Year 2001 is of considerable significance to both the Royal Navy and to BAE SYSTEMS Marine at Barrow. The shipyard built its first submarines in 1886 and the Royal Navy's first submarine a century ago in 1901. Our latest submarine Astute, currently in build at Barrow, will be the 310th submarine to be completed here for RN service. A series of national and local events will be taking place during the year to celebrate the centenary of the Royal Navy Submarine Service 1901-2001 and the unique major contribution made by successive shipbuilding generations at Barrow.
The basis for this review of Barrow-built Submarines was a series of 20 supplements compiled and published in 1981-3 by the then Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Limited Commercial Publications Department (now BAE SYSTEMS Marine Publications) and issued at that time with the company's LINK house journal. The review, research and updating of that information to reflect the passage of time and the addition of four new chapters covering the submarine classes built over the last 20 years and currently in service has been undertaken by BAE SYSTEMS Marine Publications department to coincide with the RN Submarine Centenary. The crews of RN submarines have added to and continue to add to the proud history of the submarine service in the protection of our country and its sovereign states and dependencies, in the support of our allies, and in maintaining peace and freedom in diverse theatres of operation around the world.
This Barrow-Built submarine history reviews 115 years of submarine building and places on record 100 years of Royal Navy submarine design, build and support from this world famous shipyard. As it is being made available to the general public on CD, every care has been taken to ensure that the information contained herein is limited to that which has been published or can be legitimately released in the public domain without an attendant security classification.
© BAE SYSTEMS Marine Limited 2001
INTRODUCTION
The town of Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria is synonymous with the development of the submarine. Up to the end of the 20th century, 309 submarines covering virtually every class have been built for the Royal Navy and a further 26 for foreign Navies.
This pictorial history is dedicated to employees of Barrow Shipyard past and present whose skills and efforts have given pride to the phrase 'Barrow Built' and helped make the names of the companies owning the shipyard - Vickers, Vickers-Armstrong, VSEL, GEC Marine, and now BAE SYSTEMS, to be known and respected throughout the world for their submarine design and build expertise.
EARLY 'BARROW-BUILT' SUBMARINES
Although Submarine Boats Number 1-5 (better known as the Holland Class after their designer John P Holland) were the first boats to be built for the Royal Navy at Barrow, no 'Barrow Built' submarine history would be complete without briefly mentioning the earliest submarines ever to emerge from Barrow shipyard which were built in 1886/7 for export, on the instructions of Thorsten Nordenfelt, a Swedish industrialist and gunmaker.
The first submarine, Nordenfelt II, was a steam-driven boat, 100 feet long and displacing 160 tons. Launched on April 14th 1886, she was an improved version of an earlier submarine built by Nordenfelt in Stockholm in 1982 and based on the Resurgam, a submarine designed and developed by an Englishman, the Rev. George William Garrett of Liverpool. Nordenfelt II was actually registered in London as a merchant vessel - the mv Nordenfelt - as there was no classification for a submarine at that time!
In 1887, a second Nordenfelt boat was built at Barrow. This vessel, designated Nordenfelt IV but unnamed, at launch, was 125ft long, displaced 230 tons, had a hull form more like that of a conventional ship, and achieved a speed of 14 knots.
The Nordenfelts were not particularly successful. When operating near the surface they were fast and manageable, but when completely submerged they lacked longitudinal stability.
The first Nordenfelt was sold to Turkey and, after being dismantled and shipped to Istanbul, was re-erected and commissioned into the Ottoman Navy as the 'Abdulhamid'. She had the distinction of being the first ever submarine to fire a torpedo whilst submerged.
