HMS A12


HMS A12 was an submarine built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. After surviving World War I, she was sold for scrap in 1920.

Design and description

A12 was a member of the first British class of submarines, although slightly larger, faster and more heavily armed than the lead ship,. The submarine had a length of overall, a beam of and a mean draft of. They displaced on the surface and submerged. The A-class submarines had a crew of 2 officers and 11 ratings.
For surface running, the boats were powered by a single 16-cylinder Wolseley petrol engine that drove one propeller shaft. When submerged the propeller was driven by a electric motor. They could reach on the surface and underwater. On the surface, A12 had a range of at ; submerged the boat had a range of at.
The boats were armed with two 18-inch torpedo tubes in the bow. They could carry a pair of reload torpedoes, but generally did not as they would have to remove an equal weight of fuel in compensation.

Construction and career

A12 was ordered as part of the 1903–04 Naval Programme from at Vickers. She was laid down at the shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness in 1903, launched on 3 March 1905 and completed on 23 September.