View source for HMS E15

{{short description|Submarine of the Royal Navy}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2018}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=[[File:HMS E15 wreck.jpg|300px|Wreck of the ''E15'' inspected by Turkish and German personnel.]]
|Ship caption=Wreck of the ''E15'' inspected by Turkish and German personnel.
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United Kingdom
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}}
|Ship name=''E15''
|Ship namesake=
|Ship owner=
|Ship operator=
|Ship registry=
|Ship route=
|Ship ordered=
|Ship awarded=
|Ship builder=
|Ship original cost=
|Ship yard number=
|Ship way number=
|Ship laid down=14 October 1912
|Ship launched=23 April 1914
|Ship sponsor=
|Ship christened=
|Ship completed=
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=1914
|Ship recommissioned=
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship maiden voyage=
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship renamed=
|Ship reclassified=
|Ship refit=
|Ship struck=
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship homeport=
|Ship identification=
|Ship motto=
|Ship nickname=
|Ship honours=
|Ship honors=
|Ship fate=Run aground on 16 April, destroyed 18 April 1915
|Ship notes=
|Ship badge=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class=[[British E-class submarine|E-class]] [[submarine]]
|Ship displacement=*662 tons (surfaced)
*807 tons (submerged)
|Ship length={{cvt|54.86|m|ftin}}
|Ship beam={{cvt|6.86|m|ftin}}
|Ship height=
|Ship draught={{cvt|3.81|m|ftin}}
|Ship power=
|Ship propulsion=Twin-shaft, 2 × 800 bhp [[Vickers]] [[Diesel engine|diesel]], 2 × 420 shp electric motors
|Ship speed=*15.25 knots (surfaced)
*9.75 knots (submerged)
|Ship range=325 nm surfaced
|Ship endurance=24 days
|Ship test depth=
|Ship boats=
|Ship capacity=
|Ship troops=
|Ship complement=3 officers, 28 ratings
|Ship crew=
|Ship time to activate=
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=*2 × [[British 18 inch torpedo|18-inch (450 mm)]] bow tube
*2 × 18-inch beam tubes
*1 × 18-inch stern tube
*(10 torpedoes)
*1 × 12 pdr deck gun
|Ship armour=
|Ship armor=
|Ship aircraft=
|Ship aircraft facilities=
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
'''HMS ''E15''''' was an [[British E-class submarine|E-class submarine]] of the [[Royal Navy]], [[ship commissioning|commissioned]] in 1914.

==Design==
Like all post-''E8'' [[British E-class submarine]]s, ''E15'' had a displacement of {{convert|662|LT|t}} at the surface and {{convert|807|LT|t}} while submerged. She had a total length of {{convert|180|ft|m}}<ref name="McCartneyBryan2013">{{cite book|author1=Innes McCartney|author2=Tony Bryan|title=British Submarines of World War I|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JWFapIxWZSUC&pg=PA11|date=20 February 2013|publisher=Osprey Publishing|isbn=978-1-4728-0035-0|pages=11–12}}</ref> and a beam of {{convert|22|ft|8.5|in}}. She was powered by two {{convert|800|hp}} Vickers eight-cylinder two-stroke diesel engines and two {{convert|420|hp}} electric motors.<ref name=Akerman>Akerman, P. (1989). ''Encyclopaedia of British submarines 1901&ndash;1955''. &nbsp;p.150. Maritime Books. {{ISBN|1-904381-05-7}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.csubmarine.org/html/class/eclass.html|title=E Class|publisher=Chatham Submarines|access-date=20 August 2015|archive-date=13 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150813023119/http://csubmarine.org/html/class/eclass.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> The submarine had a maximum surface speed of {{convert|16|kn|km/h mph}} and a submerged speed of {{convert|10|kn|km/h mph}}. British E-class submarines had fuel capacities of {{convert|50|LT|t}} of diesel and ranges of {{convert|3255|mi|km nmi}} when travelling at {{convert|10|kn|km/h mph}}.<ref name="McCartneyBryan2013"/> ''E15'' was capable of operating submerged for five hours when travelling at {{convert|5|kn|km/h mph}}.

As with most of the early E-class boats, ''E15'' was not fitted with a deck gun during construction but, as a vessel engaged in the Dardanelles campaign, later had a [[QF 12-pounder 12 cwt naval gun|12-pounder {{convert|76|mm|abbr=on}}]] [[quick firing gun|QF]] gun fitted, forward of the conning tower, at Malta Dockyard. She had five [[British 18-inch torpedo|18-inch (450 mm)]] [[torpedo tube]]s, two in the bow, one either side amidships, and one in the stern; a total of 10 torpedoes were carried.<ref name=Akerman/>

E-class submarines had wireless systems with 1&nbsp;kW power ratings; in some submarines, these were later upgraded to 3&nbsp;kW systems by removing a midship torpedo tube. Their maximum design depth was {{convert|100|ft}} although in service some reached depths of below {{convert|200|ft}}. Some submarines contained [[Fessenden oscillator]] systems.<ref name="McCartneyBryan2013"/> Her [[Ship's company|complement]] was three officers and 28 men.<ref name="McCartneyBryan2013"/>

== Service history ==
During [[World War I]], ''E15'' served in the [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]], participating in the [[Gallipoli Campaign]] against the [[Ottoman Empire]]. On 16 April 1915, under the command of [[Lieutenant Commander]] Theodore S. Brodie, ''E15'' sailed from her base at [[Mudros]] and attempted to break through the [[Dardanelles]] to the [[Sea of Marmara]]. Early in the morning of 17 April, the submarine, having dived too deep and become caught in the vicious current, ran aground some ten miles (16&nbsp;km) in near [[Çanakkale Province|Kepez]] Point directly under the guns of [[Fort Dardanos]]. ''E15'' was soon hit and disabled; Brodie was killed in the conning tower by [[Fragmentation (weaponry)|shrapnel]] and six of the crew were killed by [[chlorine]] gas released when the submarine's [[Battery (electricity)|batteries]] were exposed to seawater after a second shell strike.<ref name=Evans>Evans, A. S. (1986). ''Beneath the Waves - A history of British submarine losses''. Kimber, London. {{ISBN|0-7183-0601-5}}</ref>
Forced to evacuate the vessel, the remaining crew surrendered, to be incarcerated in a [[prisoner of war]] camp near [[Istanbul]] where six later died.<ref name=Stoker>Stoker, H. D. G. (1925). ''Straws in the Wind''. Herbert Jenkins Ltd., London. [Submarine actions in the Dardanelles; includes the story of Lt. G. Fitzgerald RNR, ''E15'' navigator, whilst a POW in Turkey]</ref>

The stranding was soon noticed by aeroplanes of the [[Royal Naval Air Service]] (RNAS), and reported to the SS ''Hindu Kush'', the Allied submarines' HQ and depot ship. It was considered imperative that the ''E15'' be destroyed to prevent the Turks from salvaging her. Several attempts were made; first, the British submarine {{HMS|B6||2}}, with Brodie's brother on board, tried to sink her by [[torpedo]] but missed. Later, during the night, the [[destroyer]]s {{HMS|Grampus|1910|6}} and {{HMS|Scorpion|1910|2}} (commanded by the future Admiral [[Andrew Browne Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope|A. B. Cunningham]] of [[World War II]] [[British Mediterranean Fleet]] fame), attempted to find her, but failed. The following morning, {{HMS|B11||2}} also failed to locate the beached ''E15'' owing to dense fog. Then the [[battleship]]s {{HMS|Triumph|1903|2}} and {{HMS|Majestic|1895|2}} were ordered in but, prevented by intense fire from the Turkish shore batteries from getting within 11,000 metres of the submarine, were obliged to withdraw. Meanwhile, [[seaplane]]s attempted to bomb the stricken ''E15'' but also failed.<ref name="Evans"/>
[[File:HMS Triumph picket boat.jpg|thumb|left|HMS ''Triumph''{{'}}s picket boat returning to the battleship after the ''E15'' expedition.]]
Finally, on the night of 18 April, two {{convert|17|m|adj=on}} [[picket boat]]s,<ref name=Stapleton>Stapleton, N. B. J. (1980). ''Steam Picket Boats and Other Small Steam Craft of the Royal Navy''. Dalton, UK. {{ISBN|0-900963-63-8}}</ref> one from ''Triumph'', the other from ''Majestic'', both armed with two 14-inch (356&nbsp;mm) diameter torpedoes mounted in dropping gear, went in. [[Lieutenant Commander]] [[Eric Gascoigne Robinson|Eric Robinson]], a volunteer from {{HMS|Vengeance|1899|2}}, commanded the expedition from ''Triumph''{{'}}s boat; Lieutenant Claud Herbert Godwin skippered the boat from ''Majestic''. Departing at 2200 hrs, the two vessels managed to navigate the narrow channel for {{convert|7|mi|spell=in}} before being detected and illuminated by searchlights, attracting a hail of fire from both shores. Miraculously both boats remained unscathed, and when one carelessly directed searchlight briefly illuminated the stricken submarine, Godwin seized his chance. Blinded by the lights, his first shot missed, and seconds afterwards the Turkish gunners scored their only hit, blowing away part of the stern and mortally wounding one seaman. Undeterred, Godwin went in again and fired his second torpedo, which struck ''E15'' just forward of the conning tower, but well below the waterline. Robinson, observing his comrades' plight, unhesitatingly brought his boat alongside and rescued them. Now doubly laden, ''Triumph''{{'}}s boat fled downstream unobserved, the Turkish gunners concentrating their fire on the drifting and abandoned wreck of her [[sister ship]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.dnw.co.uk/medals/auctionarchive/viewspecialcollections/itemdetail.lasso?itemid=10606 | title=Noonans Mayfair: Auctioneers and Valuers }}</ref>

The ''E15'' action would no doubt have earned Robinson the [[Victoria Cross]] had he not already been recommended for the award following earlier exploits on the Gallipoli peninsula. Instead, he was promoted to [[Commander (Royal Navy)|commander]] by special decree. Lieutenant Godwin was awarded the [[Distinguished Service Order (United Kingdom)|DSO]], Lt. Brooke-Webb and Midshipman Woolley received the [[Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom)|DSC]], while the rest of the crews, all volunteers, received the [[Distinguished Service Medal (United Kingdom)|DSM]].

''E15'' remains off Kepez Point in 8 m of water. The bodies of Lieut. Commander Brodie and several crew, initially buried on a beach nearby, were reinterred at the [[Chanak]] Consular Cemetery.

{{clear left}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.submarine-museum.co.uk/what-we-have/memorial-chapel/submarine-losses?start=3 'Submarine losses 1904 to present day' - Royal Navy Submarine Museum] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925133842/http://www.submarine-museum.co.uk/what-we-have/memorial-chapel/submarine-losses?start=3 |date=25 September 2015 }}
* [http://dreadnoughtproject.org/tfs/index.php/Theodore_Stuart_Brodie Theodore Stuart Brodie - The Dreadnought Project]

* [http://timedetectives.blog/2015/05/31/submarine-e15 Great Uncle's adventures on E15]
{{British E class submarine}}
{{April 1915 shipwrecks}}
{{coord missing|Mediterranean}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:E15}}
[[Category:British E-class submarines of the Royal Navy]]
[[Category:Ships built in Barrow-in-Furness]]
[[Category:1914 ships]]
[[Category:World War I submarines of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1915]]
[[Category:Scuttled vessels of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:World War I shipwrecks in the Dardanelles]]
[[Category:Lost submarines of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Royal Navy ship names]]