HMS A2 was an early Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 submarine. She was launched in 1903 and sold for scrap in 1925.

Design and construction

She was a member of the first British class of submarines, although slightly bigger than the lead ship, HMS A1

HMS A1

HMS A1 was the Royal Navy's first British-designed submarine, and their first to suffer fatal casualties.She was the lead ship of the first British A-class submarines , and the only one to have a single bow torpedo tube...

. Like all boats in her class, she was built at Vickers

Vickers

Vickers was a famous name in British engineering that existed through many companies from 1828 until 1999.-Early history:Vickers was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by the miller Edward Vickers and his father-in-law George Naylor in 1828. Naylor was a partner in the foundry Naylor &...

, Barrow-in-Furness

Barrow-in-Furness

Barrow-in-Furness is an industrial town and seaport which forms about half the territory of the wider Borough of Barrow-in-Furness in the county of Cumbria, England. It lies north of Liverpool, northwest of Manchester and southwest from the county town of Carlisle...

. She was launched

Ship naming and launching

The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...

 on 15 April 1903.

Fate

She flooded after running aground in Bomb Ketch Lake, Portsmouth harbour

Portsmouth Harbour

Portsmouth Harbour is a large natural harbour in Hampshire, England. Geographically it is a ria: formerly it was the valley of a stream flowing from Portsdown into the Solent River. The city of Portsmouth lies to the east on Portsea Island, and Gosport to the west on the mainland...

 in January 1920 and was sold for scrap to H. G. Pound

H. G. Pound

H.G. Pound is the name of the founder of a British merchant firm in Portsmouth, UK. The firm, founded in 1864, diversified into shipbreaking after World War I and has accumulated over the years vast quantities of military equipment awaiting scrapping...

of Portsmouth on 22 October 1925.