HMS A5
Submarine of the Royal Navy
title: "HMS A5" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1904-ships", "a-class-submarines-(1903)", "ships-built-in-barrow-in-furness", "british-submarine-accidents", "royal-navy-ship-names"] description: "Submarine of the Royal Navy" topic_path: "geography/united-kingdom" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_A5" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Submarine of the Royal Navy ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox ship"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| section1 | {{Infobox ship/image |
| section2 | {{Infobox ship/career |
| country | United Kingdom |
| flag | |
| name | HMS A5 |
| laid_down | 19 February 1902 |
| launched | March 1904 |
| commissioned | 11 February 1905 |
| decommissioned | December 1915 |
| fate | Scrapped in 1920 at Portsmouth Dockyard |
| section3 | {{Infobox ship/characteristics |
| class | |
| displacement | * 190 tons surfaced |
| length | 105.25 ft |
| beam | 12.75 ft |
| draught | 10.5 ft |
| propulsion | *550 hp petrol engine |
| *{{convert | 150 |
| speed | 11 kn maximum surfaced8 kn maximum submerged |
| range | *325 nmi at 11 kn surfaced |
| * at {{convert | 6 |
| complement | 11 (2 officers and 9 ratings) |
| armament | 2 × 18 in (450 mm) torpedo tubes, plus two reloads |
| :: |
|section1={{Infobox ship/image |image= |image_caption=
|section2={{Infobox ship/career |hide_header= |country=United Kingdom |flag= |name=HMS A5 |namesake= |ordered= |awarded= |builder= |original_cost= |yard_number= |way_number= |laid_down=19 February 1902 |launched=March 1904 |sponsor= |christened= |completed= |acquired= |commissioned=11 February 1905 |recommissioned= |decommissioned=December 1915 |maiden_voyage= |in_service= |out_of_service= |renamed= |reclassified= |refit= |struck= |reinstated= |homeport= |identification= |motto= |nickname= |honours= |honors= |captured= |fate=Scrapped in 1920 at Portsmouth Dockyard |notes= |badge=
|section3={{Infobox ship/characteristics |hide_header= |header_caption= |class= |displacement=* 190 tons surfaced
- 207 tons submerged |length=105.25 ft |beam=12.75 ft |height= |draught=10.5 ft |propulsion=*550 hp petrol engine
- 150 hp electric engine |speed=11 kn maximum surfaced8 kn maximum submerged |range=*325 nmi at 11 kn surfaced
- 20 nmi at 6 kn submerged |endurance= |test_depth= |boats= |capacity= |troops= |complement=11 (2 officers and 9 ratings) |crew= |time_to_activate= |sensors= |EW= |armament=2 × 18 in (450 mm) torpedo tubes, plus two reloads |armour= |armor= |aircraft= |aircraft_facilities= |notes=
'*HMS *A5''''' was an early Royal Navy submarine. She was a member of Group Two of the first British of submarines. Like all members of her class, she was built at Vickers Barrow-in-Furness.
Design and construction
The A-class was designed by Vickers as an improvement on the previous American designed Holland-class submarines, and were the first class of British-designed submarines. Four submarines, –, were ordered as part of the 1902–1903 construction programme for the Royal Navy, with a further nine (A5–) ordered under the 1903–1904 programme. The design of the submarines was revised between the prototype boat, A1, and the other three submarines of the first order, and again for the submarines of the 1903–04 programme, with this batch being fitted with a second torpedo tube.
A5 was 105 ft long overall, with a beam of 12 ft and a draught of 10 ft when surfaced. Displacement was about 190 LT surfaced and 205–207 LT submerged. A 550 hp 16-cylinder Wolsey petrol engine powered the submarine on the surface, driving the submarine's single propeller shaft, while submerged propulsion was via a 150 hp electric motor, giving a speed of 11.5 kn on the surface and 7 kn dived. Armament was two 18 inch (45.7 cm) torpedo tubes in the ship's bow. Four torpedoes were carried.
A5 was laid down at Vicker's Barrow-in-Furness shipyard in 1903, was launched on 3 March 1904 and completed on 11 February 1905.
Service history
Immediately after commissioning she and her tender travelled to Queenstown, (now Cobh) Ireland. On 16 February 1905 at 10:05 whilst tied up alongside Hazard an explosion occurred on board, with a second explosion about 30 minutes later. Five of the crew were killed by the explosion. The captain, Lieutenant H J G Good, and the other four crew members survived.
An enquiry into the accident concluded that petrol fumes had been ignited by an electrical spark, with the second explosion caused by smouldering debris from the first event.
She was returned to Barrow-in-Furness the following month for repairs and returned to service in the Home Fleet in October. She was used for training until paid off for disposal in December 1915 and was finally broken up in Portsmouth in 1920.
Memorial
The Irish Naval Service donated a granite block with a brass plaque giving details of the A5 tragedy, and this was unveiled in March 2000.
On 13 February 2005 there was a ceremony to mark the centenary of the accident. of the Irish Naval Service and of the Royal Navy visited Cobh for the occasion.
Citations
References
References
- {{Harvnb. Gardiner. Gray. 1985
- Harrison, A. N.. (2018). "Chapter 3: The Spindle Hull Types - Holland, A, B and C Classes". RN Subs: Website of the Barrow Submariners Association.
- Harrison, A. N.. (2018). "Appendix I: List of RN Submarines in the 1901 to 1936 Programmes". RN Subs: Website of the Barrow Submariners Association.
- "HM Submarine A5 (Forgotten Submariners)". RN Subs: Website of the Barrow Submariners Association.
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::