HMS A2

HMS A2 was an A-class submarine (1903) submarine built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century.

Design and description
A2 was a member of the first British class of submarines, although slightly larger, faster and more heavily armed than the lead ship, HMS A1. The submarine had a length of 105 ft overall, a beam of 12 ft and a mean draft of 10 ft. They displaced 190 LT on the surface and 206 LT submerged. The A-class submarines had a crew of 2 officers and 9 ratings.

For surface running, the boats were powered by a single 16-cylinder 450 bhp Wolseley petrol engine that drove one propeller shaft. When submerged the propeller was driven by a 150 hp electric motor. They could reach 10 kn on the surface and 7 kn underwater. On the surface, A2 had a range of 320 nmi at 10 kn; submerged the boat had a range of 30 nmi at 5 kn.

The boats were armed with two 18-inch (45 cm) torpedo tubes in the bow. They could carry a pair of reload torpedoes, but generally did not as in doing so they had to compensate for their weight by an equivalent weight of fuel.

Construction and career
Like all boats in her class, she was built at Vickers, Barrow-in-Furness. Construction started in 1902 and the submarine was launched on 15 April 1903 and completed on 26 March 1904. During World War I, A2 served on harbour service at Portsmouth. She flooded after running aground in Bomb Ketch Lake in Portsmouth Harbour in January 1920 and was sold for scrap to H. G. Pound of Portsmouth on 22 October 1925.