HMS E23

HMS E23 was an E-class submarine built by Vickers, Barrow-in-Furness. She was laid down on 28 September 1914 and was commissioned on 6 December 1915. E23 torpedoed the German dreadnought SMS Westfalen (18,900 tons), holing her off Terschelling on 19 August 1916. E23 was sold on 6 September 1922 in Sunderland.

Design
Like all post-E8 British E-class submarines, E23 had a displacement of 662 LT at the surface and 807 LT while submerged. She had a length of 180 ft and a beam of 22 ft. She was powered by two 800 hp Vickers eight-cylinder two-stroke diesel engines and two 420 hp electric motors. The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 16 kn and a submerged speed of 10 kn. British E-class submarines had a fuel capacity of 50 t of diesel and ranges of 3255 nmi when travelling at 10 kn. E23 was capable of operating submerged for five hours when travelling at 5 kn.

E23 was armed with a 12-pounder 76 mm QF gun, mounted forward of the conning tower. She had five 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes, two in the bow, one either side amidships and one in the stern with ten torpedoes on board.

E-class submarines had wireless systems with 1 kW power ratings; in some submarines, these were later upgraded to 3 kW systems by removing a midship torpedo tube. Their maximum design depth was 100 ft although in service some reached depths of below 200 ft. Some submarines contained Fessenden oscillator systems.

Crew
Her complement was three officers and 28 men.