HMS L33 was a British L-class submarine built by Swan Hunter, Wallsend, laid down in September 1917, launched in May 1919, and completed in December 1920. She was armed with six torpedo tubes, and had a top speed of 17kn while surfaced. She had an uneventful career that included a deployment to the China Station in 1928. Obsolescent by the early 1930s, L33 was sold in February 1932 and broken up.
See main article: British L-class submarine.
L33 was 238feet long overall and she had a beam of 23inchesft5.5inchesin (ftin) and a draught of 13inchesft3inchesin (ftin) at normal loading. She displaced 890LT surfaced and 1080LT submerged. Her propulsion system consisted of two diesel engines for use while surfaced and two corresponding electric motors for use submerged. The diesel engines were rated at, while the electric motors produced 1600hp. She could cruise at 17kn while surfaced and 10.5kn while submerged. While running on the surface at 10kn, the ship could cruise for a range of 3800nmi.[1]
L33 was armed with a primary armament of four 21inches torpedo tubes in the bow. These were supplied with eight torpedoes in total. Two additional, 18inches tubes were located on the broadside, with a single torpedo apiece. She was also equipped with a 4inches deck gun for use whilst surfaced. The gun was mounted on a revolving platform on the bridge level to increase its range and permit it to engage surfaced enemy submarines beyond torpedo range and in heavier seas. She had a crew of thirty-eight.[1] [2]
L33 was built at the Swan Hunter shipyard; she was laid down on 26 September 1917, and she was launched on 29 May 1919. Fitting-out was completed on 22 December 1919.[1] [3] After construction was completed, she underwent sea trials on the Tyne, which included both submerged and surface trials.[2] On 16 March 1926, L33 collided with another unknown vessel, though there were no injuries in the incident.[4]
In 1928, L33 was assigned to the China Station, along with her sister ships,, and .[5] By the 1930s, the L-class submarines had become obsolescent, and so most of them were removed from the Royal Navy's inventory. Accordingly, L33 was sold for scrapping in February 1932 and subsequently broken up.[1] [6]