HMS B1

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HMS B1 was the lead boat of the B-class submarines built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. The boat survived the First World War and was sold for scrap in 1921.

Design and description

The B class was an enlarged and improved version of the preceding A class. The submarines had a length of Template:Convert overall, a beam of Template:Convert and a mean draft of Template:Convert. They displaced Template:Convert on the surface and Template:Convert submerged. The B-class submarines had a crew of two officers and thirteen ratings.

For surface running, the boats were powered by a single 16-cylinder Template:Convert Vickers petrol engine that drove one propeller shaft. When submerged the propeller was driven by a Template:Convert electric motor. They could reach Template:Convert on the surface and Template:Convert underwater. On the surface, the B class had a range of Template:Convert at Template:Convert.

The boats were armed with two 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes in the bow. They could carry a pair of reload torpedoes, but generally did not as they would have to remove an equal weight of fuel in compensation.

Construction and career

She was originally to have been called A14 but was renamed B1 on completion. The boat was built at the Vickers shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness and launched on 25 October 1904. She was too primitive to be of much use in World War I and was quickly relegated to training duties. B1 was sold for scrap in May 1921.