^ A model of Holland 1
Specifications
Type: Submarine
Displacement: 110 long tons (112 t) surfaced, 123 long tons (125 t) submerged
Length: 63 ft 10 in (19.46 m)
Beam: 11 ft 9 in (3.58 m)
Propulsion: Petrol engine, 160 hp (119 kW), Electric motor, 74 hp (55 kW)
Speed: 8 knots (9.2 mph; 15 km/h) surfaced, 7 knots (8.1 mph; 13 km/h) submerged
Range: 250 nmi (460 km) at 8 kn (9.2 mph; 15 km/h) surfaced, 20 nmi (37 km) at 7 kn (8.1 mph; 13 km/h) submerged
Crew: 8
Armament: 1 × 14 in (360 mm) torpedo tube, 2 torpedoes
Introduction
The Holland class were the first submarines ever built for the Royal Navy. They were built by Vickers, Barrow-in-Furness. The first three were designed by John Philip Holland. The Hollands were built under licence from the Holland Torpedo Boat Company/Electric Boat Company during the years 1901 to 1903. The Admiralty of the Royal Navy hoped to keep the Holland class a secret and very few senior officers even knew of their existence. This led to the myth of the Admiralty not taking any interest in submarines. On the contrary, the Admiralty was well aware of the submarine's destructive potential. It therefore refrained from any submarine development program so as to avoid provoking similar programs on the part of foreign navies. Once those navies did begin their own serious submarine programs, the Admiralty had no choice but to begin its own. But not all of the Royal Navy's officers were comfortable about using submarines. Third Sea Lord and Controller of the Royal Navy Sir Arthur Wilson was quoted as saying ‘The submarine is an underhand form of warfare. Unfair and damned un-English’.
British adoption of the submarine
Captain Henry Jackson, British naval attaché in Paris, had been instructed to report on submarine developments which had been underway in France for several years. In 1898 he witnessed trials of the privately developed Le Goubet, a small 11-ton submersible designed to be carried on board a warship. In January 1899 he informed the Admiralty of exercises with the 270 ton experimental submarine Gustave Zédé which had been used to launch a torpedo attack on the battleship Magenta. The Board of Admiralty considered whether it needed to act, but rejected further reports that the French had ordered up to a dozen submarines in the light of other reports on the trial suggesting that its outcome had been stage managed for political reasons.
In January 1900, the Washington attaché Captain Charles Ottley reported that the US government was considering purchasing a submarine-boat designed by John Holland and provided the Admiralty with US Navy reports on the boats performance and a set of blueprints. In February the new Paris attaché submitted further favourable reports on the capabilities of Gustave Zédé. Meanwhile, Admiral Fisher commanding the Mediterranean Fleet, which might be required to fight the French, asked the Admiralty for instructions on the best defence against submarines and suggested the use of defensive mines. In May the Admiralty responded by instructing the torpedo school to investigate means of combatting submarines, whereupon they requested a submarine with which to experiment, while in the same month news arrived confirming the US purchase of a Holland boat, USS Holland. First Sea Lord Walter Kerr and the Controller, Rear admiral Arthur Knyvet-Wilson, were convinced of the need to obtain a submarine for the Royal Navy to investigate its capabilities and means to combat submarine attack.
No British shipbuilder had experience of constructing submarines, so the Admiralty began negotiations with the Holland Torpedo Boat Company and Vickers Ltd, which was a major shipbuilder for the Admiralty. It was agreed that The Electric Boat Company (having purchased the rights from Holland) would license Vickers to build submarines in Britain and an order was placed for five. The Board of Admiralty now considered that the submarines might also be useful in an offensive role, not merely to practice defence, and if trials of the boats were successful further orders would be placed with Vickers.
A general election in November 1900 led to a change of First Lord of the Admiralty from George Goschen to the Earl of Selborne. The new Parliamentary Secretary to the board was Hugh Oakley Arnold-Forster, who as a backbench Member of Parliament had criticised Goschen for failing to adopt submarines. Now he discovered that the Admiralty had been doing so in secret. Selborne became concerned that even so the Admiralty was lagging some way behind the French in development and the first boat, whose contract was finally signed December 1900, would not be delivered until October 1901. Arnold-Forster proposed involving other companies in constructing submarines, but this was opposed by the Second Sea lord, Vice Admiral Archibald Douglass, as well as by Wilson, on the grounds that it remained unwise to encouarage the general development of the submarine, which might be of more benefit to smaller navies rather than the RN. Wilson considered that the limited range of existing submarines meant they would only be able to operate in French waters, whereas if further developed could become a weapon to threaten British home ports. He recognised the potential of the submarine to prevent maritime trade, which was essential to the survival of an island nation like Britain. Any steps possible to slow down submarine development should be taken while the navy worked on means of defence against the submarine.
In the event the story that Vickers were building submarines was leaked by a Glasgow newspaper in February, and confirmed by the Admiralty in March. Arnold Forster continued to press for more submarines to be built, considering that the navy either needed a great many or none, but although Selborne was inclined to agree, the two were opposed by the Sea Lords. It was agreed that only three per year would be ordered which was the minimum number needed for Vickers to continue their specialist construction team. It was known that the French design was technically superior to the Holland boats ordered, but the Admiralty had no better design available at that time.
Further development
Construction of the boats took longer than anticipated, with the first only ready for a diving trial at sea on 6 April 1902. Although the design had been purchased entire from the US company, the actual design used, Fulton, was an untested improved version of the original Holland design using a new 180 hp petrol engine.
The Admiralty decided to appoint an Inspecting Captain of Submarines to oversee development work and Captain Reginald Bacon was appointed in May 1901. Bacon was a technically minded officer experienced with the use of surface torpedo boats. His first recommendations were to note that the Holland submarines were likely to compare poorly to the current French design and would be unable to operate on the surface in anything other than fair weather (the boats had a range of only 20 miles (32 km) underwater). He therefore suggested the designs of boats four and five which had not yet been started should be modified to improve their seaworthiness. The Admiralty felt the Holland company would refuse any responsibility for difficulties arising from unauthorised design changes, but agreed to order one submarine of a new design, the A1.
Experiments were conducted in 1901 at the torpedo school attempting to blow up a torpedo with underwater charges. In November 1902 Holland 1 finally became available for testing and was used as target with live explosive charges. It was found that the boat came to no harm from a 200 lb (91 kg) gun cotton charge exploded at a distance of 80 yards (73 m). Since there was no known way of locating a submarine even to this accuracy, it was concluded that it was effectively impossible to attack submerged submarines. Destroyers were more at risk themselves from their own experimental charges thrown off the stern but in any case were not big enough to carry more than two charges. However, Bacon was much more optimistic over the offensive capabilities of the submarine, concluding that a group of 3-5 would be an insurmountable obstacle for any enemy ships attempting to operate near a port where the submarines were based.
Service history
The submarines initially had serious reliability problems and a 1903 attempt to sail around the Isle of Wight on the surface resulted in four of the boats breaking down before covering much more than 4 miles (6.4 km). The Holland class were mostly used for testing but in October 1905 after a Russian fleet mistakenly sank a number of British fishing vessels in the Dogger Bank incident the Holland boats left harbour to attack the fleet. They were recalled before any engagement could take place. The Holland class submarines were succeeded by the A Class submarines. The A class was the Royal Navy's first class of British-designed submarines. Thirteen were built by Vickers at Barrow-in-Furness between 1902 and 1905.
Boats in class
HMS Holland I - In 1901, Holland 1 was ordered from John Philip Holland and built at Barrow-in-Furness. The keel was laid down 4 February 1901. In order to keep the boat’s construction secret, she was assembled in a building labelled "Yacht Shed", and the parts that had to be fabricated in the general yard were marked for "pontoon no 1". She was launched on 2 October 1901 and dived for the first time (in an enclosed basin) on 20 March 1902. Sea trials began in April 1902. In September 1902 she arrived at Portsmouth with the other completed Holland boat and along with HMS Hazard (their tender) made up the "First Submarine Flotilla", commanded by Captain Reginald Bacon.
On 3 March 1903 Holland 1 suffered a gasoline explosion that caused four injuries. On 24 October 1904, with the rest of the Holland fleet and three A-class boats, Holland 1 sailed from Portsmouth to attack a Russian fleet that had mistakenly sunk a number of British fishing vessels in the North Sea in the Dogger Bank incident. The boats were recalled before any attack could take place. The submarine was decommissioned and sold in 1913 to Thos W Ward for £410. By the time the submarine was sold she was considered so obsolete that she was sold with all fittings intact, and the only requirement put on the purchaser was that the torpedo tube be put out of action. While being towed to the scrapyard Holland 1 encountered very severe weather and sank about a mile and a half off Eddystone lighthouse. No one was on board the submarine at the time, and, since the submarine had been seen to be sinking earlier in the journey, the crew of the tug were ready to release the tow rope, preventing any damage to the tug.
The wreck was located in 1981 by Plymouth historian Michael Pearn and in November 1982 she was raised. From 1983, after coating in anti-corrosion chemicals, she was displayed at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum in Gosport, Hampshire. Work on restoring the submarine continued until September 1988. A talking figure was included to explain the details of the craft to visitors. However, by 1993 it was apparent that the treatment had proved inadequate. A fibreglass tank was built around her, and she was immersed in sodium carbonate solution from 1995. After four years the corrosive chloride ions had been removed, and she was able to be displayed again after restoration work.
Listed as part of the National Historic Fleet, in 2001, on her centenary, a new purpose-built climate-controlled building was opened by Countess Mountbatten. In the same year the Royal Mail put a photo of the submarine on a 65 pence stamp. In 2011 the submarine was given an Engineering Heritage Award by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.
The original bank of batteries, recovered with the wreckage, were provided for testing to the original manufacturer, Chloride Industrial Batteries Ltd based in Swinton, Greater Manchester. Following the initial clean, the lead batteries were recharged and found to be in good working order. Some of the original batteries still remain in the possession of Enersys (ex-CIBL) at the Newport plant, in South Wales.
HMS Holland II was the second Royal Navy submarine to be built, and the first to be given a non-secret launch, in February 1902. She was the second of the Holland-class submarines. Holland 2 was laid down on 4 February 1901 and commissioned on 1 August 1902. She set the depth record for the British Holland-class, accidentally diving to 78 feet. In December 1902 she sustained some minor damage after a current took her off course and she accidentally surfaced directly underneath a brigantine. She was sold on 7 October 1913.
HMS Holland III was a Royal Navy submarine launched on 9 May 1902. The submarine was designed by Vickers at Barrow-in-Furness and was laid down on 4 February 1901. The submarine was commissioned on 1 August 1902. Holland 3 sank in trials in 1911 and was then sold on 7 October 1913. Along with Holland 5, she was one of the first two submarines to be accepted into Royal Navy service on 19 January 1903. However, by the time she was launched she was already considered obsolete and thirteen A-class submarines had already been ordered.
HMS Holland IV was built by Vickers, at Barrow in Furness, Cumbria, United Kingdom, and was laid down in 1902. She was launched on 23 May 1902 and successfully concluded deep sea trials in the Irish Sea in August 1902. She was commissioned into the Royal Navy on 2 August 1903. In 1905 the submarine was fitted with a conning tower. She was the only member of the Holland-class to be given this modification. She foundered on 3 September 1912. She was salvaged and used as a gunnery target on 17 October 1914.
HMS Holland V was launched 10 June 1902. On 4 March 1903, she was part of the flotilla of Holland class submarines that were undergoing a demonstration for Captain Reginald Bacon in Stokes Bay when a gasoline explosion occurred aboard Holland 1. Along with the other Holland class submarines, she was quickly reduced to the role of harbour defence and training. By 1909, at the time of fleet display in the Thames, the Holland class were no longer considered "sea worthy" by the press. In 1910, Holland 5 ran aground off Fort Blockhouse, the location of HMS Dolphin and the home of the Royal Navy Submarine Service in Gosport. The submarine foundered in the English Channel off Beachy Head, Sussex, on 8 August 1912, when she was under tow on the way to being scrapped at Sheerness. It was not clear why she sank, but a theory is that the torpedo tube hatch was left open, causing the boat to take on water. In September 2000, the wreck of submarine Holland 5 was discovered at a depth of 98 ft (30 m) about 6 miles (9.7 km) off the coast near Eastbourne. In April 2001, the Archaeological Diving Unit conducted a sonar scan and confirmed the identity of the wreck. The boat sits upright on the seabed. The Holland 5 wreck site was designated under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 on 4 January 2005. Holland 5 remains the only submarine of her class on the seabed. Holland 1, the only other boat of her class remaining, is on show at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum in Gosport, Hampshire.
^ Holland 1 in drydock
^ Cross-section
