HMS Rainbow at sea, bow and stern images
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History | |
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United Kingdom | |
Name: | HMS Rainbow |
Ordered: | 28 January 1929 |
Builder: | Chatham Dockyard |
Laid down: | 24 July 1929 |
Launched: | 14 May 1930 |
Commissioned: | 18 January 1932 |
Identification: | Pennant number: N16 |
Fate: | Believed sunk on 4 October 1940 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type: | Rainbow-class submarine |
Displacement: |
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Length: | 287 ft (87 m) |
Beam: | 30 ft (9.1 m) |
Draught: | 16 ft (4.9 m) |
Propulsion: |
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Speed: |
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Complement: | 53 |
Armament: |
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HMS Rainbow was a Rainbow-class submarine built for the Royal Navy during the 1930s.
The Rainbow-class submarines were designed as improved versions of the Parthian class and were intended for long-range operations in the Far East. The submarines had a length of 287 feet 2 inches (87.5 m) overall, a beam of 29 feet 10 inches (9.1 m) and a mean draft of 13 feet 10 inches (4.2 m). They displaced 1,772 long tons (1,800 t) on the surface and 2,030 long tons (2,060 t) submerged. The Rainbow-class submarines had a crew of 56 officers and ratings. They had a diving depth of 300 feet (91.4 m).
For surface running, the boats were powered by two 2,200-brake-horsepower (1,641 kW) diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a 660-horsepower (492 kW) electric motor. They could reach 17.5 knots (32.4 km/h; 20.1 mph) on the surface and 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph) underwater. On the surface, the boats had a range of 7,050 nautical miles (13,060 km; 8,110 mi) at 9.2 knots (17.0 km/h; 10.6 mph) and 62 nmi (115 km; 71 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged.
The boats were armed with six 21 in (530 mm) torpedo tubes in the bow and two more in the stern. They carried six reload torpedoes for a grand total of fourteen torpedoes. They were also armed with a QF 4.7-inch (120 mm) Mark IX deck gun.