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HMS Rainbow (N16)

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HMS Rainbow at sea, bow and stern images
History
United Kingdom
NameHMS Rainbow
Ordered28 January 1929
BuilderChatham Dockyard
Laid down24 July 1929
Launched14 May 1930
Commissioned18 January 1932
IdentificationPennant number: N16
FateBelieved sunk on 4 October 1940
General characteristics
Class and typeRainbow-class submarine
Displacement
  • 1,763 long tons (1,791 t) surfaced
  • 2,030 long tons (2,060 t) submerged
Length287 ft (87 m)
Beam30 ft (9.1 m)
Draught16 ft (4.9 m)
Propulsion
  • Diesel-electric
  • 2 × Admiralty diesel engines, 4,640 hp
  • 2 × electric motors, 1,635 hp
  • 2 shafts
Speed
  • 17.5 knots (32.4 km/h; 20.1 mph) surfaced
  • 8.6 knots (15.9 km/h; 9.9 mph) submerged
Complement53
Armament

HMS Rainbow was a Rainbow-class submarine built for the Royal Navy during the 1930s.

Design and description

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The Rainbow-class submarines were designed as improved versions of the Parthian class and were intended for long-range operations in the Far East. The submarines had a length of 287 feet 2 inches (87.5 m) overall, a beam of 29 feet 10 inches (9.1 m) and a mean draft of 13 feet 10 inches (4.2 m). They displaced 1,772 long tons (1,800 t) on the surface and 2,030 long tons (2,060 t) submerged. The Rainbow-class submarines had a crew of 56 officers and ratings. They had a diving depth of 300 feet (91.4 m).[1]

For surface running, the boats were powered by two 2,200-brake-horsepower (1,641 kW) diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a 660-horsepower (492 kW) electric motor. They could reach 17.5 knots (32.4 km/h; 20.1 mph) on the surface and 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph) underwater. On the surface, the boats had a range of 7,050 nautical miles (13,060 km; 8,110 mi) at 9.2 knots (17.0 km/h; 10.6 mph) and 62 nmi (115 km; 71 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged.[1]

The boats were armed with six 21 in (530 mm) torpedo tubes in the bow and two more in the stern. They carried six reload torpedoes for a grand total of fourteen torpedoes. They were also armed with a QF 4.7-inch (120 mm) Mark IX deck gun.[2]

Construction and career

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Rainbow ran aground in the English Channel off Ventnor, Isle of Wight, on 22 January 1932. She was refloated later the same day.[3]

Rainbow served in the Far East until 1940, when she moved to the Mediterranean. She left for a patrol off Calabria on 23 September 1940 [4] and was due to be back in Alexandria on 16 October, she was last heard from on 25 September. She is believed to have been sunk on 4 October in a collision with the Italian merchant ship Antonietta Costa, which reported striking a submerged object at 03:30, followed by a huge underwater explosion while sailing in convoy from Albania on that date.[5]

Until 1988 it was believed that Rainbow had been sunk by the Enrico Toti, but eventually it was determined that HMS Triad (N53) was the submarine that Enrico Toti sank.[4]

Notes

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  1. ^ a b Bagnasco, pp. 106–07
  2. ^ Chesneau, p. 49
  3. ^ "Submarine ashore near Ventnor". The Times. No. 46038. London. 23 January 1932. col B, p. 7.
  4. ^ a b Brian Izzard (November 2009). Gamp VC. Haynes Publishing. p. 35. ISBN 978-1-84425-725-6.
  5. ^ "HMS Rainbow (N 16)". uboat.net. Retrieved 13 August 2015.

References

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