HMS H42 was a British H-class submarine that sank with the loss of all 24 of its crew after an accidental collision in 1922."Submersible Sunk; 24 Lost— British H-42 Rammed by Destroyer Versatile During Maneuvers", The Washington Post, March 24, 1922, p. 1 The sub was built by Armstrong Whitworth, Newcastle Upon Tyne. She was laid down in September 1917 and was commissioned on 1 May 1919.
On 23 March 1922, under the command of Royal Navy Lieutenant Douglas Staley, H42 was practising torpedo attacks against British destroyers steaming off Europa Point, Gibraltar,Navy Net: Remembrance Sunday: H42 is Still On Patrol when she surfaced unexpectedly only 30 "Struck at Right Angles— H 42 Rises 30 Yards Ahead of Destroyer", The Manchester Guardian, March 24, 1922, p. 9; Eyres Monsell, the Lord of the Admiralty, read a telegram to the House of Commons that was received from the Gibraltar command saying "The only further details yet known are as follows: H 42 came to the surface thirty or forty yards ahead of Versatile, which was steaming twenty knots and rammed the submarine about the conning tower at right angles." It is possible that the speculation on modern websites of "120 yards" is based on a misinterpretation of 120 feet (or 40 yards). or 120 yards (27 or 110 metres) – sources differ – ahead of the destroyer . Versatile, making , went to full speed astern on her engines and put her helm over hard to port, but had not yet begun to answer her helm when she rammed H42 abaft the conning tower, almost slicing the submarine in half. H42 sank with the loss of all hands. An investigation found H42 at fault for surfacing where she did against instructions.Richardson and Hurd 1923, p.31.
Design Like all post-H20 British H-class submarines, H42 had a displacement of at the surface and while submerged. It had a total length of , a beam of , and a draught of . It contained a diesel engines providing a total power of and two electric motors each providing power. Retrieved from Naval-History on 20 August 2015. The use of its electric motors made the submarine travel at . It would normally carry of fuel and had a maximum capacity of .
The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a submerged speed of . Post-H20 British H-class submarines had ranges of at speeds of when surfaced. H42 was fitted with an anti-aircraft gun and four torpedo tubes. Its torpedo tubes were fitted to the bow and the submarine was loaded with eight torpedoes. It is a Holland 602 type submarine but was designed to meet Royal Navy specifications. Its complement was twenty-two crew members.
References
Bibliography
Richardson, Alexander and Archibald Hurd. (editors). Brassey's Naval and Shipping Annual 1923. London, William Clowes, 1923.
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