 HMS Regent underway
| |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Rainbow class |
| Operators |  Royal Navy |
| Preceded by | Parthian class |
| Succeeded by | S class |
| In commission | 1930–1946 |
| Planned | 6 |
| Completed | 4 |
| Cancelled | 2 |
| Lost | 3 |
| Retired | 1 |
| General characteristics [1] | |
| Type | Submarine |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 287 ft (87 m) |
| Beam | 30 ft (9.1 m) |
| Draught | 16 ft (4.9 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed |
|
| Complement | 53 |
| Armament |
|
The Rainbow-class submarine or R class was a quartet of patrol submarines built for the Royal Navy in the early 1930s.
The Rainbow-class submarines were designed as improved versions of the Parthian class and were intended for long-range operations in the Far East. The submarines had a length of 287 feet 2 inches (87.5 m) overall, a beam of 29 feet 10 inches (9.1 m) and a mean draft of 13 feet 10 inches (4.2 m). They displaced 1,772 long tons (1,800 t) on the surface and 2,030 long tons (2,063 t) submerged. The Rainbow-class submarines had a crew of 56 officers and ratings. They had a diving depth of 300 feet (91.4 m).[2]
For surface running, the boats were powered by two 2,200-brake-horsepower (1,641 kW) diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a 660-horsepower (492 kW) electric motor. They could reach 17.5 knots (32.4 km/h; 20.1 mph) on the surface and 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph) underwater. On the surface, the boats had a range of 7,050 nautical miles (13,060 km; 8,110 mi) at 9.2 knots (17.0 km/h; 10.6 mph) and 62 nmi (115 km; 71 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged.[2]
The boats were armed with six 21-inch torpedo tubes in the bow and two more in the stern. They carried six reload torpedoes for a grand total of fourteen torpedoes. They were also armed with a QF 4.7-inch (120 mm) Mark IX deck gun.[3]
Six boats were planned, but economic considerations resulted in the cancellation of the projected boats HMS Royalist and HMS Rupert.
| Name | Builder | Launched | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rainbow | Chatham Dockyard | 14 May 1930 | Sunk 4 October 1940 in collision with the Italian merchant ship Antonietta Costa[4] |
| Regent | Vickers, Barrow in Furness | 11 June 1930 | Sunk 18 April 1943 by mines near Barletta, Apulia, Italy |
| Regulus | Vickers, Barrow in Furness | 11 June 1930 | Sunk 6 December 1940 by mines near Taranto, Apulia, Italy |
| Rover | Vickers, Barrow in Furness | 11 June 1930 | Scrapped 1946 |
It is often stated that the Italian submarine Enrico Toti sank HMS Rainbow. However, the submarine Enrico Toti sank was HMS Triad.[4]
