HMS L14


HMS L14 was a L-class submarine built for the Royal Navy during World War I. She was one of five boats in the class to be fitted as a minelayer. The boat survived the war and was sold for scrap in 1934.

Design and description

L9 and its successors were enlarged to accommodate 21-inch torpedoes and more fuel. The submarine had a length of overall, a beam of and a mean draft of. They displaced on the surface and submerged. The L-class submarines had a crew of 38 officers and ratings.
For surface running, the boats were powered by two 12-cylinder Vickers diesel engines, 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 L class had a range of at.
The boats were armed with four 21-inch torpedo tubes in the bow and two 18-inch in broadside mounts. They carried four reload torpedoes for the 21-inch tubes for a grand total of ten torpedoes of all sizes. They were also armed with a deck gun. L14 was fitted with 16 vertical mine chutes in her saddle tanks and carried one mine per chute.

Construction and career

HMS L14 was built by Vickers, Barrow. She was laid down on 19 January 1917 and was commissioned on an unknown date. The boat was sold to John Cashmore Ltd in May 1934 for scrapping at Newport. The periscope from L14 is preserved at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum at Gosport. It may be the only surviving example of a World War I periscope. It was manufactured by Grubb & Co. in 1918.