HMS E41

HMS E41 was a British E-class submarine built by Cammell Laird, Birkenhead. She was laid down on 26 July 1915 and was commissioned in February 1916.

Design
Like all post-E8 British E-class submarines, E41 had a displacement of 662 LT at the surface and 807 LT while submerged. She had a total 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 fuel capacities of 50 LT of diesel and ranges of 3255 mi when travelling at 10 kn. E41 was capable of operating submerged for five hours when travelling at 5 kn.

E41 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; a total of 10 torpedoes were carried.

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.

Service history
HMS E41 collided with HMS E4 on the surface during exercises off Harwich on 15 August 1916. Sixteen crewmembers were lost, but fifteen escaped including seven from the bottom. Six crewmembers trapped in the submarine as she sank were able to escape by waiting under the conning-tower until the air pressure building up as the submarine sank blew the hatch open and allowed them to float to the surface. Chief Petty Officer William Brown was left behind, but was eventually able to escape from the engine room after an hour and a half in the sunken submarine.

HMS E41 was raised in September 1917 and was recommissioned. She was sold in Newcastle on 6 September 1922.