HMS E5

HMS "E5" was a British E-class submarine built by Vickers Barrow-in-Furness. She was laid down on 9 June 1911 and was commissioned on 28 June 1913. She cost £106,700. "E5" was sunk, probably by striking a mine, on 7 March 1916.
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 .
Service history.
"E5" experienced an engine room explosion on 8 June 1913, twenty days before commissioning, which resulted in thirteen deaths. A further three men were killed when there was an oil blow back into the starboard engine off St Ann's Head. The submarine depot ship and "Alligator" carried the medical team out to meet "E5" on her way into Pembroke Dock. Ten other men were seriously injured, although all civilian staff from Barrow were safe and unharmed.
In December 1913, "E5" was part of the 8th Submarine Flotilla, based at Portsmouth as part of the Home Fleets
When war was declared with Germany on 5 August 1914, "E5" broke off a refit to re-join 8th Submarine Flotilla at its war station in Harwich later that day.
The 8th Submarine Flotilla, including "E5" was assigned to patrol in the east end of the English Channel during the passage of the British Expeditionary Force to France in early August. On 15–17 August 1914, the British Grand Fleet carried out a sweep in the North Sea towards Helgoland. "E5" and sister submarine were ordered to patrol off the mouth of the Weser river in support of this operation, while and patrolled off the Ems. On 16 August "E5" encountered several German torpedo boats, which attacked "E5", while the British submarine unsuccessfully attempted to torpedo one of the German ships. The next day a German submarine attempted to torpedo "E5" which "E5" managed to avoid before setting off for home. Early on the morning of 18 August, while still on their return journey, "E5" and "E7" spotted a four-funnelled cruiser. Believing that the unidentified ship was British, "E5" challenged the cruiser, which provoked a violent response from what was actually the German cruiser , which, with the cruiser , was carrying out a sweep into the Hoofden in search for British blockading forces. "Strassburg" fired at the British submarines, which dived to safety.
In April 1915, "E5" was deployed (along with , and ) to the German Bight to counter a suspected sortie by the German High Seas Fleet. On 14 April "E5" torpedoed the German steamer "Schwarzwald" north of the Norderney lighthouse. German trawlers and aircraft drove off "E5", allowing the damaged "Schwarzwald" to safely make port. "E5"s commanding officer, Lieutenant Commander C. S. Benning, was commended by the Admiralty for damaging "Schwarzwald". On 3 May 1915 "E5" was one of five British submarines lying off the German coast, when they were spotted by the German airship "L9". The German airship dropped bombs on the British submarines, while "E5" fired on "L9" with her deck gun. "E5" claimed to have hit "L9" but the German airship was undamaged. "L9" claimed to have sunk one of the British submarines, but while was near-missed by "L9"s bombs, she too was undamaged.
On 25 September 1915 "E5" torpedoed the German "Sperrbrecher" (auxiliary minesweeper) "SP11", causing "SP11" to be beached. Salvage attempts on the German ship were abandoned on 27 September. "E5"s crew was awarded prize money by the British Admiralty for the sinking of "SP11".
Loss.
"E5" was lost on 7 March 1916 while rescuing the survivors of the trawler "Resono", just north of Juist in the North Sea.
There were different theories about the reason for the loss of "E5". One theory was that she struck a mine, possibly after straying into a German minefield upon being sighted by the German light cruiser . Another theory attributed her loss to depth charge attack by torpedo boats escorting the battlecruiser .
In 2016 divers found the wreck of "E5" off the island of Schiermonnikoog. Her hatches were open, which suggests that the crew had tried to escape. There was no sign of damage to her hull, indicating that she had not sunk as a result of enemy action.