![]() ![]() The submarines, manned largely by Royal Navy personnel, left Portsmouth with HMAS PLATYPUS on 9 April 1919, escorted by HMAS SYDNEY. ![]() Originally the submarines were designed to carry the 4-in gun on a raised platform forward of the conning tower, but later this was extended to the bow and merged into the hull-form to improve cruising qualities. The gun was then mounted on top of a special platform erected forward of the conning tower. The conning tower in the first five was place forward of the mid-ships line, but in J7 it was placed further aft. J7 differed somewhat in appearance and displaced some 60 tons less than the others submerged. A total seven of the class had been built, however, J6 was accidentally sunk by a British “Q” ship, in mistake for a German submarine, in the North Sea on 15 October 1918. J1 also differed slightly from her sister-ships in having wings, supported on pillars, built each side of the gun platform. ![]() The large double-hulled ocean going submarines of the “J” class were built under the Emergency War Programme as a counter to some German vessels which were reported to have had a surface speed in excess of 18 knots. The “J”s were the only triple-screwed British submarines ever built and when completed were the fastest submarines afloat.īoth J1 and J2 were built at Portsmouth Dockyard and launched in November 1915 and early 1916 respectively. At the same time Pembroke Dockyard, South Wales built J3 and J4, launching J2 on 4 December 1915 and J4 on 2 February 1916. The remaining submarines J5 and J7 were built at Devonport Dockyard, Plymouth, J5 being completed in April 1916 followed by J7 in November 1917. With the end of World War 1 the British Government found itself with a considerable number of surplus naval vessels with little possibility of being able to use them all. General reductions in both manpower and ships soon got underway, the bulk of the ships being placed in reserve or sold. The majority of ships that had been completed before 1914 were nominated for scrap, with some being retained for use in subsidiary services. In hindsight it would have been prudent to scrap them altogether. The majority of the shops that had been completed during hostilities were retained, as they were modern and had many of the lessons of the war built into them. Another option open to the British Government for disposal of the vessels was to hand over some of the newer ships to the Colonial and Dominion Governments to build up their naval strengths. This latter course was adopted, the main recipient being the Commonwealth of Australia.Įmpire defence in the Pacific was significantly increased when it presented, as a gift to the Australian Government, a well-balanced Squadron the three minesweepers, five destroyers, six submarines and one flotilla leader. The submarines were of the modern “J” Class, which had been designed for greater endurance than previous classes. They also had long-range communications to enable them to reconnoitre in enemy waters. ![]()
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