HMS C32

History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS C32
Builder	Vickers, Barrow
Laid down	12 January 1909
Launched	29 September 1909
Commissioned	19 November 1909
Fate	Wrecked, 22 October 1917
General characteristics
Class and type	C-class submarine
Displacement	290 long tons (290 t) surfaced 320 long tons (330 t) submerged
Length	142 ft 3 in (43.4 m)
Beam	13 ft 7 in (4.1 m)
Draught	11 ft 6 in (3.5 m)
Installed power	600 bhp (450 kW) petrol 300 hp (220 kW) electric
Propulsion	1 × 16-cylinder Vickers petrol engine 1 × electric motor
Speed	13 kn (24 km/h; 15 mph) surfaced 8 kn (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) submerged
Range	910 nmi (1,690 km; 1,050 mi) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph) on the surface
Test depth	100 feet (30.5 m)
Complement	2 officers and 14 ratings
Armament	2 × 18 in (450 mm) bow torpedo tubes

HMS C32 was one of 38 C-class submarines built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. The boat ran aground in the Baltic in 1917 and had to be destroyed to prevent her capture.

The C-class boats of the 1907–08 and subsequent Naval Programmes were modified to improve their speed, both above and below the surface. The submarine had a length of 142 feet 3 inches (43.4 m) overall, a beam of 13 feet 7 inches (4.1 m) and a mean draft of 11 feet 6 inches (3.5 m). They displaced 290 long tons (290 t) on the surface and 320 long tons (330 t) submerged. The C-class submarines had a crew of two officers and fourteen ratings.^[1]

For surface running, the boats were powered by a single 12-cylinder^[2] 600-brake-horsepower (447 kW) Vickers petrol engine that drove one propeller shaft. When submerged the propeller was driven by a 300-horsepower (224 kW) electric motor.^[1] They could reach 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph) on the surface and 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) underwater. On the surface, the C class had a range of 910 nautical miles (1,690 km; 1,050 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph).^[3]

The boats were armed with two 18-inch (45 cm) 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.^[4]

HMS C32 was built by Vickers, Barrow. She was laid down on 12 January 1909 and was commissioned on 19 November 1909. The boat was involved in North Sea operations from 1914 to 1916. C32 was also involved in the British submarine operations in the Baltic in 1916 and 1917. During her patrol in the Gulf of Riga in the Baltic, she sank a merchant ship. The boat ran ashore and was blown up in the Gulf of Riga on 22 October 1917.

• Akermann, Paul (2002). Encyclopaedia of British Submarines 1901–1955 (reprint of the 1989 ed.). Penzance, Cornwall: Periscope Publishing. ISBN 1-904381-05-7.
• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
• Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
• Harrison, A. N. (January 1979). "The Development of HM Submarines From Holland No. 1 (1901) to Porpoise (1930) (BR3043)". RN Subs. Retrieved 27 September 2022.

• 'Submarine losses 1904 to present day' – Royal Navy Submarine Museum