# HMS L26

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1919 L-class Royal Navy submarine

History United Kingdom Name HMS L26 Builder Vickers Limited, Barrow-in-Furness Laid down 31 January 1917 Launched 29 May 1919 Completed 11 October 1926 Fate Sunk as a target, 1 November 1946 General characteristics Class & type L-class submarine Displacement 914 long tons (929 t) surfaced 1,089 long tons (1,106 t) submerged Length 238 ft 7 in (72.7 m) Beam 23 ft 6 in (7.2 m) Draught 13 ft 3 in (4.0 m) Installed power 2,400 bhp (1,800 kW) (diesel) 1,600 hp (1,200 kW) (electric) Propulsion 2 × diesel engines 2 × electric motors Speed 17 kn (31 km/h; 20 mph) surfaced 10.5 kn (19.4 km/h; 12.1 mph) submerged Range 3,800 nmi (7,000 km; 4,400 mi) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph) on the surface Test depth 150 feet (45.7 m) Complement 38 Armament 4 × bow 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes 2 × beam 18 in (457 mm) torpedo tubes 1 × 4 in (102 mm) deck gun

**HMS *L26*** was a [L-class](/source/British_L-class_submarine) [submarine](/source/Submarine) built for the [Royal Navy](/source/Royal_Navy) during [World War I](/source/World_War_I). The boat was not completed before the end of the war and was one of three L-class boats to serve during [World War II](/source/World_War_II). She was sunk as a target in 1946.

## Design and description

*L9* and its successors were enlarged to accommodate [21-inch (53.3 cm)](/source/British_21_inch_torpedo) torpedoes and more fuel. The submarine had a length of 238 feet 7 inches (72.7 m) [overall](/source/Length_overall), a [beam](/source/Beam_(nautical)) of 23 feet 6 inches (7.2 m) and a mean [draft](/source/Draft_(ship)) of 13 feet 3 inches (4.0 m).[1] They [displaced](/source/Displacement_(ship)) 914 long tons (929 t) on the surface and 1,089 long tons (1,106 t) submerged. The L-class submarines had a crew of 35 officers and [ratings](/source/Naval_rating).[2] They had a diving depth of 150 feet (45.7 m).[3]

For surface running, the boats were powered by two 12-cylinder [Vickers](/source/Vickers)[4] 1,200-[brake-horsepower](/source/Horsepower#Brake_horsepower) (895 kW) [diesel engines](/source/Diesel_engine), each driving one [propeller shaft](/source/Propeller_shaft). When submerged each propeller was driven by a 600-horsepower (447 kW) [electric motor](/source/Electric_motor).[1] They could reach 17 [knots](/source/Knot_(unit)) (31 km/h; 20 mph) on the surface and 10.5 knots (19.4 km/h; 12.1 mph) underwater. On the surface, the L class had a range of 3,800 [nautical miles](/source/Nautical_mile) (7,000 km; 4,400 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).[3]

The boats were armed with four 21-inch [torpedo tubes](/source/Torpedo_tube) in the bow and two [18-inch (45 cm)](/source/British_18_inch_torpedo) in broadside mounts. They carried four reload torpedoes for the 21-inch tubes for a grand total of ten torpedoes of all sizes.[5] They were also armed with a 4-inch (102 mm) [deck gun](/source/Deck_gun).[2]

## Construction and career

HMS *L26* was built by [Vickers](/source/Vickers) at their [Barrow-in-Furness](/source/Barrow-in-Furness) [shipyard](/source/Shipyard), [launched](/source/Ship_naming_and_launching) on 29 May 1919.[1] She was transferred to [HM Dockyard](/source/HMNB_Portsmouth), [Portsmouth](/source/Portsmouth) and was completed there on 11 October 1926.[6] The boat was damaged in the Mediterranean in March 1929, but was repaired in [Gibraltar](/source/Gibraltar).

On 7 October 1933, *L26* and sister submarine [*L19*](/source/HMS_L19) ran aground on manoeuvres off [Kintyre](/source/Kintyre) but were quickly refloated. The next day, 8 October, *L26* suffered an explosion in the battery compartment on board in [Campbeltown](/source/Campbeltown) Harbour, Scotland, which killed two and injured 10 crew.[7] *L26*'s commanding officer, [Lieutenant-Commander](/source/Lieutenant-Commander) John Hugh Lewis, was [Court-martialled](/source/Court-martial) over the incidents, and was found guilty of stranding the submarine and failing to check *L26*'s batteries for damage after the grounding. He was severely reprimanded and dismissed from *L26* by the court,[8] although a second hearing cleared him of blame for the explosion and re-instated him to command of *L26*.[9]

At the onset of World War II, *L26* was a member of the 6th Submarine Flotilla. From 26–29 August 1939, the flotilla deployed to its war bases at [Dundee](/source/Dundee) and Blyth.[10] From 20 September 1939 to 15 January 1940, the 6th Submarine Flotilla was deployed off [Skagerrak](/source/Skagerrak), [Jutland](/source/Jutland) and [Horns Reef](/source/Horns_Reef).[11] Beginning on 22 March 1941, the Royal Navy and [Allies](/source/Allies_of_World_War_II) began deploying submarines off [Brest, France](/source/Brest%2C_France) to prevent the German [battleships](/source/Battleship) [*Gneisenau*](/source/German_battleship_Gneisenau) and [*Scharnhorst*](/source/German_battleship_Scharnhorst) from leaving port. *L26* was among the submarines assigned to the patrol.[12]

She was transferred to Canada in 1943 as an [anti-submarine](/source/Anti-submarine) [training ship](/source/Training_ship). She was based at [Digby, Nova Scotia](/source/Digby%2C_Nova_Scotia) at [HMCS *Cornwallis*](/source/CFB_Cornwallis) and at [Bermuda](/source/Bermuda), attached to [HMCS *Somers Isles*](/source/HMCS_Somers_Isles). Purchased by the Canadian government in 1946, *L26* was sunk as a target for sonar testing off [St. Margarets Bay, Nova Scotia](/source/St._Margarets_Bay%2C_Nova_Scotia) on 25 September 1946.[6] The wreck was rediscovered during the search for wreckage from the [Swissair Flight 111](/source/Swissair_Flight_111) crash.[13]

## Notes

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-gg9_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-gg9_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-gg9_1-2) Gardiner & Gray, p. 93

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-a5_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-a5_2-1) Akermann, p. 165

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-h11_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-h11_3-1) Harrison, Chapter 11

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Harrison, Chapter 25

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Harrison, Chapter 27

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-colledge_6-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-colledge_6-1) Colledge, p. 350

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Explosion on Submarine"](https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/94887950). *[Kalgoorlie Miner](/source/Kalgoorlie_Miner)*. Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. 10 October 1933. p. 5. Retrieved 5 March 2020 – via Trove.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["Dismissed: Submarine Commander: Grounding of L26"](https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/51842998). *[The Examiner](/source/The_Examiner_(Tasmania))*. Launceston, Tasmania. 27 October 1933. p. 7. Retrieved 5 March 2020 – via Trove.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["Submarine Mishap: Commander of L26 Reinstated"](https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/51842998). *[The Sydney Morning Herald](/source/The_Sydney_Morning_Herald)*. 21 December 1933. p. 10. Retrieved 5 March 2020 – via Trove.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-rohwer1_10-0)** Rohwer, p. 1

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Rohwer, p. 5

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** Rohwer, p. 65

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** ["Ocean mystery solved near Nova Scotia"](http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ocean-mystery-solved-near-nova-scotia-1.237481). *[CBC News](/source/CBC_News)*. 24 August 2000. Retrieved 9 April 2016.

## References

- Akermann, Paul (2002). *Encyclopaedia of British Submarines 1901–1955* (reprint of the 1989 ed.). Penzance, Cornwall: Periscope Publishing. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [1-904381-05-7](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1-904381-05-7).

- [Colledge, J. J.](/source/J._J._Colledge); Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. [*Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of All Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy from the 15th Century to the Present*](/source/Ships_of_the_Royal_Navy) (3rd Rev ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-86176-281-8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-86176-281-8). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [67375475](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/67375475).

- Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). *Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921*. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-85177-245-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-85177-245-5).

- Harrison, A. N. (January 1979). ["The Development of HM Submarines From Holland No. 1 (1901) to Porpoise (1930) (BR3043)"](http://rnsubs.co.uk/dits-bits/br-3043.html). RN Subs. Retrieved 27 September 2022.

- Rohwer, Jürgen (2005). *Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two* (Revised & Expanded ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [1-59114-119-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1-59114-119-2).

## External links

- [Description of the *L26* wreck](http://museum.gov.ns.ca/mma/wrecks/wrecks/shipwrecks.asp?ID=2666) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20070715084536/http://museum.gov.ns.ca/mma/wrecks/wrecks/shipwrecks.asp?ID=2666) 15 July 2007 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine)

v t e British L-class submarines Royal Navy L1 class L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 L8 L9 class L9 L10 L11 L12 L14 L15 L16 L17 L18 L19 L20 L21 L22 L23 L24 L25 L26 L27 L28N L29N L30N L31N L32N L33 L34X L35X L50 class L50X L51X L52 L53 L54 L55 L56 L57X L58X L59X L60X L61X L62X L63X L64X L65X L66X L67X L68X L69 L70X L71 L72X L73X L74X Soviet Navy Bezbozhnik (ex-L55) Preceded by: J class Followed by: M class N Not completed X Cancelled List of submarines of the Royal Navy List of submarine classes of the Royal Navy

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [HMS L26](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_L26) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_L26?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.