View source for HMS K5

{{Short description|Royal Navy K-class submarine (1917 to 1921)}}
{{more citations needed|date=January 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2016}}
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|Ship image=HMS K5 aerial view AWM H11994.jpeg
|Ship caption=Aerial view of ''K5'' showing smoke from steam engine
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|Ship country=United Kingdom
|Ship flag=[[File:Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg|60px|RN Ensign]]
|Ship name=HMS ''K5''
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|Ship launched=16 December 1916
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|Ship commissioned=1917
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|Ship fate=Sunk 1921
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{{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Ship class=[[British K class submarine|K-class]] [[submarine]]
|Ship displacement=*[[Long Tons|{{convert|1980|LT|t|abbr=on}}]] surfaced 
*{{convert|2566|LT|t|abbr=on}} submerged
|Ship length={{convert|339|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|26|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught={{convert|20|ft|11|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship power=*{{convert|21000|shp|kW|lk=in|abbr=on}} (steam engines)
*{{convert|5760|hp|kW|abbr=on}} (electric motors)
*{{convert|800|hp|kW|abbr=on}} (diesel generator)
|Ship propulsion=*2 × Brown-Curtis or Parsons geared [[steam turbine]]s
*2 × [[Yarrow Shipbuilders|Yarrow]] [[boiler]]s
*4 × [[electric motor]]s
*1 × [[Vickers]] [[diesel generator]] for charging [[battery (electricity)|batteries]] on the surface
*2 × 3-blade {{convert|7|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}} diameter screws 
|Ship speed=*{{convert|24|kn|mph km/h|lk=in|abbr=on}} surfaced
*{{convert|8|kn|mph km/h|abbr=on}} submerged
|Ship range=*'''Surfaced:''' {{convert|800|nmi|mi km|lk=in|abbr=on}} at {{convert|24|kn|mph km/h|abbr=on}}; {{convert|12500|nmi|mi km|abbr=on}} at {{convert|10|kn|mph km/h|abbr=on}}
*'''Submerged:''' {{convert|8|nmi|mi km|abbr=on}} at {{convert|8|kn|mph km/h|abbr=on}}; {{convert|40|nmi|mi km|abbr=on}} at {{convert|4|kn|mph km/h|abbr=on}}
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|Ship complement=59 (6 officers and 53 ratings)
|Ship armament=8 × [[British 18 inch torpedo|18 inch (450 mm)]] [[torpedo tube]]s, (4 beam, 4 bow), 8 spare [[torpedo]]es, 2 × 18 inch torpedo tubes fitted on deck, later removed, 2 × {{convert|4|in|mm|abbr=on}} guns, 1 × {{convert|3|in|mm|abbr=on}} gun
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'''HMS ''K5''''' was one of the [[British K class submarine|K-class]] [[submarine]]s that served in the [[Royal Navy]] from 1917–1921. She was lost with all hands when she sank en route to a mock battle in the [[Bay of Biscay]].

==War service==
At the end of the war in 1918, ''K5'' was part of the 12th Submarine [[Flotilla]] based at [[Rosyth]], along with six others of the K-class.

==Loss==
''K5'' left [[Torbay]] on 19 January 1921 with the {{HMS|K8||2}}, {{HMS|K10||2}}, {{HMS|K15||2}} and {{HMS|K22||2}} as part of the [[Atlantic Fleet (United Kingdom)|Atlantic Fleet]] for a [[mock battle]] in the Bay of Biscay.

The submarine was commanded by an experienced officer, [[Lieutenant commander|Lieutenant Commander]] [[John Gaimes|John A Gaimes]], [[Distinguished Service Order|DSO]], [[Royal Navy|RN]], but had a new crew. The other officers on board were [[Lieutenant]]  F Cuddeford, Engineer-Lieutenant E Bowles, [[Brevet (military)|Acting]] Engineer-Lieutenant G Baker, Lieutenant B Clarke and Acting Lieutenant R Middlemist. The full complement included 51 ratings on board.

All 57 hands were lost on 20 January about {{convert|120|mi|km|abbr=on}} south-west of the [[Isles of Scilly]]. She had signalled that she was diving but she did not surface at the end of the exercise.<ref name="CourtneyPatterson2009">{{cite book|author1=Stephen Courtney|author2=Brian Patterson|title=Home of the Fleet: A Century of Portsmouth Royal Dockyard in Photographs|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7RM7AwAAQBAJ&pg=PT56|year=2009|publisher=History Press|isbn=978-0-7509-5653-6|page=56}}</ref> An oil slick was discovered and after planks from the battery covers and a sailor's "ditty box" were recovered, it was presumed that she had somehow gone past her maximum depth and been crushed.

On return from her exercises in the Mediterranean in 1922, {{HMS|Hood|51|2}} and the rest of the fleet dropped wreaths and held a memorial service where ''K5'' had gone down.

==Problems with the K-class==
Retired [[Rear-Admiral]] S.S. Hall wrote in ''[[The Times]]'' under the heading "An Experts Theory" <ref>"An Expert's Theory." ''Times'' [London, England] 24 Jan. 1921: 10+. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 24 Sept. 2016.</ref> "...it may be taken as certain that the loss of the vessel was due to some delay to checking the downward momentum gained by the vessel being overtrimmed in diving, either by admitting compressed air too slowly to too many tanks at one time, to tanks only partially full, or to a sea connexion being closed prematurely."

The waters where the battle exercises were taking place were so deep that the vessel would have been crushed, losing control due to the intake of water. Admiral Hall wrote that it was "not clear why the 'K' class should be taken for cruises in the Atlantic in winter." He describes the submarines as 'freaks' that were designed especially for the conditions of the [[North Sea]] during [[World War I]]. "The high surface speed necessitates great length, and the further complication of steam demands very large openings for funnels and air intakes to boiler rooms. These have always been a source of great anxiety in bad weather or in rapid diving." He also drew attention to the need for a thoroughly trained crew to operate them safely.

{{HMS|K13||2}} suffered a similar fate during her acceptance trials, when she foundered with the loss of 32 of those on board. The cause of the incident was related to the openings to which Hall refers.

==References ==
{{reflist}}
*"K5 sunk with all hands lost." (24 January 1921), ''[[The Times]]'', p.&nbsp;10, 11 & 12.

{{British K class submarine}}
{{1921 shipwrecks}}
{{coord missing|Atlantic Ocean}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:K05}}
[[Category:British K-class submarines]]
[[Category:British submarine accidents]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1921]]
[[Category:Royal Navy ship names]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of the Isles of Scilly]]
[[Category:Cornish shipwrecks]]
[[Category:Ships built in Portsmouth]]
[[Category:1916 ships]]