D Class

This Class was the first of the Overseas type design which ultimately became the prototype for the majority of Patrol type submarines. The delay in the production of this type of submarine had been in the main, the difficulty of producing a satisfactory propulsion system. The introduction of the diesel engine to the submarine service, 'D1' being the first submarine to be fitted with a diesel engine. There was also a revolutionary design to the bow tubes, being placed one above the other in preference to side by side. T his enabled the design of the bows to take a much finer shape.

In reality the introduction of this class was a giant step forward in many aspects. As already stated, the first to be fitted with diesel engines, saddle tanks, twin screws and much improved living conditions for the much larger crew (25) as well as a radio transmitter and receiver. The aerial for the radio was fitted to a mast which had to be lowered before diving.

All of this class were kept in Home waters. During WWI they were intended to operate in the North Sea against German warships. They operated from Dover, Harwich, Immingham and Blyth until 1917-1918 when they were relegated to training duties at Portsmouth. Four of the class were lost, 3 in action and one used as a target.

Whilst researching this particular piece of information I recalled seeing an old newsreel showing a crew member carrying a basket of pigeons onboard. Did these poor souls become fresh meat after the introduction of the radio?

8 Built

Submarine	Builder	Built
D1 - D6	Vickers, Barrow-in-Furness	1907 - 1912
D7 - D8	HM Dockyard, Chatham	1910 - 1912

Technical Information

Displacement (tons):	500 sf 620 sm
Length (ft):	162 oa
Breadth (ft)	20.5 oa
Draught/Height (ft):	11.0
Machinery:	1,200 hp Vickers Diesel Engine. 550 hp electric motors.
Speed (kts):	14.5 sf 10.0 sm
Oil Supply (tons):	35 max
Armament:	3 x 18 inch tubes (2 bow, 1 stern) 1 12pdr QF gun D4 and others. Reloads: na
Range:	2,500 nm at 10 knts sf 45 nm at 5 kts sm
Complement:	3 officers and 22 ratings.
sm = submerged, sf = surfaced, oa = overall, hp = horsepower, na = not available.

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H.M. Submarine D1.



H.M. Submarines D1 and D4 and others at Torquay.
This picture courtesy of  Stephen Johnson

Type:	D Class
Pennant No.:	I.71
Laid Down:	14th May 1907	Vickers, Barrow-in-Furness.
Commissioned:	September 1909	Lt. Cdr. C. Little.
Commander:	1910 1914	Lt. Noel Lawrence Lt. Cdr. A. Cochrane.
Complement:	25	3 Officers, 22 Ratings.
Service Career:	Not known at present.
	D1 was the first British submarine to be FITTED with diesel instead of petrol engines.
Fate:	Sunk as a target 23rd October 1918.

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Type:	D Class
Pennant No.:	I.72
Laid Down:	10th July 1909.	Vickers, Barrow-in-Furness.
Commissioned:	29th March 1911.	Lt. Max Horton.
Commander:	1911 1912 November 1914 November 1914	Lt. Max Horton Lt. G. Layton. Lt. Cdr. A. G. Jameson Lt. Cdr. C. Head.
Complement:	25	3 Officers, 22 Ratings.
Service Career:	1914 - 8th Flotilla.	HMS Maidstone, Harwich.
	Supported the British surface fleet at the 'Battle of Helgoland'. Lt. Cdr. Jameson was washed overboard and drowned on November 23rd 1914.  He was replaced by Lt. Cdr. Head the following day. D2 sailed Harwich the same day as Head's appointment and was never heard of again.
Fate:	Sunk by German patrol craft off Wester Ems, November 1914.

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Type:	D Class
Pennant No.:	I.73
Laid Down:	15th March 1910.	Vickers, Barrow-in-Furness.
Commissioned:	30th August 1911.	Lt. Cdr. C. Boyle.
Commander:	1914 1918	Lt. Cdr. C. Boyle. Lt. W. Maitland RCN. The first Canadian Officer to command a British submarine.
Complement:	25	3 Officers, 22 Ratings.
Service Career:	1914 - 8th Flotilla.	HMS Maidstone, Harwich.
	Supported the British surface fleet at the 'Battle of Helgoland'.
Fate:	Sunk in error by a French airship in the Channel, 12th March 1918.

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HM Submarine D4.

H.M. Submarines D1 and D4 and others at Torquay.
This picture courtesy of 
Stephen Johnson

Type:	D Class
Pennant No.:	I.74
Laid Down:	24th February 1910.	Vickers, Barrow-in-Furness.
Commissioned:	29th November 1911.	Lt. M.E. Nasmith.
Commander:	1912 1915 ????	Lt. M.E. Nasmith. Lt. Moncreiffe. Lt. Cdr. Musters.
Complement:	25	3 Officers, 22 Ratings.
Service Career:	Not known at present.	Not known at present.
	She had a lucky escape on 22nd June 1915. She attacked the German minelayer Bielefeld which had gone aground in the Heligoland Bight.   Her captain decided to sink the destroyer that was standing by the grounded minelayer before sinking Bielefeld. Unfortunately the torpedo missed and she found herself being hunted in the very shallow water (30 feet).   The destroyer made repeated runs over the submarine in an attempt to ram the conning tower and they could do nothing but hope for the best.   Eventually the destroyer made off and Moncreiffe was able to surface and sink the Bielefeld. Sank UB72 on 12th May 1918.
Fate:	Sold 19th December 1921.
	This submarine is reputed to be the first to be fitted with a gun. The following was recently sent to me via E-mail by Duncan Dunbar-Nasmith the grandson of Lt. M.E. Nasmith.
	D4 did indeed have the first gun to be mounted on a submarine.   The shell case from the first shot to be fired from D4 can be seen on display in the Royal Navy Submarine Museum, having spent many years here as a gong!. Another interesting story about D4 is that my grandfather took Winston Churchill, Roger Keyes and the future King George for a trip submerged across Plymouth Bay. What course would history have taken if they had not come up?

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H.M. Submarine D5.
This photo along with numerous others was generously donated by Dick Driver
of the U.S.A a fellow ex-submariner.

Type:	D Class
Pennant No.:	I.75
Laid Down:	23rd February 1910.	Vickers, Barrow-in-Furness.
Commissioned:	19th January 1911.	Lt. Godfrey Herbert.
Commander:	1914	Lt. Godfrey Herbert.
Complement:	25	3 Officers, 22 Ratings.
Service Career:	1914 - 8th Flotilla.	HMS Maidstone, Harwich.
	Attacked and fired two torpedoes at the German cruiser Rostock on 22nd August 1914.   No damage was caused as the torpedoes passed beneath the target. The first of the class to be lost.   Whilst lying off Gorleston in the company of D3 and E10, on 3rd November 1914, news was received of the German bombardment of Yarmouth and the three were ordered to intercept the retiring German ships off Terschelling.   Shortly after getting under way she was mined aft and sank quickly leaving her captain and four others to be picked up.
Fate:	Lost - mined off Yarmouth 3rd November 1914. Five crew saved by the trawler Faithful.

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Type:	D Class
Pennant No.:	I.76
Laid Down:	24th February 1910.	Vickers, Barrow-in-Furness.
Commissioned:	19th April 1912.	Lt. Max Horton.
Commander:	1912 1914 1918 1918	Lt. Max Horton. Lt. Cdr. Halahan. Lt. C. B. Barry. Lt. S. Brooks.
Complement:	25	3 Officers, 22 Ratings.
Service Career:	Served in Home Waters.
Fate:	Sank UB72 12th May 1918. Sunk by UB73 on 28th June 1918 off the North coast of Ireland, no survivors.

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Type:	D Class
Pennant No.:	I.77
Laid Down:	14th February 1910.	HM Dockyard, Chatham.
Commissioned:	14th December 1911.	Not known at present.
Commander:	-----	Not known at present.
Complement:	25	3 Officers, 22 Ratings.
Service Career:	1914 - 8th Flotilla.	HMS Maidstone, Harwich.
	Had an encounter with a submerged German U-boat in May of 1918 which resulted with her periscopes being damaged. This boat also had another frightening experience on 10th February 1918 when she was depth-charged by the destroyer HMS Pelican in a case of mistaken identity. Considerable damage was caused during the attack. Eventually the boat was able to surface and identify herself.
Fate:	Sold 19th December 1921.

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H.M. Submarine D8.

Type:	D Class
Pennant No.:	I.78
Laid Down:	14th February 1910.	HM Dockyard, Chatham.
Commissioned:	23rd March 1912.	Not known at present.
Commander:	1914	Lt. Cdr. T.S. Brodie.
Complement:	25	3 Officers, 22 Ratings.
Service Career:	1914 - 8th Flotilla.	HMS Maidstone, Harwich.
	Sank U45 on 12th September 1917.
Fate:	Sold 19th December 1921.

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