Havmanden class submarine (1911)
Havmanden, the class leader of the Havmanden class
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| Class overview | |
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| Builders: |
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| Operators: |
 Royal Danish Navy
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| Preceded by: | Dykkeren-class submarine |
| Succeeded by: | B-class submarine |
| Built: | 1911–1914 |
| In commission: | 1912–1932 |
| Completed: | 6 |
| Lost: | 0 |
| Preserved: | 0 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | submarine |
| Displacement: |
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| Length: | 127 ft 8 in (38.91 m) |
| Beam: | 11 ft 10 in (3.61 m) |
| Draft: | 7 ft 7 in (2.31 m) |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: |
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| Range: |
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| Complement: | 10, as built; 14, later |
| Armament: |
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The Havmanden class was a class of six submarines built for the Royal Danish Navy from 1911 to 1914. Also later known as the A class, the boats were designed by the Austro-Hungarian firm Whitehead & Co. of Fiume. The first three submarines were built by the company, while the remaining three were constructed under license in Copenhagen.
The boats were just over 127 feet (39 m) long and their armament consisted of two 457 mm (18 in) bow torpedo tubes, later supplemented with an 8 mm (0.31 in) machine gun. The boats had a single shaft and were propelled by a Fiat or M.A.N. diesel engine on the surface and two electric motors while submerged.
Although there was at least one close call for the class leader Havmanden during World War I, none of the six boats was sunk in service. All six boats of the class remained active in the Royal Danish Navy from their time of construction until 1928, when the first two boats were stricken. The remaining boats were all stricken by 1932. The Havmanden class served as the basis for the Austro-Hungarian Navy's U-20-class submarines built during World War I.
After taking delivery of its first submarine—the problematic Dykkeren, built at La Spezia by Fiat-Laurenti in 1909—the Royal Danish Navy looked for a submarine design that could be built in Denmark. In 1910, the Navy contracted with Whitehead & Co. of Fiume for the class' namesake boat, Havmanden, to be built by Whitehead, and plans for a second, Havfruen, to be built at the Copenhagen Navy Yard. In May 1911, while the first two were still under construction, the Navy ordered two more boats from Whitehead, Thetis and Triton, and plans for a final two, Najaden and Nymfen.
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