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• Introduction

• Operations

• A Class submarines

A Class submarines

The British Admiralty ordered these diesel-electric submarines in 1943 to assist in the Pacific theatre of war, commissioning 16 in total. They replaced the S and T class pre-war submarines, which were too slow and unable to dive deep enough to be suited to the Pacific. They were one of only two new British submarine designs, along with X Craft, produced during the war.

Quick construction, using an entirely welded hull fabricated in sections, meant that each submarine took about eight months to complete. Although only two of the boats were finished before the end of the war, HMS Amphion and Astute, neither of which saw action.

The A class also included features such as air conditioning for the tropical climate. One of the main problems for submarine crews serving in the Far East was the heat and humidity. In submarines not fitted with air conditioning, life onboard in tropical regions could be appalling. The crew often suffered from various skin complaints, such as prickly heat, ulcers, or cuts which turned septic and stayed so due to the foul conditions. To help this matter, submarines would retire from patrol positions occasionally for a day and spend it on the surface, in order to give the crew a break from working long hours in such high temperatures.