HMS A3

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title: "HMS A3" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["a-class-submarines-(1903)", "british-submarine-accidents", "ships-built-in-barrow-in-furness", "1903-ships", "royal-navy-ship-names", "maritime-incidents-in-1912", "submarines-sunk-in-collisions", "warships-lost-with-all-hands", "ships-sunk-as-targets", "lost-submarines-of-the-united-kingdom", "shipwrecks-in-the-english-channel", "wreck-diving-sites-in-the-united-kingdom"] description: "A-class submarine of the Royal Navy" topic_path: "geography/united-kingdom" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_A3" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary A-class submarine of the Royal Navy ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox ship"]

Field	Value
section1	{{Infobox ship/image
image	HMS A3.jpg
image_caption	HMS A3
section2	{{Infobox ship/career
country	United Kingdom
flag
name	HMS A3
builder	Vickers, Sons & Maxim, Barrow-in-Furness
yard_number	295
laid_down	6 November 1902
launched	9 May 1903
commissioned	13 July 1904
fate	*Sunk in collision 2 February 1912
section3	{{Infobox ship/characteristics
class	submarine
displacement	*190 LT surfaced
*{{convert	206
length	105 ft
beam	12 ft
draught	10 ft
power	*450 bhp (petrol engine)
*{{convert	150
propulsion	*1 × 16-cylinder Wolseley petrol engine
speed	*10 kn surfaced
range	320 nmi at 10 kn surfaced
complement	2 officers and 9 ratings
armament	2 × 18-inch (45 cm) torpedo tubes
::

|section1={{Infobox ship/image |image=HMS A3.jpg |image_caption=HMS A3

|section2={{Infobox ship/career |hide_header= |country=United Kingdom |flag= |name=HMS A3 |ordered= |awarded= |builder=Vickers, Sons & Maxim, Barrow-in-Furness |original_cost= |yard_number=295 |way_number= |laid_down=6 November 1902 |launched=9 May 1903 |sponsor= |christened= |completed= |commissioned=13 July 1904 |recommissioned= |decommissioned= |maiden_voyage= |in_service= |out_of_service= |renamed= |refit= |struck= |homeport= |motto= |nickname= |honours= |fate=*Sunk in collision 2 February 1912

• Refloated
• Sunk as target 17 May 1912 |notes= |badge=

|section3={{Infobox ship/characteristics |hide_header= |header_caption= |class= submarine |displacement=*190 LT surfaced

• 206 LT submerged |length=105 ft |beam=12 ft |height= |draught=10 ft |depth= |power=*450 bhp (petrol engine)
• 150 hp (electric motor) |propulsion=*1 × 16-cylinder Wolseley petrol engine
• 1 × electric motor |speed=*10 kn surfaced
• 7 kn submerged |range=320 nmi at 10 kn surfaced |test_depth= |complement=2 officers and 9 ratings |armament=2 × 18-inch (45 cm) torpedo tubes

'*HMS *A3''''' was an submarine built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. She sank in 1912. The wreck is a Protected Wreck managed by Historic England.

Design and description

A3 was a member of the first British class of submarines, although slightly larger, faster and more heavily armed than the lead ship, . The submarine had a length of 105 ft overall, a beam of 12 ft and a mean draft of 10 ft. They displaced 190 LT on the surface and 206 LT submerged. The A-class submarines had a crew of 2 officers and 9 ratings.

For surface running, the boats were powered by a single 16-cylinder 450 bhp Wolseley petrol engine that drove one propeller shaft. When submerged the propeller was driven by a 150 hp electric motor. They could reach 10 kn on the surface and 7 kn underwater. On the surface, A3 had a range of 320 nmi at 10 kn; the boat had a range of 30 nmi at 5 kn submerged.

The boats were armed with two 18-inch (45 cm) torpedo tubes in the bow. They could carry a pair of reload torpedoes, but generally did not as doing so that they had to compensate for their weight by an equivalent weight of fuel.

Construction and career

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/Submarine_A3.Sunk_at_Spithead_by_collision_with_HMS'Hazard',_with_the_loss_of_14_lives._Feb._2nd_1912.jpg" caption="Submarine A3. Sunk at Spithead by collision with HMS ''Hazard'', with the loss of 14 lives, 2 February 1912"] ::

A3 was laid down by Vickers, Sons & Maxim as Yard No.295 at Barrow-in-Furness on 6 November 1902 and was launched on 9 May 1903. She was commissioned on 13 July 1904. She primarily served as a coastal defense and training submarine in her over seven years of service.

On 2 February 1912, A3, along with several other submarines dispatched from the port of Gosport, conducted training exercises on target ships in the Solent. Whilst attacking the depot ship , the semi-submerged A3 accidentally collided with its target 2 nmi southwest of the East Princessa Buoy in the eastern Solent. Its rudder and propeller were both disabled, and the holed submarine sank immediately with all 14 hands lost. The King sent his immediate condolences to the families of the lost seamen.

The submarine was raised from the bottom on 11 March and was brought into the south lock of Portsmouth dockyard the following day, slung below a salvage lighter; the lock was pumped dry so that the 14 bodies could be recovered and the damages surveyed.

After being towed from Portsmouth to Portland Naval Dockyard, the wreck was towed offshore into Weymouth Bay and, after some technical experiments on the hull, it was sunk as a gunnery target by shells from on 17 May 1912. In July 2016 the wreck of A3 was officially designated as a protected site.

Notes

References

References

1. "A-3". Shipping and Shipbuilding Research Trust.
2. (11 May 1903). "Launch of a Submarine". The Westminster Gazette.
3. (3 February 1912). "Submarine goes down, in collision with HMS ''Hazard''". The Daily News.
4. (12 March 1912). "Salving the A3: Arrival at Portsmouth". The Evening News.
5. (18 May 1912). "Last of the A3: sunk by battleship's guns". The Evening News.
6. (22 July 2016). "British A3 submarine sunk off Jurassic Coast in 1912 gets protected status". Newsquest Media.

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