HMS L53
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2016}}
| {{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image |Ship image= |Ship caption= }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header= |Ship country= United Kingdom |Ship flag= {{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}} |Ship name= HMS L53 |Ship ordered= |Ship builder=Armstrong Whitworth, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne |Ship laid down=19 June 1917 |Ship launched=12 August 1919 |Ship acquired= |Ship commissioned= |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 scrap, 23 January 1939 |Ship notes= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption= |Ship class=L-class submarine |Ship displacement=*{{convert|960|LT|t|abbr=on}} surfaced
|Ship length={{convert|235|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} |Ship beam={{convert|23|ft|6|in|m|1|abbr=on}} |Ship draught={{convert|13|ft|2|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|4500|nmi|abbr=on|lk=in}} at {{convert|8|kn|abbr=on}} on the surface |Ship test depth={{convert|150|ft|1}} |Ship complement=44 |Ship armament=*6 × bow British 21-inch torpedo torpedo tubes |Ship notes= }} |
HMS L53 was a late-model L-class submarine built for the Royal Navy during the First World War. The boat was not completed before the end of the war and was sold for scrap in 1939.
Design and description
L52 and its successors were modified to maximise the number of 21-inch (53.3 cm) torpedoes carried in the bow. The submarine had a length of {{convert|235|ft|m|1}} overall, a beam of {{convert|23|ft|6|in|m|1}} and a mean draft of {{convert|13|ft|2|in|m|1}}.Gardiner & Gray, p. 94 They displaced {{convert|960|LT|t}} on the surface and {{convert|1150|LT|t}} submerged. The L-class submarines had a crew of 44 officers and ratings.Akermann, p. 165 They had a diving depth of {{convert|150|ft|1}}.Harrison, Chapter 11
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. On the surface, the L class had a range of {{convert|4200|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|10|kn}}.
The boats were armed with six 21-inch torpedo tubes in the bow. They carried eight reload torpedoes for a grand total of a dozen torpedoes.Harrison, Chapter 27 They were also armed with two {{convert|4|in|mm|adj=on|0}} deck guns.
Construction and career
HMS L53 was laid down on 19 June 1917 by Armstrong Whitworth at their Newcastle-Upon-Tyne shipyard and launched on 12 August 1919. She was then towed to HM Dockyard, Chatham for completion on 16 January 1925. HMS L53 was sold for scrap on 23 January 1939.
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}}
{{British L class submarine}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:L53}}
Category:British L-class submarines
Category:Ships built on the River Tyne