HMS L56
{{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 L56 |Ship ordered= |Ship builder=Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Govan |Ship laid down= 16 October 1917 |Ship launched= 29 May 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 scrapping, 25 March 1938 |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 L56 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 1938.
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 L56 was laid down on 16 October 1917 by Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company at their Govan shipyard, launched on 29 May 1919, and completed on 3 September 1919.
The boat was sold for scrap on 25 March 1938.
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|access-date=27 September 2022}}
{{British L class submarine}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:L56}}
Category:British L-class submarines