The early British E-class submarines, from E1 to E8, had a displacement of 652LT at the surface and 795LT while submerged. They had a length overall of 180feet and a beam of 22feet, and were powered by two Vickers eight-cylinder two-stroke diesel engines and two electric motors.[1] [2] The class had a maximum surface speed of 16kn and a submerged speed of 10kn, with a fuel capacity of 50LT of diesel affording a range of 3225miles when travelling at 10kn, while submerged they had a range of 85miles at 5kn.
The early 'Group 1' E class boats were armed with four 18 inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes, one in the bow, one either side amidships, and one in the stern; a total of eight torpedoes were carried. Group 1 boats were not fitted with a deck gun during construction, but those involved in the Dardanelles campaign had guns mounted forward of the conning tower while at Malta Dockyard.
E-Class submarines had wireless systems with power ratings; in some submarines, these were later upgraded to systems by removing a midship torpedo tube. Their maximum design depth was although in service some reached depths of below . Some submarines contained Fessenden oscillator systems.[3]
Her complement was three officers and 28 men.
E1 joined the 8th Submarine Flotilla, based at Portsmouth on commissioning.[4]
She worked with and reconnoitered the Skagerrak in early October as a prelude to sending submarines into the Baltic.[5] Then on 15 October 1914, she and sailed from Gorleston in a successful attempt to penetrate the German defences and enter the Baltic. On 18 October 1914, E1 unsuccessfully attacked the armoured cruiser in Kiel Bay. The torpedo ran too deep and missed.[6] On 22 July 1915, E1 fired two torpedoes at the German Vorpostenboot (or patrol boat) Neumühlen, which missed.[7] On 30 July 1915, she torpedoed and sank the German auxiliary minesweeper Aachen east-northeast of Östergarn, Gotland, Sweden.[8] On 19 August 1915, she torpedoed and damaged the German battlecruiser (23,000 tons) during the Battle of the Gulf of Riga.
E1s service ended on 3 April 1918 outside Helsingfors (now Helsinki), 1.5nmi off Harmaja Light in the Gulf of Finland. She was scuttled by her crew, along with,,,,, and to avoid seizure by advancing German forces which had landed nearby.