# HMS D4

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**HMS *D4*** was a [British D-class submarine](/source/British_D-class_submarine) built by [Vickers](/source/Vickers), [Barrow](/source/Barrow-in-Furness). *D4* was laid down on 24 February 1910, launched 27 May 1911 and was commissioned on 29 November 1911. She was the first submarine to be fitted with a gun for offensive use.[citation needed]

During [World War I](/source/World_War_I), on 22 June 1915, *D4* found the stranded German [minesweeper](/source/Minesweeper) [*Bielefeld*](/source/German_minesweeper_Bielefeld_(1898)) in the [Heligoland Bight](/source/Heligoland_Bight) off [Juist](/source/Juist), [Germany](/source/German_Empire), guarded by a German [destroyer](/source/Destroyer). *D4*′s [commanding officer](/source/Commanding_officer) decided to attack the destroyer first, but the [torpedo](/source/Torpedo) *D4* fired missed. The alerted destroyer made several runs over *D4*, which was submerged in water only 30 feet (9.1 metres) deep, in an attempt to ram her, but did not succeed and eventually left the scene. *D4* then surfaced and sank *Bielefeld*. Although the Germans [salvaged](/source/Marine_salvage) *Bielefeld*, she did not go back into naval service and instead was returned to her pre-war civilian owners.[3]

Later in her career, *D4* torpedoed [*UB-72*](/source/SM_UB-72) on 12 May 1918. At 04:30 that day, whilst on patrol approximately midway between Guernsey and Portland Bill, *D4* observed *UB-72* on the surface travelling in a southerly direction some two miles distant. Five minutes later [Lt Claud Barry](/source/Claud_Barry), in command of *D4*, saw *UB-72*, obviously unaware of the British boat's presence, alter course so that the U-boat appeared to be approaching *D4*. In order that his presence should not be detected Lt Barry lowered his periscope for a few minutes but at 0443 *D4*′s periscope was raised to reveal *UB-72* steering an easterly course. A few minutes later *UB-72* was on the British boat's port side and Barry waited until the U-boat came on to his sights. At 0450 Lt Barry fired a torpedo 600 yards (550 metres) from the target and after lowering the periscope for a few moments he released a second one. Ten seconds later the crew of *D4* heard an explosion and felt a violent concussion. Barry brought his boat to the surface and headed towards three men swimming in a patch of oil. He succeeded in picking up these men, who were the only survivors of *UB-72*′s crew of three officers and thirty-one men.[4]

*D4* was decommissioned in 1919 and was then sold on 17 December 1921 to H Pounds, Portsmouth.

## Citations

1. Fitzsimons, Bernard. *Illustrated Encyclopedia of 20th Century Weapons and Warfare* (London: Phoebus, 1978), Volume 7, p.674, "*D.1*".

1. Fitzsimons, p.674.

1. [BriTsub: D4](http://britsub.x10.mx/html/boats/d_class/d4.html)

1. McCartney, Innes (2002). *Lost patrols : submarine wrecks of the English Channel*. Penzance: Periscope. ISBN 978-1-90438-104-4.

## References

- Hutchinson, Robert (2001). *Jane's submarines : war beneath the waves from 1776 to the present day*. London: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0007105588.
- Preston, Antony (2001). *The Royal Navy submarine service : a centennial history*. London: Conway Maritime. ISBN 978-0851778914.

## External links

- [MaritimeQuest HMS D-4 Pages](http://www.maritimequest.com/warship_directory/great_britain/submarines/pages/d_class/d_4_page_1.htm)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [HMS D4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_D4) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_D4?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.