R46

R46
Name	R46
Ship class	R-class submarine
Builder	Vickers-Armstrongs
Laid down	1919
Launched	1921
Commissioned	1922
Fate	Scrapped 1946

R46

R46 was a British Royal Navy R-class submarine completed in the early 1920s. Designed in the aftermath of the First World War, the boat served through the interwar period into the early years of the Second World War, operating with flotillas based at Portsmouth, Rosyth, and later at Scapa Flow. R46 participated in training, patrol, and experimental work alongside vessels such as HMS Ark Royal (1914), HMS Hood, and contemporary submarines of the Admiralty program.

Overview

R46 belonged to the R-class built to specification by the Admiralty to meet lessons learned from the Battle of Jutland and North Sea operations. Her role emphasized anti-ship and anti-submarine patrols, coastal defense, and tactical development with units including the Home Fleet and the Atlantic Fleet. Throughout her career she operated near bases including Harwich, Portland Harbour, and the naval base at Rosyth Dockyard, and took part in exercises with squadrons drawn from HMS Queen Elizabeth (1913), HMS Repulse (1916), and destroyer flotillas such as those from HMS Daring (1893).

Technical Specifications

R46 was propelled by diesel-electric machinery specified by the Admiralty and manufactured by firms like Vickers and Armstrong Whitworth. Her surfaced displacement was approximately 1,000 long tons and submerged displacement near 1,200 long tons, dimensions comparable to contemporaries developed under the Washington Naval Treaty era constraints. Armament comprised torpedo tubes compatible with torpedoes supplied by Whitehead Torpedo Works and a deck gun of a caliber used across the fleet; sensor fit included hydrophones and early periscopes produced by manufacturers such as Pyrn and equipment standardized after trials with the Submarine Depot Ship network.

Performance figures included a surfaced speed of around 15 knots and submerged speed approaching 9 knots, with an operational range suited for North Sea patrols and Atlantic transit in company with surface units like HMS Black Prince (1916). Complement was approximately 35 officers and ratings, drawn from training establishments such as HMS Dolphin and the Royal Naval College, Greenwich. Hull construction used riveted and welded sections employed by Vickers-Armstrongs yards at Barrow-in-Furness, following structural practices developed alongside cruisers like HMS Hawkins (1917).

Development and Production

The R-class design arose from wartime exigencies and postwar naval reviews conducted by the Committee of Imperial Defence and the Directorate of Naval Construction. Contracts were awarded to shipbuilders including Vickers-Armstrongs after competitive proposals influenced by designs from firms like John Brown & Company and Cammell Laird. Construction of R46 began on the heels of programs that produced classes such as the O-class submarine and was overseen by naval architects who had worked on capital ships including HMS Queen Mary (1913). Sea trials took place off the Clyde and near Loch Striven, with performance assessed against benchmarks set by exercises involving frigates and destroyers then assigned to the Grand Fleet.

Production adjustments reflected interwar budget constraints debated in forums including the Parliamentary Naval Committee and reviews by the Ministry of Defence predecessors. Modifications during build incorporated learnings from trials with HMS R12 and design updates promulgated by the Admiralty to improve habitability and propulsion reliability.

Service History

R46 entered service assigned to training and patrol squadrons responsible for protecting approaches to the English Channel and the North Sea. During the 1920s and 1930s she conducted exercises with battlecruisers such as HMS Repulse (1916) and cruisers like HMS Exeter (1926), and participated in fleet maneuvers staged by the Atlantic Fleet and the Home Fleet. Crews were rotated through shore establishments including HMS Vernon, where torpedo and anti-submarine warfare doctrine was taught.

With the rise of tensions in the late 1930s, R46 was mobilized for active patrol duties, operating from bases at Scapa Flow and Rosyth Dockyard to monitor shipping lanes and exercise with escort forces drawn from sloops and corvettes like those later seen in convoys alongside units influenced by Admiral of the Fleet Sir John Tovey. While she did not record major wartime combat claims, R46 contributed to convoy defense preparations and training new submarine crews during the early phase of the Second World War.

Variants and Modifications

Throughout her career R46 received incremental upgrades typical of interwar submarines. Modifications included sonar/hydrophone enhancements developed in cooperation with research establishments such as Admiralty Research Laboratory and updated periscopes inspired by trials with HMS Swordfish (1916). Anti-aircraft fittings and communications gear were modified to match standards adopted by escorts including HMS Jervis and HMS Cossack (1937). Propulsion overhauls were carried out at dockyards like Devonport and HMNB Portsmouth, and habitability improvements echoed alterations found on sister-ships in line with recommendations from the Submarine Flotilla Command.

Preservation and Legacy

After decades of service R46 was decommissioned and placed in reserve before final disposal; she was sold for scrap in the immediate postwar period, a fate shared with many contemporaries such as vessels of the Oberon-class (original designation) and older R-class sisters. Her legacy endures in naval archives, logs preserved in repositories like the National Maritime Museum and the Royal Navy Submarine Museum, and in doctrinal developments influencing later submarine designs such as the T-class submarine and postwar generations used by the Royal Navy and allied navies. R46 is remembered in studies of interwar submarine policy examined by historians referencing the Treaty of Versailles aftermath and interwar naval conferences.

Category:Royal Navy submarines Category:Ships built in Barrow-in-Furness