Submariners AssociationBarrow in Furness Branch
Barrow Built
U & V Class Single Hull Coastal Submarines, 1936 - 1958
U CLASS
The first three U Class submarines were ordered in 1936 to serve as unarmed targets for anti-submarine vessels. But in a change of policy (perhaps with a foreboding of war) Undine, Unity and Ursula laid down at Vickers in February 1937, were modified during construction to accommodate six bow tubes (four internal and two external) so that they could undertake short offensive missions. To allow the installation of a small deck gun, the hull forward of the conning tower was reinforced. From their first sea trials, the three U boats demonstrated excellent handling and manoeuvrability, which, combined with ease of production and low cost, made the design particularly successful.In 1939, a realisation of the inevitability of war and that the small size of the U boats made them particularly suitable for North Sea and Mediterranean operations, prompted the Admiralty to put the class into quantity production. Twelve identical vessels were ordered, but of these only four were eventually fitted with six bow tubes.
The two external tubes, and the bulbous bow they formed, were removed from the remaining boats because the notable bow wave the bulge created when running at periscope depth made it difficult to keep the boat trimmed longitudinally.
Under the 1940 and 1941 War Programmes, a further 41 U boats were ordered, but only 34 were completed. This second group of U Class submarines did not differ substantially from the first, but an approximate increase of 5 feet in the stern gave them a more streamlined shape aft and improved the flow of water over the propellers.
In addition to their four 21-inch stern tubes and three 0.303-inch portable machine-guns, the U boats were fitted with a 3-inch gun forward of the conning tower. However, as this was an afterthought to the original design, no separate hatch was fitted for the gun crew or ammunition. This resulted in the conning tower becoming extremely crowded before and after gun action and, if the gun crew were employed, rapid crash-diving was impossible.
The limited offensive potential of individual U boats was compensated for by the considerable number that were commissioned in a short period of time, and these small and nimble vessels became one of the most important operational classes in the Second World War, with a record that can fairly be described as heroic.
The wartime submarine fleet relied almost entirely on the S, T and U Classes. This policy was very different to that of the First World War (when some 12 new classes were developed), and was pursued so as to cause the minimum interference with the shipbuilders' production programme.
The majority of the 49 commissioned U boats (all but two of which were built by Vickers) served with the Second Flotilla based at Malta, and achieved notable successes against warships and merchantmen. Two U boats, stationed in the Sicilian Channel, sank several major Italian merchant ships, which were transporting troops and supplies to Africa. Like other British boats, the U Class were particularly successful against submarines - in the Mediterranean alone, five Barrow-boats (Upholder, Ultimatum, Unbeaten, Unruly and United) sank a total of eight: six Italian and two German.
During the war, 19 boats of the class were lost on active service - 13 in the Mediterranean and six in the Atlantic and North Sea. Another submarine Untamed, sank in May 1943, but was salvaged two months later and returned to service as HMS Vitality. From 1941, numerous boats were ceded to Poland, USSR, Holland, Norway and Free France, and of these several were lost in action.
One U Class submarine that is famous for the part it played during the Second World War is the Vickers-built Upholder, which probably had the finest fighting record of any Allied submarine of the period.
HMS UPHOLDER
Commissioned in August 1940, and under the command of Lieutenant-Commander Malcolm David Wanklyn VC, HMS Upholder sailed to her Maltese base on 10th December. During this passage, Lieut-Com. Wanklyn demonstrated that he was a man of many talents when a bulkhead door almost severed the tops of three fingers of Chief Engine Room Artificer Baker. With infinite patience and a very delicate touch.
Wanklyn sorted out the mangled fingers and strapped them up. For the next four days Wanklyn painstakingly dressed the injured fingers of his patient until he could be transferred to a Military hospital in Gibraltar. Due to Wanklyn's skill and patience, Baker regained the full use of his hand. Upholder eventually arrived at Malta on 10th January, 1941.
Upholder's first four patrols yielded no successes, and doubts were raised as to Wanklyn's competence. However, on her fifth patrol off Cape Bon, Upholder compensated for her earlier misses with a vengeance - sinking three enemy convoy vessels and 'finishing off an abandoned supply ship.
Following Upholder's seventh patrol, her commander was awarded the Victoria Cross. The failure of Upholder's Asdic set had robbed Wanklyn not only of a means of detecting the enemy but also of a valuable aid in taking avoiding action during a counterattack. Despite this handicap, Upholder continued to destroy enemy shipping, and it was the sinking, on 25th May, 1941, of the heavily-escorted troopship Conte Rosse with over 1200 members of the Afrika Corps on board, that earned Wanklyn his VC. Following this daring success, enemy destroyers counter-attacked and, during the next 20 minutes, dropped 37 depth charges near Upholder. The citation for Wanklyn's VC stated - 'The failure of his listening device made it much harder for him to get away, but with the greatest courage, coolness and skill he brought Upholder clear of the enemy and safe back to harbour'.
During the 16 months that Upholder operated in the Mediterranean, she completed 24 patrols and sank 119 000 tons of German and Italian shipping three U-boats, one destroyer, one armed trawler, 15 transport and supply ships, and probably another cruiser and another destroyer - before she herself failed to return from a patrol in April 1942.
Remembering that the Navy lost not only an outstanding submarine commander but also a very highly-trained and experienced team of officers and ratings, the Admiralty took the unprecedented step of publishing a special communiqué - praising Upholder and all her crew for their long and arduous duty in the Mediterranean - which ended with the words - 'The ship and her company are gone, but the example and the inspiration remain'.
After the war, many of the surviving U Class submarines were put into reserve or lent or sold to other countries. Some boats were later returned by foreign navies to be scrapped and the last of the Royal Navy U boats were broken up in 1950.
Launched in May 1943, HMS Venturer was transferred to the Royal Norwegian Navy in 1946 and renamed Utstein
V Class
In 1941, modifications were made to the design of the U Class submarines in order to quickly obtain a type of boat which while retaining the same characteristics, would be stronger but simpler and less expensive. The resultant V Class were slightly longer than the U boats and, because of a partly-welded pressure hull, had a greater operational depth - 300 feet as opposed to 200 feet. The electric welding of hull assemblies also gave a quicker building time.
The class were built exclusively at Barrow and the first eight submarines were ordered in 1941. Large numbers were planned, and 42 V boats were ordered between 1941 and 1943. However, with the capitulation of Italy in 1943 the need for coastal submarines in the Mediterranean decreased and 20 of the class were subsequently cancelled when the end to hostilities in Europe seemed imminent.
None of the 22 V Class submarines built were lost during the war, and the lead ship, HMS Venturer, distinguished herself by sinking two German submarines, one in November 1944, the other in February 1945. Venturer was transferred to the Norwegian Navy following the war, and many other V Class vessels served with Allied navies (particularly Greece, Norway and Free France) during and after the conflict. The last of the class in service with the Royal Navy, was scrapped in 1958.