HMS E49
HMS E49 was a British E-class submarine built for the Royal Navy by Swan Hunter in Wallsend. The keel was laid on 15 February 1915, she was launched on 18 September 1916, and she was commissioned on 14 December 1916. E49 was mined off the Shetland Islands on 12 March 1917 by a field laid by the German submarine UC-76 on 10 March 1917; there were no survivors. The wreck rests about 96 feet (29 m) underwater with its bow blown off.
As an E-class submarine, E49 had a displacement of about 662 tons on the surface and 807 tons when submerged, and was around 180 feet (55 m) long. It was powered by two diesel engines and two electric motors, giving a top speed of roughly 15–16 knots on the surface and about 10 knots underwater. It could travel about 3,000 nautical miles at 10 knots on the surface.
Armament included five 18-inch torpedo tubes (two bow, two beam, one stern) carrying up to ten torpedoes, and a 12-pounder gun. It had a crew of about 30.
A memorial to the 31 submariners who died in the sinking was unveiled in Baltasound, Unst, on 12 March 2017.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 23:51 (CET).