# HMS B4

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{{short description|Submarine of the Royal Navy}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2017}}
{{Infobox ship
|section1={{Infobox ship/image
 |image=HMS B4.jpg
 |image_caption=HMS B4
 }}

|section2={{Infobox ship/career
 |hide_header=
 |country=United Kingdom
 |flag={{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}}
 |name=HMS ''B4''
 |ordered=
 |awarded=
 |builder=[Vickers](/source/Vickers_Limited)
 |original_cost=
 |laid_down=
 |launched= 14 November 1905
 |christened=
 |completed= 28 January 1906
 |acquired=
 |commissioned= 
 |recommissioned=
 |decommissioned=
 |in_service=
 |out_of_service=
 |struck=
 |reinstated=
 |homeport=
 |identification=
 |motto= 
 |nickname=
 |honours=
 |captured=
 |fate=Sold for scrap, 1 April 1919
 |notes=
 |badge=
 }}

|section3={{Infobox ship/characteristics
 |hide_header=
 |header_caption= 
 |class=[B-class submarine](/source/British_B-class_submarine)
 |displacement=*{{convert|287|LT|t|abbr=on}} surfaced
               *{{convert|316|LT|t|abbr=on}} submerged
 |length={{convert|142|ft|3|in|m|1|abbr=on}}
 |beam={{convert|12|ft|7|in|m|1|abbr=on}}
 |draught={{convert|11|ft|2|in|1|abbr=on}}
 |power=*{{convert|600|bhp|kW|lk=in|abbr=on}} [petrol](/source/petrol)
        *{{convert|180|hp|kW|abbr=on}} electric
 |propulsion=*1 × 16-cylinder Vickers petrol engine
             *1 × [electric motor](/source/electric_motor)
 |speed=*{{convert|12|kn|abbr=on|lk=in}} surfaced
        *{{convert|6.5|kn|abbr=on}} submerged
 |range={{convert|1000|nmi|abbr=on|lk=in}} at {{convert|8.7|kn|abbr=on}} on the surface
 |test_depth={{convert|100|ft|1}}
 |complement=2 officers and 13 ratings
 |armament=2 × [18 in (450 mm)](/source/British_18_inch_torpedo) bow [torpedo tube](/source/torpedo_tube)s
 |notes=
 }}
}}

'''HMS ''B4''''' was one of 11 [B-class submarine](/source/British_B-class_submarine)s built for the [Royal Navy](/source/Royal_Navy) in the first decade of the 20th century. The boat survived the [First World War](/source/World_War_I) and was sold for [scrap](/source/ship_breaking) in 1919.

==Design and description==
The B class was an enlarged and improved version of the preceding [A class](/source/A-class_submarine_(1903)). The submarines had a length of {{convert|142|ft|3|in|m|1}} [overall](/source/length_overall), a [beam](/source/beam_(nautical)) of {{convert|12|ft|7|in|m|1}} and a mean [draft](/source/draft_(ship)) of {{convert|11|ft|2|in|m|1}}. They [displaced](/source/displacement_(ship)) {{convert|287|LT|t}} on the surface and {{convert|316|LT|t}} submerged. The B-class submarines had a crew of two officers and thirteen [ratings](/source/naval_rating).<ref name=gg9>Gardiner & Gray, p. 87</ref>

For surface running, the boats were powered by a single 16-cylinder {{convert|600|bhp|lk=in|0|adj=on}} [Vickers](/source/Vickers) [petrol engine](/source/petrol_engine) that drove one [propeller shaft](/source/propeller_shaft). When submerged the propeller was driven by a {{convert|180|hp|0|adj=on}} [electric motor](/source/electric_motor). They could reach {{convert|12|kn|lk=in}} on the surface and {{convert|6.5|kn}} underwater.<ref name=gg9/> On the surface, the B class had a range of {{convert|1000|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|8.7|kn}}.<ref name=a0>Akermann, p. 123</ref>

The boats were armed with two [18-inch (450&nbsp;mm)](/source/British_18_inch_torpedo) [torpedo tube](/source/torpedo_tube)s 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.<ref>Harrison, Chapter 27</ref>

==Construction and career==
''B4'' was built by [Vickers](/source/Vickers) at their [Barrow-in-Furness](/source/Barrow-in-Furness) [shipyard](/source/shipyard), launched on 14 November 1905 and completed on 28 January 1906.<ref name="BR3043app1">{{cite web|last=Harrison|first=A. N.|work=BR3043: The Development of British Submarines: From Holland No. 1 (1901) to HMS Porpoise (1930)|orig-date=1979, London: Ministry of Defence|date=2018|title=Appendix I: List of RN Submarines in the 1901 to 1936 Programmes|url=http://rnsubs.co.uk/public/images/br3043/App1.pdf|publisher=RN Subs: Website of the Barrow Submariners Association|accessdate=25 March 2018}}</ref>

''B4'' collided with a [dredger](/source/dredger) when entering [Portsmouth harbour](/source/HMNB_Portsmouth) on 21 July 1906 and was badly damaged as a result, having to be beached before being taken into dry dock for repair.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Naval Matters—Past and Prospective: Portsmouth Dockyard |magazine=The Marine Engineer and Naval Architect |volume=29|date=1 September 1906 |page=41}}</ref> When the war began in 1914, the boat was assigned to defend the [Straits of Dover](/source/Straits_of_Dover). ''B4'' was sold for breaking up on 1 April 1919 to the Ardrossan Dry Dock Co.

==Notes==
{{reflist|colwidth=35em}}

==References==
* {{cite book|last=Akermann|first=Paul|title=Encyclopaedia of British Submarines 1901–1955|edition=reprint of the 1989|year=2002|publisher=Periscope Publishing|location=Penzance, Cornwall|isbn=1-904381-05-7}}
* {{cite book |editor1-last=Gardiner|editor1-first=Robert|editor2-last=Gray|editor2-first=Randal|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921|year=1985|location=Annapolis, Maryland|publisher=Naval Institute Press|isbn=0-85177-245-5|name-list-style=amp}}
* {{cite web|url=http://rnsubs.co.uk/dits-bits/br-3043.html|title=The Development of HM Submarines From Holland No. 1 (1901) to Porpoise (1930) (BR3043)|last=Harrison|first=A. N.|date=January 1979|publisher=United Kingdom Ministry of Defence|via=RN Subs|accessdate=16 September 2019}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Kemp |first1=Paul |last2=Jung |first2=Peter |title=Five Broken Down B Boats: British Submarine Operations in the Northern Adriatic 1915–1917 |journal=Warship International |date=1989 |volume=XXVI |issue=1 |pages=10–29 |issn=0043-0374|name-list-style=amp}}
* {{cite book|last=Wilson|first=Michael|editor=Roberts, John|title=Warship Volume V|year=1981|publisher=Conway Maritime Press|location=London|isbn=0-85177-244-7|pages=38–44, 74–79|chapter=The British 'B' Class Submarine}}

{{British B class submarine}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:B04}}
Category:British B-class submarines
Category:World War I submarines of the United Kingdom
Category:Ships built in Barrow-in-Furness
Category:Royal Navy ship names
Category:1905 ships

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [HMS B4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_B4) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_B4?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.