Maritime record MDO20054 - L 24

1924 wreck of British submarine, located approximately 11 miles SW of the Bill of Portland. HM Submarine L24 foundered following a collision with HMS RESOLUTION while on exercises off Portland. Constructed of steel in 1919, she was an engine-driven vessel. This wreck site has been cited as a designated vessel under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986 (Designation of Vessels and Controlled Sites).

Lost on execrcise from Portland. Struck in stern by HMS Resolution. Intact wreck.

Position 50 22.4 N 2 37.8 W taken from (2) mccartney

gross tonnage

Wreck Site and Archaeological Remains:

Horizontal Datum: OGB (1)
Vertical Datum: LAT (1)(5)
Quality of Depth: echosounder (1)(5)
Method of Fix: D (1)
General Depth: 47m (1)
Orientation: 35/115 (5)

28-JAN-1924: position 50 22 15N, 02 38 00W. Front hatch open, damage on starboard side, stern inwards.

26-JUL-1987: Confirmed as wreck of L24. (1)

Designated site under the Protection of Military Remains Act, 1986 (Designation of Vessels and Controlled Sites), Order 2008 No.950, coming into force 1st May 2008.

On 1st May 2008 the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986 (Designation of Vessels and Controlled Sites) Order 2008 (Statutory Instrument No. 950) cited the vessel known as HMS L24, which sank on or about 17th December 1940, as a designated vessel. The Protection of Military Remains Act 1986 (Designation of Vessels and Controlled Sites) Order 2006 (Statutory Instrument No. 2616 was revoked. (4)

Charted as HMSM L24, in 51m general depth; surrounding environment of sand; dimensions of site 68 x 16m. (5)

Located approximately 11 miles SW of the Bill of Portland. (6)

Wreck Event and Documentary Evidence:

Sank following collision with the 25750-ton battleship RESOLUTION whilst engaged in Exercise GA. The fleet exercise involved two forces (Red and Blue), the latter composed of submarines attached to HMS DOLPHIN and MAIDSTONE, accompanied by aircraft from 10th Group RAF. The fleet had been at sea for several hours, when a slight bump was felt under the bridge of the battleship at 11.13am, followed by a large swell of discoloured water. It appears that the L24 tried to cut across the bows of the larger vessel, since her periscope was sighted before the collision. The exercise was cancelled when L24 failed to surface, the fleet returning to Portland. Next day the weather was too rough for divers to descend, and remained that way for a considerable time. MOD(N) Hyd. Records appear to suggest that the wreck was not found until 28-JAN-1924, when it was reported her forward hatch was open, damage evident on starboard side, and both planes set to hard dive. (2)(3)

10-JAN-1924: L24 sunk in collision with the RESOLUTION off Portland. (7)

Group II submarine, 914/1089 tons displacement; 238ft 6in length overall by 229ft 3in (LPP) x 23ft 6in x 13ft 6in. L24 - 27 inclusive were built as minelayers.

In the inter-war period the pendant numbers for the L-class submarines were the designations for the boats, reversed: thus L24 became 24L.

No description of the fate of L24. (8)

L24 accidentally rammed and sunk by the battleship HMS RESOLUTION during exercises off Portland. Illustration reproducing memorial card showing the crew and ships involved. (9)

The exercises had been proceeding for several hours when the 2nd Officer on watch on the RESOLUTION reported a disturbance on the surface of the sea to port, taking it for a torpedo track. The commanding officer of the RESOLUTION demurred, since no torpedo attacks were to be simulated that day. The 2nd Officer continued to watch the disturbance, eventually realising it was a submarine which had broken the surface. While discussing it with his commanding officer, they felt a slight bump at 11.13am.

Several witnesses from the REVENGE, also taking part in the exercises, reported seeing a submarine and her periscope breaking surface, watching her move across the path of the RESOLUTION; all feared an imminent collision but initially believed that she had cleared the RESOLUTION safely; one man stated that he saw the RESOLUTION lift her bow at about the moment he would have expected her to hit the submarine, however. Their fears were confirmed when they heard that the starboard paravane chain of the RESOLUTION had been carried away.

Salvage vessels were sent to the area, but severe weather continuing until the 12th prevented any hope of rescue or saving life.

Examination of the port paravane chain of the RESOLUTION and other similar factors appeared to confirm the finding of a collision between that vessel and L24. It was thought that the commanding officer of L24 had surfaced following his final dummy attack, and then, realising his error, ordered a rapid dive. It is likely that her stern would have been 20 to 30 feet higher than her bow and that she therefore just failed to clear the base of the RESOLUTION's stern, which was probably the moment at which the "slight bump" was felt. The impact would have forced her down to port. (10)

Built: 1919 (2)(3)(7)(8)
Builder: Vickers Armstrong (2)(3); Vickers (7)(8)
Where Built: Barrow-in-Furness (2)(3)(8)
Machinery: Vickers-Admiralty (8)
Propulsion: 2 screw-driven oil engines (2)(3); diesel engines with electric motors & 2 screws (8)
HP: 2400 (2)(3)(8)
Armament: 1 x 4in; 2 x 18in and 4 x 21in TT (2)(3); 4 x 21in TT, bow-mounted, 8 torpedoes carried) and 2 x 18in TT beam-mounted, 2 torpedoes carried; 1 x 40in/40 QF & 2 machine guns (8)
Commanding Officer: Lieut. Cdr. Paul L Eddis (2)(3)(9)
Crew: 43 (3)(9); 36 (2); 39 (8) [normal complement]
Crew Lost: 43 (3)(9)
Owner: Royal Navy [all sources]

Date of Loss Qualifier: Actual date of loss

Additional sources cited in Shipwreck Index of the British Isles:
British Submarines of WWI, P Kemp

<1> United Kingdom Hydrographic Office, 1992, Hydrographic Office wreck index (Index). SWX4837.

<2> Larn, Richard, 1992, United Kingdom shipwreck index (Index). SWX5030.

<3> Larn, R, and Larn, B, 1995, Shipwreck index of the British Isles, volume 1 : Isles of Scilly, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset Section 6, Dorset (AJ) Vol 1 (Monograph). SWX4541.

<4> Statutory instrument: Protection of Military Remains Act (Designation of Vessels and Controlled Sites) Order, 2008 No 950 (Scheduling record). SDO20685.

<5> SeaZone Hydrospatial, Digital marine geographic information derived from SeaZone Hydrospatial, 18-APR-2008 (Digital archive). SDO20540.

<6> 1977, Admiralty Chart 2454, 18-APR-2008 (Cartographic materials). SDO14746.

<7> Colledge, J J, 1969, Ships of the Royal Navy. Volume 1: major ships, 306 (Monograph). SWX4826.

<8> Akermann, Paul, 1989, Encyclopaedia of British submarines 1901-1955, 164-169 (Monograph). SWX4814.

<9> Kemp, Paul, 1999, The Admiralty Regrets: British Warship Losses of the 20th Century, 89-90 (Monograph). SWX9368.

<10> Evans, A S, 1986, Beneath the waves: a history of HM submarine losses [1904-1971], 149-154 (Monograph). SWX4816.

<11> Hinchcliffe, J and V, 1999, Dive Dorset: a diver guide (3rd Edition) (Monograph). SWX1.

<12> McCartney, I, 2003, Lost Patrols, Submarine Wrecks of the English Channel. (Monograph). SWX8097.

<13> National Record of the Historic Environment, 904582 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Apr 15 2024 12:49PM