These disasters finally sealed the fate of the K Class submarines and most were taken out of service at the end of the war. The class never had an opportunity to prove themselves as Fleet submarines - only six of the 17 boats built were in commission for six years or more, and the maximum time in service was nine years. However, experience gained from the K Class led to the building of the experimental submarine K26.
K26 1918-1931
K26 was laid down in June 1918 and launched at Vickers 14 months later. In 1920 she was towed to Chatham for completion and was completed in June 1923.
Based on the K Class design, K26 was intended to eliminate or at least reduce the known defects of that class. Although the general layout in K26 was practically the same as the K Class, the introduction of six 21-inch bow torpedo tubes in lieu of four 18-inch bow tubes was responsible for an overall increase in length of 12 feet. A great advance was made in K26 by the introduction of battery compartments - which became standard in the designs of the 1920s.
