any interest in submarines. On the contrary, the Admiralty was well aware of the submarine's destructive potential. It therefore refrained from any submarine development programme so as to avoid provoking similar programmes on the part of foreign navies. Once those navies did begin serious submarine programmes, the Admiralty had no choice but to begin its own.
HMS Holland 2 was the second Royal Navy submarine to be built, and the first to be given a non-secret launch, in February 1902.
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HMS C1 was one of 38 C-class submarines built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. The boat survived the First World War and was sold for scrap in 1920.
The D-class submarine was the Royal Navy's first class of submarines capable of operating significantly beyond coastal waters. They were also the first boats to be fitted with wireless transmitters. Ten were laid down between 1907 and 1910, though only 8 were completed as D-class boats. The final two hulls were completed as British E-class submarine.
HMS C3 was one of 38 C-class submarines built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. The boat was used to demolish a viaduct during the Zeebrugge Raid in 1918.
HMS C12 was one of 38 C-class submarines built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. The boat survived the First World War and was sold for scrap in 1920.
HMS C14 was one of 38 C-class submarines built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. The boat survived the First World War and was sold for scrap in 1921.
HMS C24 was one of 38 C-class submarines built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. The boat survived the First World War and was sold for scrap in 1921.
HMS C27 was one of 38 C-class submarines built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century.
HMS C29 was one of 38 C-class submarines built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. C29 served in the First World War until she was sunk by mine on 29 August 1915.
HMS C33 was one of 38 C-class submarines built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. The boat sank with all hands on 4 August 1915 after hitting a mine.
HMS Shark was a second-batch S-class submarine built during the 1930s for the Royal Navy. Completed in 1934, the boat fought in the Second World War. Shark is one of twelve boats named in the song "Twelve Little S-Boats".
HMS Seawolf was a second-batch S-class submarine built during the 1930s for the Royal Navy. Completed in 1936, the boat fought in the Second World War.
HMS B7 was one of 11 B-class submarines built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. Completed in 1906, she was initially assigned to the Home Fleet, before the boat was transferred to the Mediterranean six years later. After the First World War began in 1914, B7 played a minor role in the Dardanelles Campaign. The boat was transferred to the Adriatic Sea in 1916 to support Italian forces against the Austro-Hungarian Navy. She was converted into a patrol boat in 1917 and was sold for scrap in 1919.
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