Rainbow-class submarine

Type of British submarines in service before and during WWII

HMS Regent underway

Class overview
Name| Rainbow class
Operators|  Royal Navy
Preceded by| Parthian class
Succeeded by| S class
In commission| 1930–1946
Planned| 6
Completed| 4
Cancelled| 2
Lost| 3
Retired| 1
General characteristics [1]
Type| Submarine
Displacement|

* 1,763 long tons (1,791 t) surfaced
* 2,030 long tons (2,063 t) submerged

Length| 287 ft (87 m)
Beam| 30 ft (9.1 m)
Draught| 16 ft (4.9 m)
Propulsion|

* Diesel-electric
* 2 × Admiralty diesel engines, 4,640 hp (3,460 kW)
* 2 × electric motors, 1,635 hp (1,219 kW)
* 2 shafts

Speed|

* 17.5 knots (20.1 mph; 32.4 km/h) surfaced
* 8.6 kn (9.9 mph; 15.9 km/h) submerged

Complement| 53
Armament|

* 8 × 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes (6 bow, 2 stern) with 14 reloads
* 1 × QF 4.7-inch (120 mm) Mark IX deck gun
* After 1942 :
* 2 × 20 mm cannon
* Equipped to lay mines through torpedo tubes

The Rainbow-class submarine or R class was a quartet of patrol submarines built for the Royal Navy in the early 1930s.

## Design and description

[edit]

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 (2,063 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).[2]

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.[2]

The boats were armed with six 21-inch 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.[3]

## Boats

[edit]

Six boats were ordered in February 1929 but, following the May 1929 general election, the new government suspended the construction of two boats in August due to economic considerations; they were subsequently cancelled.[4]

Construction data  Name  | Builder  | Launched  | Fate

|
|
|

Rainbow | Chatham Dockyard | 14 May 1930  | Sunk 4 October 1940 in collision with the Italian merchant ship Antonietta Costa[5]
Regent | Vickers, Barrow in Furness | 11 June 1930  | Sunk 18 April 1943 by mines near Barletta, Apulia, Italy
Regulus | Vickers, Barrow in Furness | 11 June 1930  | Sunk 6 December 1940 by mines near Taranto, Apulia, Italy
Rover | Vickers, Barrow in Furness | 11 June 1930  | Scrapped 1946
Royalist | Beardmore, Dalmuir |  | Cancelled 1929
Rupert | Cammell Laird, Birkenhead |  | Cancelled 1929

It is often stated that the Enrico Toti sank HMS Rainbow. However, the submarine Enrico Toti sank was HMS Triad.[5]

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships
2. ^ a b Bagnasco, pp. 106–07
3. ^ Chesneau, p. 49
4. ^ Johnston, p. 143
5. ^ a b "HMS Rainbow (N 16)". uboat.net. Retrieved 20 June 2015.

## References

[edit]

* Akermann, Paul (2002). Encyclopaedia of British Submarines 1901–1955 (reprint of the 1989 ed.). Penzance, Cornwall: Periscope Publishing. ISBN 1-904381-05-7.
* Bagnasco, Erminio (1977). Submarines of World War Two. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-962-6.
* Caruana, Joseph (2012). "Emergency Victualling of Malta During WWII". Warship International. LXIX (4): 357–364\. ISSN 0043-0374.
* Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
* Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
* Johnston, Ian (1993). Beardmore built: the rise and fall of a Clydeside shipyard. Clydebank: Clydebank District Libraries & Museums Dept. ISBN 0-906938-05-8.
* McCartney, Innes (2006). British Submarines 1939–1945. New Vanguard. Vol. 129\. Oxford, UK: Osprey. ISBN 1-84603-007-2.

## External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rainbow class submarines.

* Rainbow class at Uboat.net
* Rainbow class at battleships-cruisers.co.uk

* v
* t
* e

Rainbow-class submarines

* Rainbow
* Regent
* Regulus
* Rover
* RoyalistX
* RupertX

* Preceded by: Parthian class
* Followed by: S class

Cancelled

* List of submarines of the Royal Navy
* List of submarine classes of the Royal Navy

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