HMS H42 was a British H class submarine that sank with the loss of all 24 of its crew after an accidental collision in 1922. The sub was built by Armstrong Whitworth, Newcastle Upon Tyne. She was laid down in September 1917 and was commissioned on 1 May 1919.
On 23 March 1922, under the command of Royal Navy Lieutenant Douglas Staley, H42 was practising torpedo attacks against British destroyers steaming off Europa Point, Gibraltar, when she surfaced unexpectedly only 30 or 120 yards (27 or 110 metres) – sources differ – ahead of the destroyer . Versatile, making 20 knots, went to full speed astern on her engines and put her helm over hard to port, but had not yet begun to answer her helm when she rammed H42 abaft the conning tower, almost slicing the submarine in half. H42 sank with the loss of all hands. An investigation found H42 at fault for surfacing where she did against instructions.
Design
Like all post-H20 British H-class submarines, H42 had a displacement of at the surface and while submerged. It had a total length of , a beam of , and a draught of . It contained a diesel engines providing a total power of and two electric motors each providing power. The use of its electric motors made the submarine travel at . It would normally carry of fuel and had a maximum capacity of .
The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a submerged speed of . Post-H20 British H-class submarines had ranges of at speeds of when surfaced. H42 was fitted with an anti-aircraft gun and four torpedo tubes. Its torpedo tubes were fitted to the bows and the submarine was loaded with eight torpedoes. It is a Holland 602 type submarine but was designed to meet Royal Navy specifications. Its complement was twenty-two crew members.
References
Bibliography
Richardson, Alexander and Archibald Hurd. (editors). Brassey's Naval and Shipping Annual 1923. London, William Clowes, 1923.