HMS C25
Encyclopedia
HMS C25 was a British C class submarine
British C class submarine
The British C class submarines were the last class of petrol engined submarines of the Royal Navy and marked the end of the development of the Holland-class in the Royal Navy...
built by 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
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 laid down on 27 February 1908 and was commissioned on 28 May 1909.
Service history
HMS C25 was machine-gunned and bombed by a squadron of five German seaplaneSeaplane
A seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...
s off Harwich
Harwich
Harwich is a town in Essex, England and one of the Haven ports, located on the coast with the North Sea to the east. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the northeast, Ipswich to the northwest, Colchester to the southwest and Clacton-on-Sea to the south...
15 miles (24.1 km) east of Orford Ness
Orford Ness
Orford Ness is a cuspate foreland shingle spit on the Suffolk coast in Great Britain, linked to the mainland at Aldeburgh and stretching along the coast to Orford and down to North Wier Point, opposite Shingle Street. It is divided from the mainland by the River Alde, and was formed by longshore...
on 6 July 1918, after being caught on the surface. Several rounds killed the commanding officer, Lieut. David C. Bell, and three lookouts on the conning tower. One of the bodies blocked the conning towers hatch so she was unable to dive. The first Lieutenant, Sub-Lieut. Ronald M. Cobb, and two engine room artificers cut off the leg of one of the bodies with a hacksaw to free the hatch. Another two crew members died while trying to close the hatch. The holes in the pressure hull were plugged by clothes and luckily, was able to tow C25. The seaplanes returned re-armed and ready to attack again, but they were driven off by the arrival of the , .
HMS C25 was sold on 5 December 1921.