HMS A3

	HMS A3
History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS A3
Builder	Vickers, Sons & Maxim, Barrow-in-Furness
Yard number	295
Laid down	6 November 1902
Launched	9 May 1903
Commissioned	13 July 1904
Fate	Sunk in collision 2 February 1912; Refloated; Sunk as target 17 May 1912;
General characteristics
Class and type	A-class submarine
Displacement	190 long tons (193 t) surfaced; 206 long tons (209 t) submerged;
Length	105 ft (32.0 m)
Beam	12 ft 9 in (3.9 m)
Draught	10 ft 8 in (3.3 m)
Installed power	450 bhp (340 kW) (petrol engine); 150 hp (110 kW) (electric motor);
Propulsion	1 × 16-cylinder Wolseley petrol engine ; 1 × electric motor;
Speed	10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced; 7 knots (13 km/h; 8.1 mph) submerged;
Range	320 nautical miles (590 km; 370 mi) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced
Complement	2 officers and 9 ratings
Armament	2 × 18-inch (45 cm) torpedo tubes

Last updated April 27, 2024

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.

Design and description

A3 was a member of the first British class of submarines, although slightly larger, faster and more heavily armed than the lead ship, HMS A1. The submarine had a length of 105 feet 1 inch (32.0 m) overall, a beam of 12 feet 9 inches (3.9 m) and a mean draft of 10 feet 8 inches (3.3 m). They displaced 190 long tons (190 t) on the surface and 206 long tons (209 t) submerged. The A-class submarines had a crew of 2 officers and 9 ratings.^[1]

For surface running, the boats were powered by a single 16-cylinder 450- brake-horsepower (336 kW) Wolseley petrol engine that drove one propeller shaft. When submerged the propeller was driven by a 150-horsepower (112 kW) electric motor. They could reach 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) on the surface and 7 knots (13 km/h; 8.1 mph) underwater. On the surface, A3 had a range of 320 nautical miles (590 km; 370 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph);^[1] the boat had a range of 30 nautical miles (56 km; 35 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) submerged.^[2]

The boats were armed with two 18-inch (45 cm) torpedo tubes in the bow. They could carry a pair of reload torpedoes, but generally did not as doing so that they had to compensate for their weight by an equivalent weight of fuel.^[3]

Construction and career

A3 was laid down by Vickers, Sons & Maxim as Yard No.295 at Barrow-in-Furness on 6 November 1902 and was launched on 9 May 1903.^[4]^[5] She was commissioned on 13 July 1904.^[4] She primarily served as a coastal defense and training submarine in her over seven years of service.

On 2 February 1912, A3, along with several other submarines dispatched from the port of Gosport, conducted training exercises on target ships in the Solent.^[6] Whilst attacking the depot ship HMS Hazard, the semi-submerged A3 accidentally collided with its target 2 nautical miles (3.7 km; 2.3 mi) southwest of the East Princessa Buoy in the eastern Solent.^[7] Its rudder and propeller were both disabled, and the holed submarine sank immediately with all 14 hands lost.^[6] The King sent his immediate condolences to the families of the lost seamen.^[7]

The submarine was raised from the bottom on 11 March and was brought into the south lock of Portsmouth dockyard the following day, slung below a salvage lighter; the lock was pumped dry so that the 14 bodies could be recovered and the damages surveyed.^[8]

After being towed from Portsmouth to Portland Naval Dockyard, the wreck was towed offshore into Weymouth Bay and, after some technical experiments on the hull, it was sunk as a gunnery target by shells from HMS St. Vincent on 17 May 1912.^[9]^[10] In July 2016 the wreck of A3 was officially designated as a protected site.^[11]

Notes

1 2 Gardiner & Gray 1985, p. 86.
↑ Akermann 2002, p. 120.
↑ Harrison 1979, chapter 27.
1 2 "A-3". Shipping and Shipbuilding. Shipping and Shipbuilding Research Trust. Archived from the original on 22 April 2022. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
↑ "Launch of a Submarine". The Westminster Gazette. No. 3154. 11 May 1903. p. 7. Retrieved 22 April 2022– via British Newspaper Archive.
1 2 McCartney 2002, p. 77.
1 2 "Submarine goes down, in collision with HMS Hazard". The Daily News. No. 20, 562. London. 3 February 1912. p. 1. Retrieved 22 April 2022– via British Newspaper Archive.
↑ "Salving the A3: Arrival at Portsmouth". The Evening News. Vol. XXXVII, no. 10, 771. Portsmouth. 12 March 1912. p. 8. Retrieved 22 April 2022– via British Newspaper Archive.
↑ McCartney 2002, p. 78.
↑ "Last of the A3: sunk by battleship's guns". The Evening News. Vol. XXXVII, no. 10, 826. Portsmouth. 18 May 1912. p. 5. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
↑ "British A3 submarine sunk off Jurassic Coast in 1912 gets protected status". Dorset Echo. Newsquest Media. 22 July 2016. Retrieved 24 July 2016.

Related Research Articles

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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.

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HMS L9 was an L-class submarine built for the Royal Navy during World War I. The boat survived the war and was sold for scrap in 1927.

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References

Akermann, Paul (2002). Encyclopaedia of British Submarines 1901–1955 (reprint of the 1989 ed.). Penzance, Cornwall: Periscope Publishing. ISBN 1-904381-05-7.
Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
Harrison, A. N. (1979). The Development of HM Submarines From Holland No. 1 (1901) to Porpoise (1930). London: Ministry of Defence. Archived from the original on 19 January 2022. Retrieved 28 September 2022– via RNSubs/Barrow Submariners Association.
McCartney, Innes (2002). Lost Patrols: Submarine Wrecks of the English Channel. Periscope Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1-904381-04-9.
Gray, Edwyn (2003). Disasters of the Deep A Comprehensive Survey of Submarine Accidents & Disasters. Leo Cooper. ISBN 0-85052-987-5.

External links

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[FOOTNOTEGardinerGray198586-1] 1 2 Gardiner & Gray 1985, p. 86.

[FOOTNOTEAkermann2002120-2] Akermann 2002, p. 120.

[FOOTNOTEHarrison1979chapter_27-3] Harrison 1979, chapter 27.

[SSRT-4] 1 2 "A-3". Shipping and Shipbuilding. Shipping and Shipbuilding Research Trust. Archived from the original on 22 April 2022. Retrieved 22 April 2022.

[5] "Launch of a Submarine". The Westminster Gazette. No. 3154. 11 May 1903. p. 7. Retrieved 22 April 2022– via British Newspaper Archive.

[FOOTNOTEMcCartney200277-6] 1 2 McCartney 2002, p. 77.

[DN03021912-7] 1 2 "Submarine goes down, in collision with HMS Hazard". The Daily News. No. 20, 562. London. 3 February 1912. p. 1. Retrieved 22 April 2022– via British Newspaper Archive.

[8] "Salving the A3: Arrival at Portsmouth". The Evening News. Vol. XXXVII, no. 10, 771. Portsmouth. 12 March 1912. p. 8. Retrieved 22 April 2022– via British Newspaper Archive.

[FOOTNOTEMcCartney200278-9] McCartney 2002, p. 78.

[10] "Last of the A3: sunk by battleship's guns". The Evening News. Vol. XXXVII, no. 10, 826. Portsmouth. 18 May 1912. p. 5. Retrieved 22 April 2022.

[11] "British A3 submarine sunk off Jurassic Coast in 1912 gets protected status". Dorset Echo. Newsquest Media. 22 July 2016. Retrieved 24 July 2016.

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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

v t e Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1912
Shipwrecks	21 Jan: Bayardo 2 Feb: HMS A3 29 Feb: H. K. Bedford Feb (unknown date): Augsburg 12 Mar: Oceana 20 Mar: Koombana 2 Apr: USS Santee 15 Apr: RMS Titanic (sinking) 20 Apr: Sultaniye 12 May: HMS A3 May (unknown date): USLHT Armeria, USS Pensacola 8 Jun: Vendémiaire 26 Jun: Naniwa 8 Aug: HMS Holland 5 17 Aug: Leafield 1 Sep: HMS Waterwitch 3 Sep: HMS Holland 4 28 Sep: Kiche Maru 4 Oct: HMS B2 16 Oct: Ralph Creyke, Nicaragua 22 Oct: SS Keystorm 31 Oct: Feth-i Bülend Oct: Admiral Lazarev 23 Nov: Rouse Simmons 28 Nov: Friendship Unknown date: City of Adelaide, USS Ericsson, Fox
Other incidents	7 Jan: HMS Orion, HMS Revenge 18 Jan: Sarah Dixon 21 Jan: Fürst Bismarck 2 Feb: HMS Hazard 12 Feb: Grängesberg 12 Mar: Pisagua 14-15 Apr: Californian 17 Apr: Nembo, Turbine 2 Jun: Friendship, Derwent 8 Jun: Saint Louis 16 Aug: Camano, Sioux 4 Oct: Amerika 12 Oct: Arabia December (unknown date): Lady Elizabeth, Pelayo
1911 1913