British V-class submarine


The British V-class submarine was a class of submarines built for the Royal Navy during the Second World War.

History

42 vessels were ordered to this design, all to be built by Vickers-Armstrong at either Barrow-in-Furness or at Walker-on-Tyne, but only 22 were completed. Note that 7 of these vessels received 'U' names.
The V-class submarines were very similar to the preceding U-class boats, of which they constituted a linear development, but had 3/4-inch pressure hull plating instead of 1/2-inch for deeper diving, also a lengthened stern and fining at the bows to reduce noise and improve underwater handling.
They were sometimes referred to as Vampire-class submarines after.

Ships

The vessels which were ordered are shown below in their programme order :
The first eight vessels were ordered on 5 December 1941 under that year's programme.
The next eighteen vessels were ordered on 21 May 1942 under that year's programme, but six of these were cancelled in early 1944.
A further six vessels were ordered on 17 November 1942 under the same year's programme, but four of these were cancelled on 23 January 1944.
Finally, a further ten vessels were ordered under the 1943 Programme, but all of these were cancelled on 20 November 1943; eight of these were never given names.