HMS C38 - a typical C class submarine
History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS C10
Builder	Vickers, Barrow
Laid down	30 January 1906
Launched	15 March 1907
Commissioned	13 July 1907
Fate	Sold, July 1922
General characteristics
Class and type	C-class submarine
Displacement	287 long tons (292 t) surfaced 316 long tons (321 t) submerged
Length	142 ft 3 in (43.4 m)
Beam	13 ft 7 in (4.1 m)
Draught	11 ft 6 in (3.5 m)
Installed power	600 bhp (450 kW) petrol 300 hp (220 kW) electric
Propulsion	1 × 16-cylinder Vickers petrol engine 1 × electric motor
Speed	12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph) surfaced 7 kn (13 km/h; 8.1 mph) submerged
Range	910 nmi (1,690 km; 1,050 mi) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph) on the surface
Test depth	100 feet (30.5 m)
Complement	2 officers and 14 ratings
Armament	2 × 18 in (450 mm) bow torpedo tubes

HMS C10 was one of 38 C-class submarines built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. The boat survived the First World War and was sold for scrap in 1922.

The C class was essentially a repeat of the preceding B class, albeit with better performance underwater. The submarine had a length of 142 feet 3 inches (43.4 m) overall, a beam of 13 feet 7 inches (4.1 m) and a mean draft of 11 feet 6 inches (3.5 m). They displaced 287 long tons (292 t) on the surface and 316 long tons (321 t) submerged. The C-class submarines had a crew of two officers and fourteen ratings.^[1]

For surface running, the boats were powered by a single 16-cylinder 600-brake-horsepower (447 kW) Vickers petrol engine that drove one propeller shaft. When submerged the propeller was driven by a 300-horsepower (224 kW) electric motor.^[1] They could reach 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) on the surface and 7 knots (13 km/h; 8.1 mph) underwater. On the surface, the C class had a range of 910 nautical miles (1,690 km; 1,050 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph).^[2]

The boats were armed with two 18-inch (45 cm) torpedo tubes in the bow. They could carry a pair of reload torpedoes, but generally did not as they would have to remove an equal weight of fuel in compensation.^[3]

C10 was laid down on 30 January 1906 by Vickers at their Barrow-in-Furness shipyard, launched on 15 March 1907, and completed on 13 July. During World War I, the boat was generally used for coastal defence and training in home waters.

C10 was part of the 6th Submarine Flotilla, based on the Humber, but on 8 September 1914, the six submarines of the flotilla were sent to Queensferry in the Firth of Forth to search for and attack German submarines that had been active in the area. On 17 September, after the British battlecruiser force had left the Forth for Scapa Flow, the 6th Flotilla was ordered to Cromaty to defend the approaches to Cromaty and Scapa Flow.^[4]

On 3 May 1917, C10 was fired on by the British destroyers Ouse and Bat off Blyth, Northumberland. Although one man was killed and a second was wounded, the submarine survived.^[5] C10 was sold for scrap in July 1922.

• Akermann, Paul (2002). Encyclopaedia of British Submarines 1901–1955 (reprint of the 1989 ed.). Penzance, Cornwall: Periscope Publishing. ISBN 1-904381-05-7.
• 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.
• Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
• Harrison, A. N. (January 1979). "The Development of HM Submarines From Holland No. 1 (1901) to Porpoise (1930) (BR3043)". RN Subs. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
• Monograph No. 24: Home Waters—Part II: September and October 1914 (PDF). Naval Staff Monographs (Historical). Vol. XI. The Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division. 1924.
• Monograph No. 35: Home Waters—Part IX: 1st May 1917 to 31st July 1917 (PDF). Naval Staff Monographs (Historical). Vol. XIX. The Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division. 1939.

• MaritimeQuest HMS C-10 Pages