HMS E3

The early British E-class submarines, from E1 to E8, had a displacement of {{convert|652|LT|t|lk=on}} 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|adj=on}} 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|lk=in}} and a submerged speed of {{convert|10|kn}}, with a fuel capacity of {{convert|50|LT|t}} of diesel affording a range of {{convert|3225|mi|km nmi}} when travelling at 10 knots, while submerged they had a range of {{convert|85|mi|km nmi}} at {{convert|5|kn}}. Her complement was three officers and 28 ratings.

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 sail while at Malta Dockyard.

E-class submarines had wireless systems with 1 kW power ratings; in some submarines, these were later upgraded to 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}}

When war was declared with Germany on 5 August 1914, E3 was based at Harwich, in the 8th Submarine Flotilla of the Home Fleets.{{cite book |title=Position and Movements, H.M. Ships, War Vessels and Aircraft, British and Foreign, Parts I. and II., August 1914. |date=1914 |publisher=Admiralty Records |location=London}}

E3 sailed from Harwich on 16 October to patrol off Borkum in the North Sea. On 18 October, she spotted some German destroyers ahead but was unable to get into a position to take a shot at them. Unable to pass them, Commander Cholmley retreated into the bay to wait for them to disperse. As he did so, he failed to see that the bay was also occupied by {{SMU|U-27|Germany|2}}, under Kapitänleutnant Bernd Wegener.

Wegener was surfaced and patrolling between the Ems and Borkum when at 11:25, an object resembling a buoy was spotted where no buoy should be. Suspecting a British submarine, U-27 immediately dived and closed the object.Naval Staff Monograph No. 24 1924, pp. 122–123. Although 'conned down', the number 83 was clearly visible on the conning tower of the British boat, now identified as such beyond reasonable doubt.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}} Wegener tracked the submarine for two hours until able to approach 'up sun'. He noted that the look-outs were staring intently in the other direction, towards the Ems. When the distance had closed to {{convert|300|yd|m|abbr=on}}, a single torpedo was fired by U-27. Detonation followed shortly after, and E3 sank immediately. Survivors were visible in the water but fearing a second British submarine might have been lurking nearby, U-27 dived and withdrew. 30 minutes later, the U-boat returned to the scene to search for evidence and possible survivors but without success. All 31 members of E3{{'}}s crew were lost.Kemp 1999, p. 10.

In October 1990, the stern section was snagged by a fishing boat north of Schiermonnikoog, the Netherlands, which in turn alerted divers from Zeester. The wreck of E3 was discovered on 14 October 1994. The stern of E3 had been blown off in the explosion and was found to be completely detached. The stern section— including the stern torpedo chamber — was later raised. The stern hatch was open, but the nature of the explosion indicates that men in the engine room and motor compartments would have died instantly. The motor and engine rooms are fully exposed and have consequently been looted of all removable fittings, including the bell.[https://wrakkenmuseum.nl/wrakken/e-3 Scheepswrak: E-3]

The sail has been removed by fishing nets and the broken periscope standards are still evident. The sail ladder is said to have been donated to the Submarine Museum but is not officially listed within their collections. E3{{'}}s torpedo loading hatch is open and the bow section is largely intact.

{{reflist}}

• {{cite book|last=Kemp|first=Paul |title=The Admiralty Regrets: British Warship Losses of the 20th Century |year=1999 |publisher= Sutton Publishing |location=Stroud, UK |isbn=0-7509-1567-6}}
• {{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}} }}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20160303190104/http://www.hollandadventureproductions.nl/E.E3.html A movie about the discovery of the E3 with English subtitles]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20180108023935/http://www.submarine-museum.co.uk/what-we-have/memorial-chapel/submarine-losses?start=2 'Submarine losses 1904 to present day' - Royal Navy Submarine Museum]

{{British E class submarine}}

{{October 1914 shipwrecks}}

{{coord missing|North Sea}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:E03}}

Category:British E-class submarines of the Royal Navy

Category:Ships built in Barrow-in-Furness

Category:1912 ships

Category:World War I submarines of the United Kingdom

Category:Maritime incidents in October 1914

Category:Ships sunk by German submarines in World War I

Category:World War I shipwrecks in the North Sea

Category:Lost submarines of the United Kingdom

Category:Royal Navy ship names

Category:Shipwrecks of the Netherlands

Category:Schiermonnikoog