HMS L33
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 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. Description. "L33" was long overall and she had a beam of and a draught of at normal loading. She displaced surfaced and 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 . She could cruise at while surfaced and while submerged. While running on the surface at , the ship could cruise for a range of . "L33" was armed with a primary armament of four torpedo tubes in the bow. These were supplied with eight torpedoes in total. Two additional, tubes were located on the broadside, with a single torpedo apiece. She was also equipped with a 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. Service history. "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. After construction was completed, she underwent sea trials on the Tyne, which included both submerged and surface trials. On 16 March 1926, "L33" collided with another unknown vessel, though there were  no injuries in the incident. In 1928, "L33" was assigned to the China Station, along with her sister ships , , and . 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.