British U-class submarine
U-class submarine HMS Ultimatum departing Holy Loch, August 1943 | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | U class |
| Operators | |
| Preceded by | T class |
| Succeeded by | V class |
| Completed | 49 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Submarine |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 191 ft (58 m) |
| Beam | 16 ft 1 in (4.90 m) |
| Draught | 15 ft 2 in (4.62 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed |
|
| Range | 4,500 nmi (8,300 km; 5,200 mi) at 11 kn (20 km/h; 13 mph) surfaced |
| Complement | 27 to 31 |
| Armament |
|
The British U-class submarines (officially "War Emergency 1940 and 1941 programmes, short hull") were a class of 49 small submarines built just before and during the Second World War. The class is sometimes known as the Undine class, after the first submarine built. A further development was the British V-class submarine of 1942.
At the start of the Second World War the U class was, with the British S and T-class submarines, the Dutch O 21 class and German Type VII one of the most advanced submarine classes in service.