• Source: HMS A9

HMS A9 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 1920.




Design and description


A9 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.
For surface running, the boats were powered by a single 16-cylinder 600-brake-horsepower (447 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 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph) on the surface and 6 knots (11 km/h; 6.9 mph) underwater. On the surface, A9 had a range of 500 nautical miles (930 km; 580 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph); submerged the boat had a range of 30 nautical miles (56 km; 35 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph).
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.




Construction and career


A9 was ordered as part of the 1903–04 Naval Programme from at Vickers. She was laid down at the shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness in 1903, launched on 8 February 1905 and completed on 8 May 1905.
On 15 July 1908, under the command of Lieutenant Clifford Warren, A9 was part of a flotilla of seven Royal Navy submarines making passage from Portland Harbour to Dover accompanied by the Apollo-class cruiser Aeolus. When passing abeam Folkstone it was noticed that A9 was having difficulty keeping station within the formation and assistance was sent from Aeolus. Due to a technical malfunction of a valve a leak of carbon monoxide had occurred within the submarine, which rendered the six-man crew unconscious. Second in command Lieutenant Eric Groves made several attempts to enter the hull and initiate a rescue but was subsequently overcome by the fumes. With the use of wet cloths to cover his face a further attempt was made. This proved to be successful and Lt. Groves managed to cut the fuel supply to the submarine's engines, but in turn also fell unconscious. However by doing so a rescue party from Aeolus were able to enter the hull and effect the extraction of the sailors, including Lt. Groves who was found slumped over the engine.




Notes






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. (January 1979). "The Development of HM Submarines From Holland No. 1 (1901) to Porpoise (1930) (BR3043)". RN Subs. Retrieved 27 September 2022.




External links


MaritimeQuest HMS A-9 pages

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