View source for A-class submarine (1903)

{{Short description|1902 class of British submarines}}
{{for|the later A classes|Amphion-class submarine|Astute-class submarine}}
{{for|the American A class submarine of 1903|Plunger-class submarine}}
{{refimprove|date=February 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2018}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin|sclass=2}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image= Hms_a1_submarine.jpg
|Ship caption= {{HMS|A1}}
}}
{{Infobox ship class overview
|Name=A-class
|Builders=[[Vickers]], [[Barrow-in-Furness]]
|Operators={{navy|United Kingdom}}
|Class before={{sclass2|Holland|submarine|4}}
|Class after=[[British B-class submarine|B-class]]
|Subclasses=
|Cost=
|Built range=
|In service range=   
|In commission range=  
|Total ships planned=
|Total ships completed=13
|Total ships cancelled=
|Total ships lost=
|Total ships retired=
|Total ships preserved=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption= (''A8''–''A13'')<ref name="Conways06 p86">Gardiner and Gray 1985, p. 86.</ref>
|Ship type=[[Submarine]]
|Ship displacement=*190&nbsp;tons surfaced
*207&nbsp;tons submerged
|Ship length={{convert|105|ft|0+1/2|in|m|2|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|12|ft|8+3/4|in|2|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught={{convert|10|ft|8|in|m|abbr=on}} surfaced
|Ship power=
|Ship propulsion=*16 cylinder Wolseley {{convert|600|hp|kW|abbr=on|lk=on}} [[petrol engine]]
*{{convert|150|hp|kW|abbr=on}} electric motor
|Ship speed=*{{convert|11+1/2|kn|abbr=on}} surfaced
*{{convert|6|kn|abbr=on}} dived
|Ship range=
|Ship endurance=
|Ship test depth=
|Ship complement=11 
|Ship time to activate=
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=2 × [[British 18 inch torpedo|{{convert|18|in|mm|abbr=on}} torpedo tubes]] (bow, four [[torpedo]]es)
|Ship armour=
|Ship armor=
|Ship aircraft=
|Ship aircraft facilities=
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

The '''A-class''' was the [[Royal Navy]]'s first [[Ship class|class]] of British-designed [[submarine]]s. Thirteen were built by [[Vickers]] at [[Barrow-in-Furness]] between 1902 and 1905 as an improvement on the US {{sclass|Plunger|submarine|4}}.  
[[File:A class submarines.jpg|thumb|A-class submarines moored in port]]
[[File:HMS A13 model.jpg|thumb|HMS ''A13'' model]]

==Design and construction==
While there was considerable variation amongst the boats of the class, they were around {{convert|100|ft|m}} long and displaced around 200&nbsp;tons when submerged. The first, ''A1'' (ordered as ''Holland No. 6''), was launched in July 1902, the last, ''A13'', in April 1905.

===Propulsion===
All were propelled underwater by battery-powered electric motors and on the surface by shaft-drive [[Wolseley Motors|Wolseley]] [[petrol]] engines of {{convert|400|bhp|kW|abbr=on|lk=in}} (''A1''), {{convert|450|bhp|kW|abbr=on}} (''A2-A4'') or {{convert|600|bhp|kW|abbr=on}} (''A5''-''A12''). ''A13'' had an experimental {{convert|500|bhp|abbr=on}} [[Vickers]] [[diesel engine]], which proved to be unreliable.

===Armaments===
Armament was two [[British 18 inch torpedo|{{convert|18|in|cm|sing=on}} torpedo tube]]s with four torpedoes except for ''A1'', which had 1 tube and 3 torpedoes.

==Service history==
This submarine class was plagued by numerous accidents and failures; almost every boat in the class (''A1'', ''A3'', ''A4'', ''A5'', ''A7'', and ''A8'') was involved in some sort of accident over the course of their operational history. Many were fatal to the crew, and resulted in the decommissioning of the submarine. ''A1'' was sunk off [[Portsmouth]] on 18 March 1904, in collision with the liner ''Berwick Castle'', but raised and put back into service before finally being sunk as a naval gunnery target in 1911, followed in 1912 by ''A3''. ''A7'' was lost in [[Whitsand Bay]] in 1914 after diving into mud. ''A13'' was laid up in 1914 due to engine unreliability.

The remainder were used during [[World War I]] for harbour defence, ''A2'' and ''A4'', ''A5'' and ''A6'' at [[Portsmouth]], ''A8'' and ''A9'' at [[HMNB Devonport|Devonport]], and ''A10'', ''A11'' and ''A12'' at [[Ardrossan]]. All survived the war and were converted to training in 1918 and sold in 1919–1920 except for ''A2'', which was wrecked while awaiting disposal and finally sold in 1925.

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
*{{cite book|last1=Gardiner|first1=Robert|last2=Gray|first2=Randal|title=Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921|year=1985|publisher=Conway Maritime Press|location=London|isbn=0-85177-245-5}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|A class submarines (1903)}}
*[http://www.maritimequest.com/warship_directory/great_britain/submarines/pages/class_overviews/a_class_1902.htm MaritimeQuest A Class Overview]

{{A class submarine (1903)}}
{{WWI British ships}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:A Class Submarine (1903)}}
[[Category:Submarine classes|A class submarine (1903), British]]
[[Category:A-class submarines (1903)| ]]