HMS E6

HMS "E6" was a British E-class submarine built by Vickers Barrow-in-Furness. She was laid down on 12 November 1911 and was commissioned on 17 October 1913. She cost £106,900.
Design.
The early British E-class submarines, from "E1" to "E8", had a displacement of at the surface and while submerged. They had a length overall of and a beam of , and were powered by two Vickers eight-cylinder two-stroke diesel engines and two electric motors. The class had a maximum surface speed of and a submerged speed of , with a fuel capacity of of diesel affording a range of when travelling at , while submerged they had a range of at .
The early 'Group 1' "E" class boats were armed with four 18 inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes, one in the bow, one either side amidships, and one in the stern; a total of eight torpedoes were carried. Group 1 boats were not fitted with a deck gun during construction, but those involved in the Dardanelles campaign had guns mounted forward of the conning tower while at Malta Dockyard.
E-Class submarines had wireless systems with power ratings; in some submarines, these were later upgraded to systems by removing a midship torpedo tube. Their maximum design depth was although in service some reached depths of below .
Crew.
Her complement was three officers and 28 men.
Service history.
When war was declared with Germany on 5 August 1914, "E6" was based at Harwich, in the 8th Submarine Flotilla of the Home Fleets.
That morning she was towed by the light cruiser to Terschelling along with which was towed by the destroyer . "E6" and "E8" then made the first Heligoland Bight patrol. On 28 August 1914, "E6" was one of eight submarines that took part in a raid against the German Heligoland Bight patrol using surface ships. "E6", together with and "E8" were deployed as bait, with orders to try and get spotted in order to draw German destroyer patrols into the clutches of British destroyers and light cruisers of the Harwich Force. Later in the day, when the light cruisers of the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron came up to support the British surface forces, they spotted "E6" and, mistaking her for a German submarine, tried to ram her. On 25 September 1914, "E6" fouled a mine on her hydroplane guard when on patrol in the Heligoland Bight, but managed to free herself and escape.
On 13 April 1915 "E6", on patrol near Juist, spotted a German submarine, but was unable to get into position to deliver an attack. The next day she fired a torpedo at the German torpedo boat , but the torpedo missed. On 29 May 1915 "E6" was one of a number of submarines ordered to sea in response to a sortie into the North Sea by the German High Seas Fleet. She spotted the German fleet on 30 May and fired a single torpedo at the German battlecruiser . "E6"s captain incorrectly estimated "Moltke"s speed, and the torpedo missed. German torpedo boats forced "E6" to dive and prevented a second attack. On 1 September 1915 "E6" and "E8", which had been fitted with 4 six-pounder anti-aircraft guns each set out to the Bight to carry out anti-Zeppelin patrols. On 4 September "E6" spotted the airship "L9" and opened fire, but no hits were scored and "E6" was forced to dive by the approach of an aeroplane. On 23 October "E6" fired 30 shots at the German airship "L7" when on patrol off Horns Rev. The airship was undamaged. That evening the German High Seas Fleet again sortied from Kiel. "E6" spotted the German fleet on the morning of 24 October. "E6" launched two attacks on German light cruisers, both of which were unsuccessful, although "E6"s crew did hear two explosions after the second attack, on the cruiser .
"E6" was mined on 26 December 1915 with the loss of all hands in the North Sea off Harwich. A trawler had been sunk by a mine in the same position shortly before, and a British torpedo boat signalled "E6" to avoid the minefield, but "E6" ignored the warning and was lost.