ingenious design of the class was so complex that it was vulnerable to minor defects.
K Class submarines could submerge faster than any previous. steam submarines, but the delay was still impossibly long. Although the specified time to close down and secure the boiler room, funnel, etc was only 30 seconds, vessels of the K Class till took about five minutes to dive. Once submerged, the class could dive to a depth of 200 feet.
The K boats, being high-speed Fleet submarines, were fitted with a deckhouse built over and around the conning tower, forming, in fact, a fully-enclosed bridge, and giving, for the first time in Royal Navy submarines, protection to bridge personnel other than by canvas screens.
