HMS A8
 The sister ship HMS A3
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Builder | Vickers, Sons & Maxim Ltd.; Barrow-in-Furness |
| Laid down | 1 September 1903 |
| Launched | 23 January 1905 |
| Commissioned | 8 May 1905 |
| Fate | Scrapped in 1920 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | A class submarine |
| Displacement | 190 tons surfaced, 207 tons submerged |
| Length | 105.25 ft (32.08 m) |
| Beam | 12.75 ft (3.89 m) |
| Draught | 10.5 ft (3.2 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 11 kn (20 km/h; 13 mph) maximum surfaced 8 kn (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) maximum submerged |
| Range |
|
| Complement | 11 (2 officers and 9 ratings) |
| Armament | Two 18 inches (460 mm) torpedo tubes, plus two reloads |
HMS A8 was an early Royal Navy submarine. She was a member of Group Two of the 1903 British A-class of submarines. Like the other members of her class, she was built at Vickers, Sons & Maxim in Barrow-in-Furness.
She sank with the loss of 15 crew as a result of an accident in Plymouth Sound on 8 June 1905. A sudden dip in the bow caused the submarine to be swamped through the hatch in the conning tower. Only 4 survived. She was salvaged four days after the accident, at which point a loose rivet was found in the bow plating. The submarine was then repaired, recommissioned and used for training during the First World War along with A9 as part of the First Submarine Flotilla, operating near Devonport through early 1916. She was scrapped in October 1920 at Dartmouth.
Construction and service
[edit]Sinking
[edit]A8 sank off Plymouth Sound on 8 June 1905. 15 crew members died when the units onboard were being changed. It seemed like the submarine had suddenly dived.[1] As per The Times, A8 and A7 had departed from HMNB Devonport for diving exercises. After completing two dives, the submarine surfaced as three members of the crew would be replaced by three trainees.[2] When the three crew members had come out, the bow started dropping, sending a lot of water into the conning tower. The submarine then began diving before the hatch could be closed. The sailors on the conning tower jumped into the water as the submarine sank. HMS Commonwealth and HMS Forth lowered their boats, but only four survivors could be found. Among the survivors were Lieutenant Algernon Henry Chester Candy (later Rear Admiral), and Petty Officer William Waller.[3]
The ship was resurfaced after four days. A loose rivet on the bow plating was found to be the cause for the sinking. Even though it was a minor error, it resulted in one ton of water entering the submarine every ten minutes. The batteries bursting were thought to be the cause initially, but they were actually the effect. The batteries probably burst because the fuel vapour burnt, when the water short circuited the electrical equipment onboard after the submarine had sunk.[3]
Legacy
[edit]A memorial to the 46 sailors sunk aboard A1, A3, A5 and A8 is present at Haslar in Gosport, Hampshire.[4] The Resurgam plaque, located in front of the HMS Alliance at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum lists all the ships lost from 1905 to 1955, including the above ships.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ McCartney 2002, p. 167.
- ^ Gray 2003, p. 51.
- ^ a b Gray 2003, p. 52.
- ^ "HM Submarines A1, A3, A5 and A8". Imperial War Museums. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
- ^ Herrick, Michael (16 September 2018). "Resurgam, a War Memorial". The Historical Marker Database. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
Bibliography
[edit]- Gray, Edwyn (2003). Disasters of the Deep: A Comprehensive Survey of Submarine Accidents & Disasters. Barnsley: Pen & Sword. ISBN 9781473813656.
- McCartney, Innes (2002). Lost Patrols: Submarine Wrecks of the English Channel. Cornwall: Periscope Publishing. ISBN 9781904381044.
External links
[edit]- 'Submarine Losses 1904 to present day' - Royal Navy Submarine Museum Archived 7 January 2018 at the Wayback Machine
