A CENTURY OF SUBMARINES AT CHATHAM DOCKYARD

The history of submarine building at Chatham Dockyard dates back to 1906, when Vickers of Barrow in Furness secured the contract for the construction of two small coastal submarines, and the Admiralty was sufficiently impressed with the new craft to order a further 38 similar boats. The order for submarines extended to Chatham Dockyard, with C18 being laid down there on 11 March 1907. Most of Chatham’s submarines were built in the covered No.7 slipway, erected in 1855.

Shipbuilders at Chatham Dockyard had previously built battleships, cruisers and destroyers, but submarines, then in their earliest development, were a new departure, so in 1906 the Admiralty arranged for two, A3 and A12, to be made available for inspection by the town’s shipwrights. The two submarines were positioned in No.6 dock so workers could get a better idea of what was required of them in the construction