Royal Navy Submarines – Historic Warships

Pre-First World War

Class	No. build	Commissioned	Notes
Holland class	5	1903	The Holland class were the first submarines built for the Royal Navy.
A class	13	1903	The A-class was the Royal Navy's first class of British-designed submarines.
B class	11	1905	The B-class boats were similar in design to the A-class and intended for coastal patrol work.
C class	38	1906	The C-class submarines were the last class of petrol engined submarines of the Royal Navy

Holland class (5):

Holland 1 – Holland 5

A class (13):

HMS A1 – HMS A13

B class (11):

HMS B1 – HMS B11

C class (38):

HMS C1 – HMS C38

First World War

Class	No. build	Commissioned	Notes
D class	8	1909 - 1912	Build 8, Lost 4. The D-class submarine was the first class fitted with wireless transmitters.
E class	58	1913 - 1916	The E-class submarines started out as improved versions of the D-class submarine.
F class	3	1915 - 1916	During World War I, the F-class submarines were primarily used for coastal defence.
S class	3	1914 - 1915	The S class boats were an experimental design for the Royal Navy.
V class	4	1915 - 1916	Four V-class submarines were built.
W class	4	1914 - 1915	The W-class submarines were built for the Royal Navy as experimental boats.
G class	14	1915 - 1917	The G-class were a series of diesel-electric submarines for operations in the North Sea.
H class	42	1915 - 1919	The H-class submarines were created to attack German Sumarines in Britisch waters.
Nautilus class	1	1917	HMS Nautilus was the largest submarine built at the time. She was also the first with a name.
Swordfish class	1	1916	HMS Swordfish was an experimental submarine capable of 20 knots on the surface.
J class	7	1915 - 1917	Response to fast German submarines to operate alongside surface fleets.
K class	17	1917	The K-class submarines were a class of steam-propelled submarines designed in 1913.
L class	27	1917 - 1919	The L-class submarine was originally planned as an improved version of the E-class.
M class	3	1917 - 1919	The M-class submarines were a class of diesel-electric submarines built during World War I.
R class	10	1918 - 1919	The R-class, diesel-electric submarines, were forerunners of the modern attack submarines.

D class (8):

HMS D1 – HMS D8

E class (58):

HMS E1 – HMS E8
HMS AE1, HMS AE2
HMS E9 – HMS E27
HMS E29 – HMS E56

F class (3):

HMS F1 – HMS F3

S class (3):

HMS S1 – HMS S3

V class (4):

HMS V1 – HMS V4

W class (4):

HMS W1 – HMS W4

G class (14):

HMS G1 – HMS G14

H class (42):

HMS H1 – HMS H34
HMS H41 – HMS H44
HMS H47 – HMS H52

Nautilus class (1):

HMS Nautilus

Swordfish class (1):

HMS Swordfish

J class (7):

HMS J1 – HMS J17

K class (17):

HMS K1 -HMS K17

L class (27):

HMS L1 – HMS L12
HMS L14 – HMS L27
HMS L33
HMS L51 – HMS L56
HMS L69
HMS L71

M class (4):

HMS M1 – HMS M4

R class (10):

HMS R1 – HMS R4
HMS R7 – HMS R12

Inter War Years

Class	No. build	Commissioned	Notes
X class	1	December 1925	HMS X1 was a submarine of the interwar period. at that time the largest sub. in the world.
Odin class	9	1927 - 1945	The class was built to replace the ageing L-class submarines.
Parthian class	6	1929 - 1946	The Parthian-class subs. were designed as long-range patrol submarines for the Far East.
Rainbow class	4	1930 - 1946	The Rainbow-class submarines were designed as improved versions of the Parthian class
S class	62	--	They were designed and built for the modernisation of the submarine force in the early 1930s
River class	4	1934 - 1945	The River class were produced as "fleet submarines", fast enough to operate as part of a fleet
Grampus class	6	1943 - 1945	The Grampus-class submarines were a group of minelaying submarines built n the late 1930s.
T class	53	--	The T class of diesel-electric sub. designed in the 1930s to replace the O, P, and R classes.
U class	49	--	The U-class were a class of 49 small submarines built just before and during WWII.