British U-class submarine

U-class submarine HMS Ultimatum departing Holy Loch, August 1943
Class overview
NameU class
Operators
Preceded byT class
Succeeded byV class
Completed49
General characteristics
TypeSubmarine
Displacement
  • 540 long tons (550 t) standard, 630 long tons (640 t) full load surfaced
  • 730 tons submerged
Length191 ft (58 m)
Beam16 ft 1 in (4.90 m)
Draught15 ft 2 in (4.62 m)
Propulsion
  • 2 shaft diesel-electric
  • 2 Paxman Ricardo diesel generators + electric motors
  • 615 hp (459 kW), 825 hp (615 kW)
Speed
  • 11.25 kn (20.84 km/h; 12.95 mph) surfaced
  • 10 kn (12 mph; 19 km/h) submerged
Range4,500 nmi (8,300 km; 5,200 mi) at 11 kn (20 km/h; 13 mph) surfaced
Complement27 to 31
Armament

The British U-class submarines (officially "War Emergency 1940 and 1941 programmes, short hull")[1] were a class of 49 small submarines built just before and during the Second World War. The class is sometimes known as the Undine class, after the first submarine built. A further development was the British V-class submarine of 1942.

At the start of the Second World War the U class was, with the British S Class and T class submarines, the Dutch O 21 class and German Type VII class one of the most advanced submarine classes in service.[2]

  1. ^ Chesneau 1992, p. 50.
  2. ^ Pol 1989, p. 352.

Developed by StudentB