HMS M2

About

HMS M2 was a Royal Navy submarine monitor completed in 1919, converted in 1927 into a submarine aircraft carrier. She was wrecked in Lyme Bay, Dorset, Britain, on 26 January 1932. She was one of three M-class boats completed.

Design and career: Four M-class submarines replaced the order for the last four K-class submarines, K17-K21. Although they were similar in size, the M class was an entirely different design from the K class, although it is possible that some material ordered for the K-boats went into them. In any event, the end of the First World War meant that only three were completed. M2 was laid down at Vickers shipyard at Barrow in Furness in 1916, and launched in 1918. Like the other members of her class, she was armed with a single fixed 12-inch (305mm) gun as well as torpedo tubes. The Mark IX gun was taken from spares held for the Formidable-class battleships.

The M-class submarines were very large for the time at 296 feet (90 m) long. They were designed to operate as submarine monitors or cruisers. They displaced 1,600 long tons (1,626 t) on the surface and 1,950 long tons (1,981 t) when submerged. Two 12-cylinder diesel engines producing 2,400 hp (1,800 kW) drove...