UNITED
KINGDOM: A CLASS (1902)
Vickers enlarged the design of the original
Holland type, adding a full conning tower. These boats were largely
experimental, with each successive unit incorporating improvements. They were
used intensively for training throughout their careers. The A- 1 was rammed and
sunk by the liner Berwick Castle off the Nab on 18 March 1904, and the A-3 was rammed
and sunk by the depot ship Hazard off the Isle of Wight on 2 February 1912.
Both were raised and expended as targets. In 1905 the A-5 and the A-8 sank
after internal explosions, and the A- 4 sank during sound experiments as a
result of flooding; all were raised and returned to service. An accident sank
the A- 7 in Whitesands Bay on 16 January 1914. All the surviving boats were
sold for scrap in 1920.
UNITED
KINGDOM: C CLASS (1910)
This class was a mass-production version of
the previous group, though the conning tower diving planes were omitted. The
Japanese boats introduced diesel engines for improved safety.
The British boats saw very extensive
service in home waters and the Mediterranean, including working as
antisubmarine ships in cooperation with surface escorts that led to the
destruction of three U-boats. Four boats (the C- 26, the C- 27, the C- 32, and
the C- 35) went to the Baltic in 1916. The C- 32 was blown up by its crew in
the Gulf of Riga after suffering heavy damage from German forces on 22 October,
1917, and the other boats were scuttled off Helsingfors on 4 April 1918.
The C- 11 was rammed and sunk by the
steamer Eddystone off Cromer on 14 July 1909. The C-12, the C-14, the C-16, and
the C-17 all sank after collisions but were raised and returned to service. The
C- 29, the C- 31, and the C- 33 were lost in the North Sea in 1915, probably to
mines. The U-boat U- 52 torpedoed and sank the C- 34 off the Shetland Isles on
17 July 1917. The C-3 was expended as an explosive charge during the raid on
Zeebrugge on 23 April 1918. The surviving boats of the class were sold for scrap
in 1920.
The Japanese boats were used primarily for
training and were stricken on 1 December 1928.
GERMANY:
TYPE VIIB (1939)
These were slightly enlarged versions of
the Type VIIA with greater range and space for more reload torpedoes. They
undertook operational patrols until late 1943, when the surviving boats became
training vessels. The U-48 was the most successful U-boat of World War II,
sinking 306,875 tons of shipping.
The destroyers Inglefield, Intrepid, and
Ivanhoe sank the U-45 off the Irish coast on 14 October 1939. British and
French antisubmarine vessels sank the U-55 near the Scilly Isles on 30 January
1940; the U-54 was mined in the North Sea on 14 February; the destroyer Gurkha
sank the U-53 in the Orkney Islands on 23 February; the U-50 was mined off
Terschelling on 7 April; the destroyers Brazen and Fearless sank the U- 49 near
Narvik on 15 April; the destroyer Vansittart sank the U-102 in the Bay of
Biscay on 1 July. The U- 47 was lost near Rockall on 7 March 1941; the
destroyers Vanoc and Walker sank the U- 99 and the U- 100 south of Iceland on
17 March; the sloop Scarborough and destroyer Wolverine sank the U- 76 in the
same area on 5 April. The destroyer Roper sank the U-85 off Cape Hatteras on 14
April 1942; the destroyers Wishart and Wrestler sank the U- 74 east of
Cartagena on 2 May, and the destroyer Kipling sank the U-75 near Mersa Matruh
on 28 December. A British aircraft sank the U-83 near Cartagena on 4 March
1943, and the Canadian destroyer St. Croix and corvette Shediac sank the U-87
the same day off Leixoes. A U.S. aircraft sank the U-84 in the western Atlantic
on 7 August; the U-86 failed to return from an Atlantic patrol in November; the
destroyers Trippe and Woolsey sank the U-73 near Oran on 16 December. The four
surviving boats were scuttled in May 1945.
PROJECT
667BDR [NATO DELTA III] (1977)
NATO
DELTA I These boats were designed to launch the
powerful R-29 missile with a range of 4875 miles carrying a single warhead,
enabling them to operate without exiting the Soviet bastion area. The D-9
system could launch the entire missile load in a single salvo. The class served
with the Northern and Pacific fleets and was withdrawn from service by 1997.
NATO
DELTA II
These boats were an enlarged version of the
previous class to accommodate four additional missiles. The upgraded R- 29DD
missile had a range of 5700 miles. All boats served with the Northern Fleet and
were withdrawn from service beginning in 1996.
NATO
DELTA III
The principal change in this class was the
installation of the D-9R system to launch R-29R missiles with a range of up to
5000 miles with three to seven multiple warheads. The class was divided equally
between the Northern and Pacific fleets. One submarine was decommissioned in
1994 but the remainder may still be operational.