HMS L8

HMS L8 was a L-class submarine built for the Royal Navy during World War I. The boat survived the war and was sold for scrap in 1930.

Design and description
The L-class boats were enlarged and improved versions of the preceding E class. The submarine had a length of 231 ft overall, a beam of 23 ft and a mean draft of 13 ft. They displaced 891 LT on the surface and 1074 LT submerged. The L-class submarines had a crew of 35 officers and ratings.

For surface running, the boats were powered by two 12-cylinder Vickers 1200 bhp diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a 600 hp electric motor. They could reach 17 kn on the surface and 10.5 kn underwater. On the surface, the L class had a range of 3200 nmi at 10 kn.

The boats were armed with a total of six 18-inch (45 cm) torpedo tubes. Four of these were in the bow and the remaining pair in broadside mounts. They carried 10 reload torpedoes, all for the bow tubes. They were also armed with a 4 in deck gun.

Construction and career
HMS L8 was built by Cammell Laird, Birkenhead. She was laid down on 28 May 1916 and was commissioned on 12 March 1918. She was based at Falmouth, Cornwall in 1918. L8 was assigned to the 4th Submarine Flotilla and HMS Titania in 1919 and sailed to Hong Kong, arriving on 14 April 1920. She was then assigned in the Reserve Flotilla in Hong Kong. She was sold on 7 October 1930 to John Cashmore Ltd for scrapping at Newport, Monmouthshire.