HMS D6

HMS D6 was one of eight [British British D-class submarine|D-class submarine|D-class] submarines built for the Royal Navy during the first decade of the 20th century.

Description

The D-class submarines were designed as improved and enlarged versions of the preceding C class, with diesel engines replacing the dangerous petrol engines used earlier. D3 and subsequent boats were slightly larger than the earlier boats. They had a length of overall, a beam of and a mean draught of. They displaced on the surface and submerged. The D-class submarines had a crew of 25 officers and ratings and were the first to adopt saddle tanks.
For surface running, the boats were powered by two diesels, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a electric motor. They could reach on the surface and underwater. On the surface, the D class had a range of at.
The boats were armed with three 18-inch (45 cm) torpedo tubes, two in the bow and one in the stern. They carried one reload for each tube, a total of six torpedoes.

Construction and career

D6 was laid down on 24 February 1910 by Vickers at their Barrow shipyard, launched 23 October 1911 and was commissioned on 19 April 1912. She was the first British submarine to be equipped with a deck gun when built, a 12-pounder gun. D6 was sunk by the German submarine north of Inishtrahull Island off the west coast of Ireland on 24 or 28 June 1918. There were only two survivors who were taken prisoner; one of whom was F. S. Bell, the submarine's second-in-command who would go on to command at the Battle of the River Plate. The post-war report led the British to conclude that the torpedo that sank her had employed a magnetic pistol.