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HMS B11
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HMS B11
HMS B11 was the last of 11 B-class submarines built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. Completed in 1906, it is best known for carrying out a successful attack on the Ottoman ironclad Mesûdiye in the Dardanelles, an action for which her captain received the Victoria Cross. It spent the remainder of its active life serving in the Mediterranean, being converted into a surface patrol boat late in the war. B11 was sold for scrap in 1919.
The B class was an enlarged and improved version of the preceding A class. The submarines had a length of 142 feet 3 inches (43.4 m) overall, a beam of 12 feet 7 inches (3.8 m) and a mean draft of 11 feet 2 inches (3.4 m). They displaced 287 long tons (292 t) on the surface and 316 long tons (321 t) submerged. The B-class submarines had a crew of two officers and thirteen ratings.
For surface running, the boats were powered by a single 16-cylinder 600-brake-horsepower (447 kW) Vickers petrol engine that drove one propeller shaft. When submerged the propeller was driven by a 180-horsepower (134 kW) electric motor. They could reach 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) on the surface and 6.5 knots (12.0 km/h; 7.5 mph) underwater. On the surface, the B class had a range of 1,000 nautical miles (1,900 km; 1,200 mi) at 8.7 knots (16.1 km/h; 10.0 mph).
The boats were armed with two 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes in the bow. They could carry a pair of reload torpedoes, but generally did not as they would have to remove an equal weight of fuel in compensation.
The submarine was constructed by Vickers in Barrow and was launched on 21 February 1906. Fitting out was completed 11 July the same year. Along with HMS B9 and HMS B10 the submarine was deployed to Malta in 1912.
In September 1914 the submarine was redeployed to Tenedos join the fleet watching the entrance of the Dardanelles. Later in 1914 while on patrol off the Dardanelles, B11 chased a torpedo boat for 4 miles up the strait.
In April 1915 after HMS E15 ran aground off Kephez point, B11 was one of a number of boats that failed in their attempts to destroy the wreck. On 20 May the boat sighted SM UB-8 while on patrol off the Gulf of Smyrna. The submarine attempted to attack but was spotted and UB-8 then dived before escaping.
On 13 December 1914, B11, commanded by Lieutenant Norman Douglas Holbrook, entered the Dardanelles and torpedoed the Ottoman battleship Mesûdiye. The submarine had been selected for the mission over HMS B9 and HMS B10 due to having been fitted with a new battery. The French boats at the submarine base had been rejected as it was agreed that they were less suitable than the British submarines. Guards were constructed over the various projections on the submarine's hull to reduce the risk of snagging on mines.
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HMS B11
HMS B11 was the last of 11 B-class submarines built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. Completed in 1906, it is best known for carrying out a successful attack on the Ottoman ironclad Mesûdiye in the Dardanelles, an action for which her captain received the Victoria Cross. It spent the remainder of its active life serving in the Mediterranean, being converted into a surface patrol boat late in the war. B11 was sold for scrap in 1919.
The B class was an enlarged and improved version of the preceding A class. The submarines had a length of 142 feet 3 inches (43.4 m) overall, a beam of 12 feet 7 inches (3.8 m) and a mean draft of 11 feet 2 inches (3.4 m). They displaced 287 long tons (292 t) on the surface and 316 long tons (321 t) submerged. The B-class submarines had a crew of two officers and thirteen ratings.
For surface running, the boats were powered by a single 16-cylinder 600-brake-horsepower (447 kW) Vickers petrol engine that drove one propeller shaft. When submerged the propeller was driven by a 180-horsepower (134 kW) electric motor. They could reach 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) on the surface and 6.5 knots (12.0 km/h; 7.5 mph) underwater. On the surface, the B class had a range of 1,000 nautical miles (1,900 km; 1,200 mi) at 8.7 knots (16.1 km/h; 10.0 mph).
The boats were armed with two 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes in the bow. They could carry a pair of reload torpedoes, but generally did not as they would have to remove an equal weight of fuel in compensation.
The submarine was constructed by Vickers in Barrow and was launched on 21 February 1906. Fitting out was completed 11 July the same year. Along with HMS B9 and HMS B10 the submarine was deployed to Malta in 1912.
In September 1914 the submarine was redeployed to Tenedos join the fleet watching the entrance of the Dardanelles. Later in 1914 while on patrol off the Dardanelles, B11 chased a torpedo boat for 4 miles up the strait.
In April 1915 after HMS E15 ran aground off Kephez point, B11 was one of a number of boats that failed in their attempts to destroy the wreck. On 20 May the boat sighted SM UB-8 while on patrol off the Gulf of Smyrna. The submarine attempted to attack but was spotted and UB-8 then dived before escaping.
On 13 December 1914, B11, commanded by Lieutenant Norman Douglas Holbrook, entered the Dardanelles and torpedoed the Ottoman battleship Mesûdiye. The submarine had been selected for the mission over HMS B9 and HMS B10 due to having been fitted with a new battery. The French boats at the submarine base had been rejected as it was agreed that they were less suitable than the British submarines. Guards were constructed over the various projections on the submarine's hull to reduce the risk of snagging on mines.
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