HMS H31


HMS H31 was a British H class submarine built by Vickers Limited, Barrow-in-Furness. She was laid down on 19 April 1917 and was commissioned on 21 February 1919.
HMS H31 survived until World War II. During the war, she took part in the operation to keep the in Brest, France in November 1941 before the "Channel Dash" to German homeports in the company of and in February 1942. During the operation, H31 was sunk by unknown causes, but most believe she was mined in the Bay of Biscay on 24 December 1941.

Design

Like all post-H20 British H-class submarines, H31 had a displacement of at the surface and while submerged. It had a total length of, a beam length of, and a draught length of. It contained a diesel engines providing a total power of and two electric motors each providing power. The use of its electric motors made the submarine travel at. It would normally carry of fuel and had a maximum capacity of.
The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a submerged speed of. Post-H20 British H-class submarines had ranges of at speeds of when surfaced. H31 was fitted with an anti-aircraft gun and four torpedo tubes. Its torpedo tubes were fitted to the bows and the submarine was loaded with eight torpedoes. It is a Holland 602 type submarine but was designed to meet Royal Navy specifications. Its complement was twenty-two crew members.