Engineering:British V-class submarine

Short description: Submarine class

V-class profile
HMS Voracious
Class overview
Name:	V class
Builders:	Vickers-Armstrong
Operators:	Royal Navy Free France Navy Royal Danish Navy Royal Hellenic Navy Royal Norwegian Navy
Preceded by:	U class
Succeeded by:
Planned:	42
Completed:	34 named (8 more never named) of which only 22 were completed.
General characteristics
Type:	Submarine
Displacement:	Surfaced – 545 tons standard, 658 tons full load Submerged – 740 tons
Length:	204 ft 6 in (62.33 m)
Beam:	16 ft 1 in (4.90 m)
Draught:	15 ft 3 in (4.65 m)
Propulsion:	2 shaft diesel-electric, 2 Paxman diesel generators + electric motors, 615 hp (459 kW) / 825 hp (615 kW)
Speed:	11.25 kn (20.84 km/h; 12.95 mph) surfaced 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) submerged
Complement:	33
Armament:	4 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes – (bow internal), 8 torpedoes 1 × 3 in gun

The British V-class submarine (officially "U-Class Long hull 1941–42 programme") was a class of submarines built for the Royal Navy during the Second World War.

History

Forty-two vessels were ordered to this design, all to be built by Vickers-Armstrong at either Barrow-in-Furness or at Walker-on-Tyne, but only 22 were completed. Note that seven of these vessels received 'U' names (conversely, four of the U class had received names beginning with 'V').

The V-class submarines were very similar to the preceding U-class (short-hull) boats, of which they constituted a linear development, but had 3/4-inch pressure hull plating instead of 1/2-inch for deeper diving, also a lengthened stern and fining at the bows to reduce noise and improve underwater handling.

They were sometimes referred to as Vampire-class submarines after .

It was one of this class, , that would go down in history as the only submarine to sink another submarine while submerged - that submarine was the German .

Ships

The vessels which were ordered are shown below in their programme order (not all completed construction):

The first eight vessels were ordered on 5 December 1941 under that year's programme.

• , completed as Pipinos (Y8)

The next eighteen vessels were ordered on 21 May 1942 under that year's programme, but six of these were cancelled in early 1944.

• HMS Vineyard (P84), completed as
• , completed as HNoMS Utsira
• , transferred to Greece in 1945 as
• , completed as
• cancelled
• HMS Veto (P88), cancelled 23 January 1944 and scrapped on the slip
• HMS Virile (P89), cancelled 23 January 1944 and scrapped on the slip
• HMS Visitant (P91), cancelled 23 January 1944 (never laid down)
• HMS Upas (P92), cancelled February 1944 and scrapped on the slip
• HMS Ulex (P93), cancelled February 1944 (never laid down)
• HMS Utopia (P94), cancelled February 1944 (never laid down)

A further six vessels were ordered on 17 November 1942 under the same year's programme, but four of these were cancelled on 23 January 1944.

• cancelled
• HMS Vantage, cancelled 23 January 1944 (never laid down)
• HMS Vehement (P25), cancelled 23 January 1944 (never laid down)
• HMS Venom (P27), cancelled 23 January 1944 (never laid down)
• HMS Verve (P28), cancelled 23 January 1944 (never laid down)

Finally, a further ten vessels were ordered under the 1943 Programme, but all of these were cancelled on 20 November 1943; eight of these were never given names.

• cancelled
• HMS Unbridled (P11), cancelled 20 November 1943 (never laid down)
• HMS Upward (P16), cancelled 20 November 1943 (never laid down)
• Eight more unnamed boats

References

• Allied Warships – Submarine – V Class
• Walters, Derek (2004). The History of the British 'U' Class Submarine. Leo Cooper. ISBN 1-84415-131-X.