HMS E8
Submarine of the Royal Navy
title: "HMS E8" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["british-e-class-submarines-of-the-royal-navy", "ships-built-in-chatham,-kent", "1913-ships", "world-war-i-submarines-of-the-united-kingdom", "world-war-i-shipwrecks-in-the-baltic-sea", "royal-navy-ship-names", "maritime-incidents-in-1918", "shipwrecks-of-finland", "scuttled-vessels-of-the-united-kingdom"] description: "Submarine of the Royal Navy" topic_path: "history" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_E8" 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 |
| image | HMS E8 1916 IWM HU 057612.jpg |
| image_caption | E8, returning from a patrol, summer 1916 |
| section2 | {{Infobox ship/career |
| country | United Kingdom |
| flag | |
| name | E8 |
| builder | HM Dockyard, Chatham |
| original_cost | £105,700 |
| laid_down | 30 March 1912 |
| launched | 30 October 1913 |
| commissioned | 18 June 1914 |
| fate | Scuttled, 4 April 1918 |
| section3 | {{Infobox ship/characteristics |
| class | E-class submarine |
| displacement | *652 LT surfaced |
| *{{convert | 795 |
| length | 178 ft |
| beam | 15 ft |
| propulsion | *2 × 800 hp diesel |
| *2 × {{convert | 420 |
| speed | *15 kn surfaced |
| range | *3000 nmi at 10 kn |
| *{{convert | 65 |
| complement | 31 |
| armament | 4 × 18 inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes (1 bow, 2 beam, 1 stern) |
| :: |
|section1={{Infobox ship/image |image=HMS E8 1916 IWM HU 057612.jpg |image_caption=E8, returning from a patrol, summer 1916
|section2={{Infobox ship/career |hide_header= |country= United Kingdom |flag= |name= E8 |namesake= |ordered= |builder=HM Dockyard, Chatham |original_cost=£105,700 |laid_down= 30 March 1912 |launched=30 October 1913 |acquired= |commissioned=18 June 1914 |decommissioned= |struck= |reinstated= |homeport= |motto= |nickname= |honours= |fate= Scuttled, 4 April 1918 |notes=
|section3={{Infobox ship/characteristics |hide_header= |header_caption= |class=E-class submarine |type= |displacement=*652 LT surfaced
- 795 LT submerged |length=178 ft |beam=15 ft |draft= |power= |propulsion=*2 × 800 hp diesel
- 2 × 420 hp electric
- 2 screws |speed=*15 kn surfaced
- 9.5 kn submerged |range=*3000 nmi at 10 kn
- 65 nmi at 5 kn |endurance= |test_depth= |complement= 31 |sensors= |EW= |armament=4 × 18 inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes (1 bow, 2 beam, 1 stern) |armour= |notes=
'*HMS *E8''''' was a British E-class submarine built at Chatham Dockyard. She was laid down on 30 March 1912 and was commissioned on 18 June 1914. She cost £105,700. During World War I, she was part of the British submarine flotilla in the Baltic.
Design
The early British E-class submarines, from E1 to E8, had a displacement of 652 LT at the surface and 795 LT while submerged. They had a length overall of 180 ft and a beam of 22 ft, and were powered by two 800 hp Vickers eight-cylinder two-stroke diesel engines and two 420 hp electric motors. The class had a maximum surface speed of 16 kn and a submerged speed of 10 kn, with a fuel capacity of 50 LT of diesel affording a range of 3225 mi when travelling at 10 kn, while submerged they had a range of 85 mi at 5 kn.
The 'Group 1' E class boats were armed with four 18 inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes, one in the bow, one either side amidships, and one in the stern; a total of eight torpedoes were carried. Group 1 boats were not fitted with a deck gun during construction, but those involved in the Dardanelles campaign had guns mounted forward of the conning tower while at Malta Dockyard.
E-Class submarines had wireless systems with 1 kW power ratings; in some submarines, these were later upgraded to 3 kW systems by removing a midship torpedo tube. Their maximum design depth was 100 ft although in service some reached depths of below 200 ft.
Crew
E8′s complement was three officers and 28 men.
Service history
When war was declared with Germany on 5 August 1914, E8 was based at Harwich, in the 8th Submarine Flotilla of the Home Fleets.
On that morning the destroyers and towed E8 and , respectively to Terschelling. E8 and E6 then made the first Heligoland Bight patrol of World War I.
On 23 October 1915, E8 sank the 9,050-ton, three-funnel German armoured cruiser in the Baltic Sea 20 nmi west of Libau. As the result of this action the submarine's commander, Commander Francis Goodhart, received the Cross of St. George from Tsar Nicholas II. During her time in the Baltic, Aksel Berg, who later became a key figure in Soviet cybernetics, was her liaison officer.
Fate
E8 met her fate on 4 April 1918 outside Helsingfors (Helsinki) 1.5 nmi off Harmaja Light in the Gulf of Finland. She was scuttled by her crew, along with , , , , , and to avoid seizure by advancing German forces who had landed nearby.
E8 was salvaged in August 1953 for breaking up in Finland.
Citations
References
References
- Akerman, P. (1989). ''Encyclopaedia of British submarines 1901–1955''. p.150. Maritime Books. {{ISBN. 1-904381-05-7
- "E Class". Chatham Submarines.
- (1914). "Position and Movements, H.M. Ships, War Vessels and Aircraft, British and Foreign, Parts I. and II., August 1914.". Admiralty Records.
- Keyes, Sir Roger. (1934). "The Naval Memoirs of Admiral of the Fleet Sir Roger Keyes. Vol. 1: The Narrow Seas to the Dardanelles 1910-1915". Thornton Butterworth.
- Tall, J.J. (1996). "HM Submarines in Camera An Illustrated History of British Submarines". Sutton Publishing.
- "CHATHAM BUILT SUBMARINES: E8 Crew List". csubmarine.org.
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