U-class submarine HMS Ultimatum departing Holy Loch, August 1943
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Class overview | |
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Name | U class |
Operators | |
Preceded by | T class |
Succeeded by | V class |
Completed | 49 |
General characteristics | |
Type | Submarine |
Displacement |
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Length | 191 ft (58 m) |
Beam | 16 ft 1 in (4.90 m) |
Draught | 15 ft 2 in (4.62 m) |
Propulsion |
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Speed |
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Range | 4,500 nmi (8,300 km; 5,200 mi) at 11 kn (20 km/h; 13 mph) surfaced |
Complement | 27 to 31 |
Armament |
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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]