Guale was a single-hulled submarine, with a pressure hull divided into five watertight compartments. The submarine had a length of 150feet overall, a beam of 15feet and a draft of 12feet. She displaced 363LT on the surface and 434LT submerged. The H-class submarines had a crew of 22 officers and enlisted men.[1]
The submarine had two propellers, each of which was driven by a 240hp diesel engine as well as a 320hp electric motors. This arrangement gave Guale a maximum speed of 13kn while surfaced and submerged. She had a range of 1750nmi at while on the surface and 30nmi at 5kn while submerged. The boat had a capacity of 17.5LT of fuel oil. The H-class submarines were equipped with four 18inches torpedo tubes in the bow and carried eight torpedoes.[1]
H18 was a H-class submarine built by Fore River Yard of Quincy, Massachusetts. She was launched on 14 August 1915. Because the United States was neutral (having not yet entered World War I), H18 along with sister ships,,,,,,,, and were all interned by the United States government. As a result, H18 was never commissioned into the Royal Navy. Instead, she and H13, H16, H17, H19, and H20 were transferred to the Chilean Navy as partial recompensation for the appropriation of two 28,000-ton dreadnoughts (and). Originally named H4 when turned over to Chile in 1917, she was renamed Guale in 1924. She served with the Chilean Navy until she was stricken in 1945.