.jpg) HMASJ1 in 1919 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMSJ1 |
| Builder | HM Dockyard atPortsmouth inHampshire |
| Launched | 6 November 1915 |
| Fate | Transferred to Australia, 25 March 1919 |
| Australia | |
| Name | HMASJ1 |
| Acquired | 25 March 1919 |
| Decommissioned | 12 July 1922 |
| Fate | Sunk 26 May 1926 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | British J-class submarine |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 275 ft (84 m) |
| Beam | 22 ft (6.7 m) |
| Draught | 14 ft (4.3 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed |
|
| Range | 4,000 nmi (7,400 km; 4,600 mi) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
| Test depth | 300 ft (91 m) max[citation needed] |
| Complement | 44 personnel |
| Armament |
|
HMSJ1 (laterHMASJ1) was aJ-classsubmarine operated by theRoyal Navy and theRoyal Australian Navy.
The J class was designed by the Royal Navy in response to reported German submarines with surface speeds over 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph).[1] They had a displacement of 1,210 tons surfaced, and 1,820 tons submerged.[1] Each submarine was 275 feet (84 m) in length overall, with a beam of 22 feet (6.7 m), and a draught of 14 feet (4.3 m).[1] The propulsion system was built around three propeller shafts; the J-class were the only triple-screwed submarines ever built by the British.[1] Propulsion came from three 12-cylinder diesel motors when on the surface, and electric motors when submerged.[1] Top speed was 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph) on the surface (the fastest submarines in the world at the time of construction), and 9.5 knots (17.6 km/h; 10.9 mph) underwater.[1] Range was 4,000 nautical miles (7,400 km; 4,600 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph).[1]
Armament consisted of six18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes (four forward, one on each beam), plus a 4-inch deck gun.[1] Originally, the gun was mounted on abreastwork fitted forward of the conning tower, but the breastwork was later extended to the bow and merged into the hull for streamlining, and the gun was relocated to a platform fitted to the front of theconning tower.[1] 44 personnel were aboard.[1]
J1 was built by HM Dockyard atPortsmouth inHampshire, and launched on 6 November 1915.[2]
J1 operated in patrols in theNorth Sea. In November 1916, a German force of half a destroyer flotilla, three dreadnoughts, and a battlecruiser set out from port to rescue two submarinesU-20 andU-30 that were stranded in fog offJutland. On the return, having only rescued one of the submarines, the force passedJ1 offHorns Reef on 5 November 1916. Two of the dreadnoughts,SMS Kronprinz andSMS Grosser Kurfürst, were torpedoed byJ1, earning her commanding officer, CommanderN. F. Laurence, aBar for hisDistinguished Service Order.[3] The dreadnoughts did not sink, but reached port and underwent repairs.
The submarine was later transferred to Gibraltar for operations in the Mediterranean.[4] On 9 November 1918, during an engagement withUB-57,J1 launched a depth charge from a specially fitted launcher.[4]
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After the war, theBritish Admiralty decided that the best way to protect the Pacific region was with a force of submarines and cruisers.[1] To this end, they offered the six surviving submarines of the J class to theRoyal Australian Navy as gifts.[1]J1 and her sisters were commissioned into the RAN in April 1919, and sailed for Australia on 9 April, in the company of the cruisersSydney andBrisbane, and the tenderPlatypus.[1] The flotilla reached Thursday Island on 29 June, and Sydney on 10 July.[1] Because of the submarines' condition after the long voyage, they were immediately taken out of service for refits.[1]
J1 andJ4, plusPlatypus, sailed on 10 February 1920 forGeelong, where a submarine base was established.[1] Apart from local exercises and a 1921 visit to Tasmania, the submarines saw little use, and by June 1922, the cost of maintaining the boats and deteriorating economic conditions saw the six submarines decommissioned and marked for disposal.[1]
The submarine was paid off on 12 July 1922.J1 was sold to the Melbourne Salvage Company on 26 February 1924.[5] The hulk was scuttled in theship graveyard offPort Phillip Heads at38°18′58″S144°33′13″E / 38.31611°S 144.55361°E /-38.31611; 144.55361 on 26 May 1926.[5] The J1 wreck, also known as "38 Metre Sub", "135 Foot Sub", or "New Sub", is submerged in 38 metres (125 ft) of water, and is accessible by experienced divers.[6][7][8]
