HMS C1

HMS C1 was one of 38 C-class submarines built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. The boat survived the First World War and was sold for scrap in 1920.

Design and description
The C class was essentially a repeat of the preceding B class, albeit with better performance underwater. The submarine had a length of 142 ft overall, a beam of 13 ft and a mean draft of 11 ft. They displaced 287 LT on the surface and 316 LT submerged. The C-class submarines had a crew of two officers and fourteen ratings.

For surface running, the boats were powered by a single 16-cylinder 600 bhp Vickers petrol engine that drove one propeller shaft. When submerged the propeller was driven by a 300 hp electric motor. They could reach 12 kn on the surface and 7 kn underwater. On the surface, the C class had a range of 910 nmi at 12 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 they would have to remove an equal weight of fuel in compensation.

Construction and career
C1 was built by Vickers at their Barrow-in-Furness shipyard, laid down on 13 November 1905, launched 10 July 1906 and was commissioned on 30 October 1906. The boat was equipped with wireless telegraphy. She was converted to a surface patrol boat and renamed S8 for Adriatic service. On 23 April 1918, she was packed with dynamite to be blown up at Zeebrugge Mole. However, this did not happen. C1 was sold 22 October 1920 to Stanlee, and resold 14 November 1921 to Young, Sunderland.