HMS E1

The early British E-class submarines, from E1 to E8, had a displacement of {{convert|652|LT|t}} at the surface and {{convert|795|LT|t}} while submerged. They had a length overall of {{convert|180|ft|m}} and a beam of {{convert|22|ft|8.5|in}}, and were powered by two {{convert|800|hp}} Vickers eight-cylinder two-stroke diesel engines and two {{convert|420|hp}} electric motors.Akerman, P. (1989). Encyclopaedia of British submarines 1901–1955.  p.150. Maritime Books. {{ISBN|1-904381-05-7}}{{cite web|url=http://www.csubmarine.org/html/class/eclass.html|title=E Class|publisher=Chatham Submarines|access-date=20 August 2015|archive-date=13 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150813023119/http://csubmarine.org/html/class/eclass.html|url-status=dead}} The class had a maximum surface speed of {{convert|16|kn|km/h mph}} and a submerged speed of {{convert|10|kn|km/h mph}}, with a fuel capacity of {{convert|50|LT|t}} of diesel affording a range of {{convert|3225|mi|km nmi}} when travelling at {{convert|10|kn|km/h mph}}, while submerged they had a range of {{convert|85|mi|km nmi}} at {{convert|5|kn|km/h mph}}.

The early 'Group 1' E class boats were armed with four 18 inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes, one in the bow, one either side amidships, and one in the stern; a total of eight torpedoes were carried. Group 1 boats were not fitted with a deck gun during construction, but those involved in the Dardanelles campaign had guns mounted forward of the conning tower while at Malta Dockyard.

E-Class submarines had wireless systems with {{convert|1|kW}} power ratings; in some submarines, these were later upgraded to {{convert|3|kW}} systems by removing a midship torpedo tube. Their maximum design depth was {{convert|100|ft}} although in service some reached depths of below {{convert|200|ft}}. Some submarines contained Fessenden oscillator systems.{{cite book|author1=Innes McCartney|author2=Tony Bryan|title=British Submarines of World War I|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JWFapIxWZSUC&pg=PA11|date=20 February 2013|publisher=Osprey Publishing|isbn=978-1-4728-0035-0|pages=11–12}}

Her complement was three officers and 28 men.

E1 joined the 8th Submarine Flotilla, based at Portsmouth on commissioning.{{cite magazine |title=Fleets and Squadrons in Commission at Home and Abroad: Submarines |magazine=The Navy List |date=August 1913 |page=269d |url=https://digital.nls.uk/british-military-lists/archive/94297814 |access-date=3 May 2022 |via=National Library of Scotland}}

{{stack|File:Horton Lawrence.jpg (right), commander of E1, with Max Horton (left), commander of {{HMS|E9||2}}, in the Baltic]]}}

She worked with {{HMS|E5||2}} and reconnoitered the Skagerrak in early October as a prelude to sending submarines into the Baltic.Naval Staff Monograph No. 24 1924, p. 103 Then on 15 October 1914, she and {{HMS|E9||2}} sailed from Gorleston in a successful attempt to penetrate the German defences and enter the Baltic. On 18 October 1914, E1 unsuccessfully attacked the armoured cruiser {{SMS|Victoria Louise}} in Kiel Bay. The torpedo ran too deep and missed.Compton-Hall, pp. 137–138 On 22 July 1915, E1 fired two torpedoes at the German Vorpostenboot (or patrol boat) Neumühlen, which missed.Rollmann 1929, pp. 223, 363 On 30 July 1915, she torpedoed and sank the German auxiliary minesweeper Aachen east-northeast of Östergarn, Gotland, Sweden.Rollmann 1929, pp. 227–228 On 19 August 1915, she torpedoed and damaged the German battlecruiser {{SMS|Moltke||2}} (23,000 tons) during the Battle of the Gulf of Riga.

E1{{'}}s service ended on 3 April 1918 outside Helsingfors (Helsinki), {{convert|1.5|nmi|km|1}} off Harmaja Light in the Gulf of Finland. She was scuttled by her crew, along with {{HMS|E8||2}}, {{HMS|E9||2}}, {{HMS|E19||2}}, {{HMS|C26||2}}, {{HMS|C27||2}}, and {{HMS|C35||2}} to avoid seizure by advancing German forces which had landed nearby.

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite book|last=Compton-Hall|first=Richard|title=Submarines at War 1914–1918|year=2004|publisher=Periscope Publishing|location=Penzance|isbn=1-904381-21-9}}
• {{cite book |last1=Hutchinson |first1=Robert |title=Jane's submarines : war beneath the waves from 1776 to the present day |date=2001 |publisher=HarperCollins |location=London |isbn=978-0-00-710558-8}}
• {{cite book |title=Monograph No. 24: Home Waters—Part II: September and October 1914 |series=Naval Staff Monographs (Historical) |volume=XI |year=1924 |publisher=The Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division |url=http://www.navy.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/Naval-Staff-Monographs-Vol.XI_opt.pdf|ref={{Harvid|Naval Staff Monograph No. 24|1924}} }}
• {{cite book |last1=Preston |first1=Antony |title=The Royal Navy submarine service : a centennial history |date=2001 |publisher=Conway Maritime |location=London |isbn=978-0-85177-891-4}}
• {{cite book |last=Rollmann |first=Heinrich |title=Der Krieg in der Ostsee: Zweiter Band: Das Kriegsjahr 1915 |series=Der Krieg zur See 1914–1918 |year=1929 |location=Berlin |publisher=Verlag von E. S. Mittler & Sohn |language=de |url=https://archive.org/details/derkrieginderost02firl}}
• [http://www.hylyt.net/hylky.jsp?id=e1 E 1] in hylyt.net {{in lang|fi}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070311165521/http://users.tkk.fi/~jaromaa/Navygallery/Submarines/submarines.htm Finnish Submarines] in [https://web.archive.org/web/20070515041826/http://users.tkk.fi/~jaromaa/Navygallery/ Finnish Navy in World War II]

{{British E class submarine}}

{{April 1918 shipwrecks}}

{{coord missing|Baltic Sea}}

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Category:British E-class submarines of the Royal Navy

Category:Ships built in Chatham

Category:1912 ships

Category:World War I submarines of the United Kingdom

Category:World War I shipwrecks in the Baltic Sea

Category:Royal Navy ship names

Category:Maritime incidents in 1918

Category:Shipwrecks of Finland

Category:Scuttled vessels of the United Kingdom