HMS A3 was an A-classsubmarine 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) Wolseleypetrol 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
Submarine A3. Sunk at Spithead by collision with HMS Hazard, with the loss of 14 lives, 2 February 1912
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 shipHMS 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]
^"Salving the A3: Arrival at Portsmouth". The Evening News. No. Vol XXXVII, 10, 771. Portsmouth. 12 March 1912. p. 8. Retrieved 22 April 2022 – via British Newspaper Archive.
Akermann, Paul (2002). Encyclopaedia of British Submarines 1901–1955 (reprint of the 1989 ed.). Penzance, Cornwall: Periscope Publishing. ISBN1-904381-05-7.
Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN0-85177-245-5.
United Kingdom
