View source for HMS A1

{{Short description|Royal Navy's first British-designed submarine}}
{{for-multi|the WWII A class submarines|Amphion-class submarine|U.S. Navy ships with a similar name|USS A-1}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2018}}
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|Ship image=A1 Submarine - May 1904.jpg
|Ship caption=HMS ''A1''
}}
{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country=United Kingdom
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}}
|Ship name=HMS ''A1''
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|Ship builder=[[Vickers]], [[Barrow-in-Furness]]
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|Ship laid down=19 February 1902
|Ship launched=9 July 1902
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|Ship completed=27 July 1903
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|Ship fate=Lost, 1911
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{{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Ship type=[[Submarine]]
|Ship class={{sclass2|A|submarine|||1903}}
|Ship displacement=*{{convert|190|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} (surfaced)
*{{convert|207|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} (submerged)
|Ship length={{convert|103.25|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|11.9|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught=
|Ship power=*{{convert|450|hp|kW|lk=in|abbr=on}} (petrol engine)
*{{convert|87|hp|kW|abbr=on}} (electric motor)
|Ship propulsion=*1 × 16-cylinder Wolseley [[petrol engine]]
*1 × electric motor
*1 × shaft
|Ship speed=*{{convert|11.5|kn|mph km/h|lk=in|abbr=on}} (surfaced)
*{{convert|7|kn|mph km/h|abbr=on}} (submerged)
|Ship range=*{{convert|500|nmi|mi km|lk=in|abbr=on}} at {{convert|11.5|kn|mph km/h|abbr=on}} (surfaced)
*{{convert|20|nmi|mi km|abbr=on}} at {{convert|5|kn|mph km/h|abbr=on}} (submerged)
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|Ship complement=11 (2 officers and 9 ratings)
|Ship armament=2 × [[British 18 inch torpedo|18 in (450 mm)]] [[torpedo tube]]s (bow, four [[torpedo]]es)<ref>Fitzsimons, Bernard, ed. ''Illustrated Encyclopedia of 20th Century Weapons and Warfare'' (London: Phoebus, 1978), Volume 1, p.[https://archive.org/details/illustratedencyc01fitz/page/1 1], "''A-1''".</ref>
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

'''HMS ''A1''''' was the [[Royal Navy]]'s first British-designed [[submarine]], and their first to suffer fatal casualties.

She was the lead ship of the first British {{sclass2|A|submarine|2||1903}}<nowiki/>s and the only one to have a single [[Bow (ship)|bow]] [[torpedo tube]]. She was actually sunk twice: first in 1904 when she became the first submarine casualty, with the loss of all hands; however, she was recovered, but sank again in 1911, this time when she was unmanned. The wreck was discovered in 1989 and was designated under the [[Protection of Wrecks Act 1973|Protection of Wrecks Act]] in 1998.<ref>[http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/upload/pdf/ACHWS_Annual_report_2005.pdf The Advisory Committee for Historic Wreck Sites Annual Report for 2005]</ref> The wreck is a Protected Wreck managed by [[Historic England]].

==Design and construction==
She was an enlarged and improved {{sclass2|Holland|submarine|2}}–{{convert|40|ft|m|abbr=on}} longer than the Royal Navy's five "Holland"-type boats. Subsequent A-class boats were even larger and differed from her in several respects.<ref>{{cite web |title=1902 - 1920: A Class |url=http://rnsubs.co.uk/boats/subs/a-class.html |website=rnsubs.co.uk |access-date=27 September 2022}}</ref>

Like all members of her class, she was built at [[Vickers]], [[Barrow-in-Furness]]. She was [[keel laying|laid down]] on 19 February 1902 and [[ship naming and launching|launched]] on 9 July 1902.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Naval & Military intelligence |date=10 July 1902 |page=10 |issue=36816}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=A1 |url=http://rnsubs.co.uk/boats/subs/a-class/a1.html |website=rnsubs.co.uk |access-date=27 September 2022}}</ref>

Before she left the yard she suffered from a hydrogen explosion.<ref name=gray /> Later while under tow to [[Portsmouth]] to join with the rest of the navy's submarines, seawater managed to reach her batteries, which gave off chlorine gas, forcing the evacuation of the vessel.<ref name=gray>{{cite book |title=Disasters of the Deep A Comprehensive Survey of Submarine Accidents & Disasters |last=Gray |first=Edwyn |author-link=Edwyn Gray |year=2003|publisher=Leo Cooper|isbn=0-85052-987-5 |page=49}}</ref>

==Casualty, recovery, loss and rediscovery==
{{stack|[[File:Demise of the A1.jpg|thumb|1904 illustration of the loss]]}}
She was accidentally sunk in the [[Solent]] on 18 March 1904 whilst carrying out a practice attack on the [[protected cruiser]] {{HMS|Juno|1895|6}} by being struck on the [[starboard]] side of the [[conning tower]] by a mail steamer, SS ''Berwick Castle'', which was ''en route'' from [[Southampton]] to [[Hamburg]]. She sank in only {{convert|39|ft|m|abbr=on}} of water, but the boat flooded and the entire crew was drowned.<ref>{{cite web |title=The First British Sub Ever To Be Lost At Sea |url=http://rnsubs.co.uk/articles/lost-found/first-sub-lost.html |website=rnsubs.co.uk |access-date=27 September 2022}}</ref> One consequence was that all subsequent Royal Navy submarines were equipped with a watertight hatch at the bottom of the conning tower.<ref>*{{cite book |last1=McCartney |first1=Innes |title=Lost patrols : submarine wrecks of the English Channel |date=2002 |publisher=Periscope |location=Penzance |isbn=978-1-90438-104-4}}</ref>

She was raised on 18 April 1904 and repaired and re-entered service. Following a [[petrol]] [[explosion]] in August 1910, she was converted to a testbed for the [[British Admiralty|Admiralty]]'s Anti-Submarine Committee. She was lost a year later when running submerged but unmanned under [[autopilot|automatic pilot]]. Although the position of her sinking was known at the time, all efforts to locate her were fruitless. It was not until 1989 that the wreck was discovered by a local fisherman at [[Bracklesham Bay]], approximately {{convert|5|mi|km|abbr=on}} away.<ref>[http://www.culture.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/F47CA311-8CA4-4F43-9DE1-A1FE323AA934/0/achwsreport19992000.pdf Advisory Committee on Historic Wrecks Report for 1999-2000] {{webarchive|url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20080306170456/http://www.culture.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/F47CA311-8CA4-4F43-9DE1-A1FE323AA934/0/achwsreport19992000.pdf |date=2008-03-06 }}</ref> It is thought that she was only partially flooded when she sank, and the resulting partial buoyancy meant that the wreck moved in the strong local currents. The wreck was designated under the [[Protection of Wrecks Act]] on 26 November 1998<ref>[http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1998/19982708.htm Statutory instrument 1998 no 2708 protecting wreck of HMS A1]</ref> and redesignated to extend the area covered on 5 October 2004.<ref>[http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2004/uksi_20042395_en.pdf Statutory instrument 2004 no 2395]</ref>

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
*[http://rnsubs.co.uk/dits-bits/br-3043/part-one/chapter-3.html The Spindle Hull Types - Holland, A, B and C Classes] evolution and design of early Royal Navy submarines
*[http://www.wessexarch.co.uk/projects/marine/alsf/wrecks_seabed/wrecks/VAR_HMSA1/HMSA1.html Wessex Archaeology] multibeam sonar image of the wreck of HMS A1 surveyed in 2003 [https://www.flickr.com/photos/wessexarchaeology/sets/72157623643637744/ and later images from a dive]
*[https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1000043 "HMS/m A1" National Heritage List for England]

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{{A class submarine (1903)}}
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{{Coord|50.7425|N|0.9213|W|type:landmark_region:GB|display=title}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:A01}}
[[Category:A-class submarines (1903)]]
[[Category:Protected wrecks of England]]
[[Category:British submarine accidents]]
[[Category:1989 archaeological discoveries]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1904]]
[[Category:Ships built in Barrow-in-Furness]]
[[Category:Royal Navy ship names]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks in the English Channel]]
[[Category:Wreck diving sites in England]]
[[Category:1902 ships]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1910]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1911]]
[[Category:March 1904]]
[[Category:History of West Sussex]]
[[Category:1989 in England]]