HMS L4
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2016}}
| {{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image |Ship image= Submarine 'L4' on the surface RMG PV3464.jpg |Ship caption= HMS L4 by William Lionel Wyllie }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header= |Ship country= United Kingdom |Ship flag= {{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}} |Ship name= HMS L4 |Ship ordered= |Ship builder= Vickers Limited, Barrow-in-Furness |Ship laid down=21 June 1916 |Ship launched=17 November 1917 |Ship acquired= |Ship commissioned=26 December 1918 |Ship decommissioned= |Ship in service= |Ship out of service= |Ship struck= |Ship reinstated= |Ship homeport= |Ship motto= |Ship nickname= |Ship honours= |Ship fate= Sold for scrapping, 24 February 1934 |Ship notes= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption= |Ship class=L-class submarine |Ship displacement=*{{convert|891|LT|t|abbr=on}} surfaced
|Ship length={{convert|231|ft|1|in|m|1|abbr=on}} |Ship beam={{convert|23|ft|6|in|m|1|abbr=on}} |Ship draught={{convert|13|ft|3|in|1|abbr=on}} |Ship power=*{{convert|2400|bhp|kW|lk=in|abbr=on}} (diesel)
|Ship propulsion=*2 × diesel engines
|Ship speed=*{{convert|17|kn|abbr=on|lk=in}} surfaced
|Ship range={{convert|3800|nmi|abbr=on|lk=in}} at {{convert|10|kn|abbr=on}} on the surface |Ship test depth={{convert|100|ft|1}} |Ship complement=35 |Ship armament=*6 × British 18 inch torpedo torpedo tubes (4 bow, 2 beam) |Ship notes= }} |
HMS L4 was a L-class submarine built for the Royal Navy during World War I. The boat survived the war and was sold for scrap in 1934.
Design and description
The L-class boats were enlarged and improved versions of the preceding E class. The submarine had a length of {{convert|231|ft|1|in|m|1}} overall, a beam of {{convert|23|ft|6|in|m|1}} and a mean draft of {{convert|13|ft|3|in|m|1}}. They displaced {{convert|891|LT|t}} on the surface and {{convert|1074|LT|t}} submerged. The L-class submarines had a crew of 35 officers and ratings.Gardiner & Gray, p. 93
For surface running, the boats were powered by two 12-cylinder VickersHarrison, Chapter 25 {{convert|1200|bhp|lk=in|0|adj=on}} diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a {{convert|600|hp|0|adj=on}} electric motor. They could reach {{convert|17|kn|lk=in}} on the surface and {{convert|10.5|kn}} underwater.Harrison, Chapters 3 On the surface, the L class had a range of {{convert|3200|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|10|kn}}.
The boats were armed with a total of six 18-inch (45 cm) torpedo tubes. Four of these were in the bow and the remaining pair in broadside mounts. They carried 10 reload torpedoes, all for the bow tubes.Harrison, Chapter 27 They were also armed with a {{convert|4|in|mm|adj=on|0}} deck gun.Akermann, p. 165
Construction and career
{{stack|File:Chinese pirate spear hmsL4.jpg}}
HMS L4 was built by Vickers, Barrow. She was laid down on 21 June 1916 and was commissioned on 26 December 1918. She sailed with the Submarine Depot Ship HMS Ambrose (1903) to Hong Kong in 1919 as part of the 4th Submarine Flotilla, arriving there in January 1920. On 20 October 1927 off Hong Kong, L4 and {{HMS|L5}} rescued crew of the merchant ship SS Irene from a pirate attack after firing her deck gun. HMS L4 was sold on 24 February 1934 and then broken up in Charlestown, Fife.
Notes
{{reflist|30em}}
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|accessdate=27 September 2022}}
{{British L class submarine}}
{{1927 shipwrecks}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:L04}}
Category:British L-class submarines
Category:Ships built in Barrow-in-Furness
Category:World War I submarines of the United Kingdom