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History
United Kingdom
Name	E31
Builder	Scotts, Greenock
Laid down	December 1914
Launched	23 August 1915
Commissioned	8 January 1916
Fate	Sold, 6 September 1922
General characteristics
Class and type	E-class submarine
Displacement	662 long tons (673 t) surfaced; 807 long tons (820 t) submerged;
Length	181 ft (55 m)
Beam	15 ft (4.6 m)
Propulsion	2 × 800 hp (597 kW) diesel; 2 × 420 hp (313 kW) electric; 2 screws;
Speed	15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) surfaced; 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) submerged;
Range	3,000 nmi (5,600 km) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced; 65 nmi (120 km) at 5 kn (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) surfaced;
Complement	31
Armament	5 × 18 inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes (2 bow, 2 beam, 1 stern); 1 × 12-pounder gun;

HMS E31 was a British E-class submarine built by Scotts, Greenock. She was laid down in December 1914, commissioned on 8 January 1916, and sold for scrap on 6 September 1922.

Design

Like all post-E8 British E-class submarines, E31 had a displacement of 662 long tons (673 t) at the surface and 807 long tons (820 t) while submerged. She had a total length of 180 feet (55 m)^[1] and a beam of 22 feet 8.5 inches (6.922 m). She was powered by two 800 horsepower (600 kW) Vickers eight-cylinder two-stroke diesel engines and two 420 horsepower (310 kW) electric motors.^[2]^[3] The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) and a submerged speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). British E-class submarines had fuel capacities of 50 long tons (51 t) of diesel and ranges of 3,255 miles (5,238 km; 2,829 nmi) when travelling at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).^[1] E31 was capable of operating submerged for five hours when travelling at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph).

E31 was armed with a 12-pounder 76 mm (3.0 in) QF gun mounted forward of the conning tower. She had five 18 inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes, two in the bow, one either side amidships, and one in the stern; a total of 10 torpedoes were carried.^[2]

E-Class submarines had wireless systems with 1 kilowatt (1.3 hp) power ratings; in some submarines, these were later upgraded to 3 kilowatts (4.0 hp) systems by removing a midship torpedo tube. Their maximum design depth was 100 feet (30 m) although in service some reached depths of below 200 feet (61 m). Some submarines contained Fessenden oscillator systems.^[1]

Crew

Her complement was three officers and 28 men.^[1]

Service history

HMS E31 was involved in a curious incident when she was operating with the sea plane carrier Engadine in the North Sea in an air raid on the Zeppelin sheds at Tondern on 4 May 1916. While on a mission, LZ 32 was spotted by light cruisers HMS Galatea and HMS Phaeton who opened fire on the airship. Just as they were doing this HMS E31 was operating with the sea plane carrier Engadine in the North Sea in an air raid on the Zeppelin sheds at Tondern on 4 May 1916. E31 surfaced and spotted the airship, but being vulnerable on the surface, the sub dived to avoid attack. When the submarine put its periscope up, it observed that the Zeppelin was losing altitude after being hit by shells from Galatea and Phaeton. E31 then surfaced just in time to get in the fatal shot and brought the Zeppelin down. HMS E31 then proceeded to rescue seven survivors from the crew of LZ 32.^[4] ^[5] ^[6]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Innes McCartney; Tony Bryan (20 February 2013). British Submarines of World War I. Osprey Publishing. pp. 11–12. ISBN 978-1-4728-0035-0.
^ ^a ^b Akerman, P. (1989). Encyclopaedia of British submarines 1901–1955. 149–150. Maritime Books. ISBN 1-904381-05-7 [1]
^ "E Class". Chatham Submarines. Archived from the original on 13 August 2015. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
^ Wilson 1988.
^ Hobbs 2017.
^ Foley 2013.