View source for HMS J2

{{Short description|J class submarine}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2016}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=HMAS J2 (AWM 301365-01).jpg
|Ship caption=HMAS ''J2'' in 1920
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United Kingdom
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}}
|Ship name=HMS ''J2''
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=HM Dockyard, Portsmouth
|Ship yard number=
|Ship laid down=
|Ship launched=6 November 1915
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship fate=Transferred to Australia, 25 March 1919
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=title
|Ship country=Australia
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Australia|naval-1913}}
|Ship name=HMAS ''J2''
|Ship acquired=25 March 1919
|Ship commissioned=
|Ship decommissioned=12 July 1922
|Ship fate=Sunk 1 June 1926
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Ship class=[[British J-class submarine]]
|Ship displacement=*{{convert|1210|LT|t}} (surfaced)
*{{convert|1820|LT|t}} (submerged)
|Ship length={{convert|275|ft|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|22|ft|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught={{convert|14|ft|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion=*Three shafts
*Surfaced: three 12-cylinder diesel engines
*Submerged: battery-driven electric motors
|Ship speed=*{{convert|19|kn|abbr=on|lk=in}} (surfaced)
*{{convert|9.5|kn|abbr=on}} (submerged)
|Ship range={{convert|4000|nmi|abbr=on}} at {{convert|12|kn|abbr=on}}
|Ship endurance=
|Ship test depth={{convert|300|ft|m|abbr=on}} max{{citation needed|date=January 2014}}
|Ship complement=44 personnel
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=*six [[British 18-inch torpedo|18-inch (450 mm)]] torpedo tubes
*(four bow, two beam)
*one {{convert|4|in|mm|0|abbr=on}} gun
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
'''HMS ''J2''''' (later '''HMAS ''J2''''') was a [[J-class submarine]] operated by the [[Royal Navy]] and the [[Royal Australian Navy]].

==Design and construction==
{{Main|British J-class submarine}}
The J class was designed by the Royal Navy in response to reported German submarines with surface speeds over {{convert|18|kn}}.<ref name=Bastock86>Bastock, ''Australia's Ships of War'', p. 86</ref> They had a displacement of 1,210 tons surfaced, and 1,820 tons submerged.<ref name=Bastock86/> Each submarine was {{convert|275|ft}} in length overall, with a beam of {{convert|22|ft}}, and a draught of {{convert|14|ft}}.<ref name=Bastock86/> The propulsion system was built around three propeller shafts; the J-class were the only triple-screwed submarines ever built by the British.<ref name=Bastock86/> Propulsion came from three 12-cylinder diesel motors when on the surface, and electric motors when submerged.<ref name=Bastock86/> Top speed was {{convert|19|kn}} on the surface (the fastest submarines in the world at the time of construction), and {{convert|9.5|kn}} underwater.<ref name=Bastock86/> Range was {{convert|4,000|nmi}} at {{convert|12|kn}}.<ref name=Bastock86/>

Armament consisted of six [[British 18-inch torpedo|18-inch (450 mm)]] torpedo tubes (four forward, one on each beam), plus a 4-inch deck gun.<ref name=Bastock86/> Originally, the gun was mounted on a [[Breastwork (fortification)|breastwork]] fitted forward of the conning tower, but the breastwork was later extended to the bow and merged into the hull for streamlining, and the gun was relocated to a platform fitted to the front of the [[conning tower]].<ref name=Bastock86/> 44 personnel were aboard.<ref name=Bastock86/>

''J2'' was built for the [[Royal Navy]] by HM Dockyard at [[Portsmouth]] in [[Hampshire]] and launched on 6 November 1915.<ref>{{Cite web  | title = HMAS J2  | publisher = Royal Australian Navy  | url = http://www.navy.gov.au/hmas-j2  | accessdate = 2011-03-13 }}</ref>

==Operational history==
''J2'' torpedoed and sank the German submarine {{SMU|U-99||2}} between the [[Orkney Islands]] and Norway on 7 July 1917.

After the war, the [[British Admiralty]] decided that the best way to protect the Pacific region was with a force of submarines and cruisers.<ref name=Bastock86/> To this end, they offered the six surviving submarines of the J-class to the [[Royal Australian Navy]] as gifts.<ref name=Bastock86/> ''J1'' and her sisters were commissioned into the RAN in April 1919, and sailed for Australia on 9 April, in the company of the cruisers {{HMAS|Sydney|1912|2}} and {{HMAS|Brisbane|1915|2}}, and the tender {{HMAS|Platypus|1917|2}}.<ref name=Bastock86/> The flotilla reached Thursday Island on 29 June, and Sydney on 10 July.<ref name=Bastock86/> Because of the submarines' condition after the long voyage, they were immediately taken out of service for refits.<ref name=Bastock86/>

Apart from local exercises and a 1921 visit to Tasmania, the submarines saw little use, and by June 1922, the cost of maintaining the boats and deteriorating economic conditions saw the six submarines decommissioned and marked for disposal.<ref name=Bastock86/>

==Fate==
The submarine was paid off on 12 July 1922. ''J2'' was sold on 26 February 1924. She was scuttled in the [[ship graveyard]] off [[Port Phillip]] Heads at {{coord|38|18|49|S|144|34|48|E|region:AU-VIC_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}.

The J2 wreck, also known as "39 Metre Sub", "130 Foot Sub", "Broken Sub" or "Deep Sub", is submerged in {{convert|39|m|ft}} of water. The wreck lies on its keel running north–south with its bow pointing out to sea. During its scuttling the bow section broke off, exposing the forward torpedoes tubes and bow modifications.  The wreck is accessible by experienced divers, but it is the deepest and most difficult of the four J-class submarine wrecks in the area.<ref>{{Citation  | title = Victorian Ships' Graveyard Wrecks  | url = http://www.vicshipwrecks.com/control.html  | accessdate = 2011-03-13  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110423024918/http://vicshipwrecks.com/control.html  | archive-date = 23 April 2011  | url-status = dead  }}</ref><ref>{{Citation  | title = Dive Site - J2 Submarine  | url = http://www.borrett.id.au/divelog/divesite.php?loc=33  | accessdate = 2011-03-13  | archive-date = 25 April 2021  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210425215806/http://www.borrett.id.au/divelog/divesite.php?loc=33  | url-status = dead  }}</ref><ref>{{Citation  | last = Milowka  | first = Agnes  | title = Victoria's J Class Submarines  | author-link = Agnes Milowka  | url = http://www.agnesmilowka.com/index.php/articles/module-positions/55-victorian-submarines.html  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110707093701/http://www.agnesmilowka.com/index.php/articles/module-positions/55-victorian-submarines.html  | archive-date = 7 July 2011  | url-status = dead  | df = dmy-all  }}</ref><ref>{{Citation  | last = Arnott  | first = Terry  | title = WWI J Class Subs  | publisher = Maritime Archaeology Association Of Victoria  | url = http://home.vicnet.net.au/~maav/jclassid.htm  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110514012505/http://home.vicnet.net.au/~maav/jclassid.htm  | archive-date = 14 May 2011  | url-status = dead  | df = dmy-all  }}</ref>

==Citations==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
*{{cite book |last=Bastock |first=John |title=Australia's Ships of War |year=1975 |publisher=Angus and Robertson |location=Cremorne, NSW |isbn=0207129274 |oclc=2525523}}

==External links==
* {{cite web|url=https://www.scubadoctor.com.au/divesite.htm?site=J2-Broken-Submarine|title=J2 Broken Submarine Dive Site|publisher=The Scuba Doctor|date=}}
* {{cite web|url=https://www.scubadoctor.com.au/article-lessons-to-be-learnt.htm|title=Lessons To Be Learnt|publisher=The Scuba Doctor|date=}}

{{J-class submarine}}
{{Australian submarines}}
{{Recreational dive sites|wresit}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:J2}}
[[Category:British J-class submarines]]
[[Category:Ships built in Portsmouth]]
[[Category:1915 ships]]
[[Category:World War I submarines of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Scuttled vessels of Australia]]
[[Category:Royal Navy ship names]]
[[Category:Underwater diving sites in Australia]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of Victoria (state)]]