Chilean submarine Guale

The Chilean submarine Guale was an H-class submarine of the Chilean Navy. The vessel was originally ordered by the United Kingdom's Royal Navy as HMS H18, but was handed over to Chile in 1917 as H4.

Description
Guale was a single-hulled submarine, with a pressure hull divided into five watertight compartments. The submarine had a length of 150 ft overall, a beam of 15 ft and a draft of 12 ft. She displaced 363 LT on the surface and 434 LT submerged. The H-class submarines had a crew of 22 officers and enlisted men.

The submarine had two propellers, each of which was driven by a 240 hp diesel engine as well as a 320 hp electric motors. This arrangement gave Guale a maximum speed of 13 kn while surfaced and 10.5 kn submerged. She had a range of 1750 nmi at 7 kn while on the surface and 30 nmi at 5 kn while submerged. The boat had a capacity of 17.5 LT of fuel oil. The H-class submarines were equipped with four 18 in torpedo tubes in the bow and carried eight torpedoes.

Career
H18 was a H-class submarine built by Fore River Yard of Quincy, Massachusetts. She was launched on 14 August 1915. Because the United States was neutral (having not yet entered World War I), H18 along with sister ships HMS H11, HMS H12, HMS H13, HMS H14, HMS H15, HMS H16, HMS H17, HMS H19, and HMS H20 were all interned by the United States government. As a result, H18 was never commissioned into the Royal Navy. Instead, she and H13, H16, H17, H19, and H20 were transferred to the Chilean Navy as partial recompensation for the appropriation of two 28,000-ton dreadnoughts (CHILEAN BATTLESHIP Almirante Latorre and CHILEAN BATTLESHIP Almirante Cochrane). Originally named H4 when turned over to Chile in 1917, she was renamed Guale in 1924. She served with the Chilean Navy until she was stricken in 1945.