HM S/M L 26

L 26 testing boom defence at Rosyth IWM. The gun has been removed.

 

 

TypeSubmarine
ClassL
PennantN 26 
BuilderVickers (Barrow) 
OrderedDec 1916 
Laid down1917 
Launched29 May 1919 
Commissioned12 Oct 1926 
End service21 Dec 1944 
History

Completed at Chatham Dockyard 

Decommissioned on 21 December 1944.
Sunk as clockwork mouse off Canadian coast 25 September 1945.

Dimensions

238 .5’ x 23 5‘ x 16’ = 890 tons (surface)
1,080 tons (submerged)
Armament

Four 21″ bow torpedo tubes.
Eight 21″ Mark IV*S Torpedoes.
One 4″ Quick Firing Mk III gun on breastwork mounting.
90 rounds ammunition.
One Lewis gun and five rifles.
Propulsion

Twin Diesel engines 2,400 HP = 17.5 knots.
76 tons oil fuel = 2,380 miles @ 16 kts or 4,030 miles @ 8 kts.
1.7 tons per day on patrol.Main motors 1,600 HP = 10.5 kts submerged.
Batteries. 336 cells of 135 tons.
1.5 hrs at 9 knots submerged.
Hull
Saddle Tank type. Operational diving depth 150 feet but known to reach 250-300′ in service.
Complement: 4 Officers and 37 men
Detection equipment: Two 30 foot periscopes
                                            Type 118 Asdic set.

 

L 26 layout
Checking the tubes on an L class boat

L 26 [Lt. Cdr. Frank Lipscomb] served with the 6th Submarine Flotilla at Portland in the pre-War years as a training boat. The Boat was at Blyth on August 28 1939.

Control Room of L 26. Lt Cdr Lipscombe at periscope

Patrol 1: Left Blyth August 31, 1939 for a patrol in the Helgoland Bight. At 07:15 hrs on September 6 two Konigsberg class cruisers and destroyer escort were sighted 45 miles West of Horns Reef. They were too far away for L 26 to mount an attack. The Boat returned to Blyth on September 13

L 26 Patrol 1

Entered Blyth docks for repairs

Patrol 2: Left Blyth September 30. Returned to Blyth October 11

L 26 Patrol 2 Zone A1

October 14 Boat left Blyth for Rosyth, L 26 did not return to Blyth.

© P Armstrong