HMS E56

HMS E56 was a British E-class submarine built by William Denny, Dumbarton as Yard No.1033. She was laid down on 1 December 1914, launched 19 June 1916 and was delivered on 8 August 1916. E56 was sold for scrap at Granton, Edinburgh, on 9 June 1923.

Design
Like all post-E8 British E-class submarines, E56 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 eight-cylinder two-stroke diesel engines and two 420 hp electric motors made by Crossley. 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. E56 was capable of operating submerged for five hours when travelling at 5 kn.

E56 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.