HMS C27

{{short description|Submarine of the Royal Navy}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2025}}

{{Use British English|date=January 2018}}

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|Ship country=United Kingdom

|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}}

|Ship name=HMS C27

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|Ship builder=Vickers, Barrow

|Ship laid down=4 June 1908

|Ship launched= 22 April 1909

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|Ship commissioned=14 August 1909

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|Ship fate= Scuttled, 5 April 1918, salvaged and scrapped August 1953

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|Ship class=C-class submarine

|Ship displacement=*{{convert|290|LT|t|abbr=on}} surfaced

  • {{convert|320|LT|t|abbr=on}} submerged

|Ship length={{convert|142|ft|3|in|m|1|abbr=on}}

|Ship beam={{convert|13|ft|7|in|m|1|abbr=on}}

|Ship draught={{convert|11|ft|6|in|1|abbr=on}}

|Ship power=*{{convert|600|bhp|kW|lk=in|abbr=on}} petrol

  • {{convert|300|hp|kW|abbr=on}} electric

|Ship propulsion=*1 × 16-cylinder Vickers petrol engine

|Ship speed=*{{convert|13|kn|abbr=on|lk=in}} surfaced

  • {{convert|8|kn|abbr=on}} submerged

|Ship range={{convert|910|nmi|abbr=on|lk=in}} at {{convert|12|kn|abbr=on}} on the surface

|Ship test depth={{convert|100|ft|1}}

|Ship complement=2 officers and 14 ratings

|Ship armament=2 × 18 in (450 mm) bow torpedo tubes

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HMS C27 was one of 38 C-class submarines built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century.

Design and description

The C-class boats of the 1907–08 and subsequent Naval Programmes were modified to improve their speed, both above and below the surface. The submarine had a length of {{convert|142|ft|3|in|m|1}} overall, a beam of {{convert|13|ft|7|in|m|1}} and a mean draft of {{convert|11|ft|6|in|m|1}}. They displaced {{convert|290|LT|t}} on the surface and {{convert|320|LT|t}} submerged. The C-class submarines had a crew of two officers and fourteen ratings.Gardiner & Gray, p. 87

For surface running, the boats were powered by a single 12-cylinderHarrison, Chapter 25 {{convert|600|bhp|lk=in|0|adj=on}} Vickers petrol engine that drove one propeller shaft. When submerged the propeller was driven by a {{convert|300|hp|0|adj=on}} electric motor. They could reach {{convert|13|kn|lk=in}} on the surface and {{convert|8|kn}} underwater. On the surface, the C class had a range of {{convert|910|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|12|kn}}.Harrison, Chapters 3

The boats were armed with two 18-inch (45 cm) torpedo tubes in the bow. They could carry a pair of reload torpedoes, but generally did not as they would have to remove an equal weight of fuel in compensation.Harrison, Chapter 27

Construction and career

HMS C27 was built by Vickers, Barrow. She was laid down on 4 June 1908 and was commissioned on 14 August 1909. HMS C27 along with the trawler Princess Louise (ex-Princess Marie Jose) sank {{SMS|U-23|Germany|2|sub=y}} in the Fair Isle Channel between Orkney and Shetland on 20 July 1915 using the U-boat trap tactic. The tactic was to use a decoy trawler to tow a submarine. When a U-boat was sighted, the tow line and communication line was slipped and the submarine would attack the U-boat. The tactic was partly successful, but was abandoned after the loss of two C class submarines. In both cases, all the crew were lost.

HMS C27 was involved in the Baltic operations from 1915 to 1918. The boat was scuttled on 5 April 1918 outside Helsingfors (Helsinki) south of the Harmaja Light (Gråhara) to avoid seizure by advancing German forces. HMS C27 was salvaged for breaking up in Finland in August 1953.

Notes

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References

  • {{cite book|last=Akermann|first=Paul|title=Encyclopaedia of British Submarines 1901–1955|edition=reprint of the 1989|year=2002|publisher=Periscope Publishing|location=Penzance, Cornwall|isbn=1-904381-05-7}}
  • {{Cite Colledge2006}}
  • {{cite book |editor1-last=Gardiner|editor1-first=Robert|editor2-last=Gray|editor2-first=Randal|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921|year=1985|location=Annapolis, Maryland|publisher=Naval Institute Press|isbn=0-85177-245-5|name-list-style=amp}}
  • {{cite web|url=http://rnsubs.co.uk/dits-bits/br-3043.html|title=The Development of HM Submarines From Holland No. 1 (1901) to Porpoise (1930) (BR3043)|last=Harrison|first=A. N.|date=January 1979|publisher=RN Subs|access-date=27 September 2022}}