View source for HMS G8

{{short description|Submarine}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2018}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin
}}
{{Infobox ship image
| Ship image = G9 at Scapa.jpg
| Ship image size = 300px
| Ship caption = HMS ''G9'', a Royal Navy G-class submarine.
}}
{{Infobox ship career
| Hide header = 
| Ship country = United Kingdom
| Ship flag = [[File:Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg|60px|Royal Navy Ensign]]
| Ship name = ''G8''
| Ship namesake = 
| Ship ordered = 
| Ship builder = [[Vickers]]
| Ship laid down = 18 December 1914
| Ship launched = 1 April 1916
| Ship acquired = 
| Ship commissioned = 30 June 1916
| Ship decommissioned = 
| Ship in service = 
| Ship out of service = 
| Ship struck = 
| Ship reinstated = 
| Ship fate = Lost 14 January 1918
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
| Hide header = 
| Header caption = 
| Ship class = [[British G-class submarine|G-class]] [[submarine]]
| Ship displacement = Surfaced / Submerged: 703 tons / 837 tons
| Ship length = 57.5 m
| Ship beam = 6.92 m
| Ship draught = 4.15 m
| Ship draft = 
| Ship power = *{{convert|1600|bhp|lk=in|abbr=on}} (diesel)
*{{convert|840|hp|abbr=on}} ([[electric motor]])
| Ship propulsion = *2 × [[diesel engine]]s
*2 × electric motors
| Ship speed = Surfaced / Submerged: 14 knots (25.93 km/h)/ 9.0 knots (16.67 km/h)
| Ship range = 44.14 tons of fuel oil giving 3,160 nm surfaced at 10 knots (19 km/h). 95 nm submerged, at 3 knots (6 km/h).
| Ship endurance = 
| Ship test depth = 
| Ship complement = 30
| Ship sensors = 
| Ship EW = 
| Ship armament = Torpedoes: 2 × [[British 18 inch torpedo|18 inch (450 mm)]] bow tubes, 2 × 18" beam tubes, 1 × [[British 21 inch torpedo|21 inch (533 mm)]] stern tube. 10 torpedoes in total. Guns: 1 × 3" 10 cwt. Mk.1 Elswick Quick Fire High Angle {QFHA}, forward. 1 × 12 pdr. 8 cwt. Mk. 1 gun HA mounting, aft.
| Ship notes = 
}}
|}

'''HMS ''G8''''' was a [[British G class submarine|G-class]] [[submarine]] of the [[Royal Navy]] that saw service during [[World War I]], costing an estimated £125,000.

==Description==
The G-class submarines were designed by the [[British Admiralty|Admiralty]] in response to a rumour that the Germans were building [[double hull|double-hulled]] submarines for overseas duties. The submarines had a length of {{convert|187|ft|1|in|m|1}} [[length overall|overall]], a [[beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|22|ft|8|in|m|1}} and a mean [[draft (ship)|draft]] of {{convert|13|ft|4|in|m|1}}. They [[displacement (ship)|displaced]] {{convert|703|LT|t}} on the surface and {{convert|837|LT|t}} submerged. The G-class submarines had a crew of 30 officers and [[Naval rating|ratings]]. They had a partial double hull.<ref name=gg9>Gardiner & Gray, p. 90</ref>

For surface running, the boats were powered by two {{convert|800|bhp|lk=in|0|adj=on}} [[Vickers]] [[two-stroke]] [[diesel engine]]s, each driving one [[propeller shaft]]. When submerged each propeller was driven by a {{convert|420|hp|0|adj=on}} [[electric motor]]. They could reach {{convert|14.25|kn|lk=in}} on the surface and {{convert|9|kn}} underwater. On the surface, the G class had a range of {{convert|2400|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|16|kn}}.<ref name=gg9/>

The boats were intended to be armed with one [[British 21-inch torpedo|21-inch (53.3&nbsp;cm)]] [[torpedo tube]] in the bow and two [[British 18 inch torpedo|18-inch (45&nbsp;cm)]] torpedo tubes on the beam. This was revised, however, while they were under construction, the 21-inch tube was moved to the stern and two additional 18-inch tubes were added in the bow. They carried two 21-inch and eight 18-inch torpedoes. The G-class submarines were also armed with a single {{convert|3|in|cm|1|adj=on}} [[deck gun]].<ref name=gg9/>

==War service==
[[File:Hms g8 submarine.jpg|thumb|left|Submarine ''G8'' (on right) moored alongside 10th Flotilla's [[depot ship]] {{HMS|Lucia}} during World War I]]
Like the rest of her class, ''G8''{{'}}s role was to patrol the [[North Sea]] in search of German [[submarine]]s.

''G8'' belonged to the 10th Flotilla during her war service, but also operated out of [[Scapa Flow]] during most of 1917. Her patrol areas were from north of [[Shetland]] to [[Norway]], the [[Skagerrak]], the [[Kattegat]], and the [[Horns Reef]]. She also made one patrol out of [[Harwich]] for the 9th Flotilla in August 1916 before joining the Tees Flotilla.

Her last patrol began from Tees on 27 December 1917, leaving with the submarine {{HMS|G12||6}} and the [[destroyer]] {{HMS|Medea||6}} for the [[Kattegat]]. She was ordered to start her voyage back on 3 January 1918 or possibly 48 hours later, returning to Tees on or around 6 January 1918. She did not return and was never heard from again. She was officially declared missing on 14 January 1918. The cause remains unknown, but she was found with depth rudders pointing towards the surface, which suggests that the men aboard were trying to get to the surface. Therefore, it is thought that a technical error led to the sinking. There is no evidence on the wreck of it being hit by torpedoes or mines.<ref>*[http://www.submarine-museum.co.uk/what-we-have/memorial-chapel/submarine-losses?start=7 'Submarine losses 1904 to present day' - Royal Navy Submarine Museum] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130714021235/http://www.submarine-museum.co.uk/what-we-have/memorial-chapel/submarine-losses?start=7 |date=14 July 2013 }}</ref><ref name="Fax: 33141000">{{Cite web|url=https://ekstrabladet.dk/nyheder/samfund/101-aar-gammel-ubaad-fundet-i-danmark/7732484|title=101 år gammel ubåd fundet i Danmark|last=Fax: 33141000|first=Rådhuspladsen 37 1785 København V. Telefon: 33111313|website=ekstrabladet.dk|language=da|access-date=2019-08-01}}</ref>

==Discovery and salvage==
The wreck was found in 2019 by the Danish "Sea War Museum Jutland" while they were in the process of registering all wrecks in Danish sea territories "Kattegat" and "Skagerak". It rests on approximately 100 m. of water. There are no plans of recovering the wreck.<ref name="Fax: 33141000"/>

==Citations==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* {{Cite Colledge2006}}

{{British G class submarine}}
{{January 1918 shipwrecks}}

{{coord missing|North Sea}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:G08}}
[[Category:British G-class submarines]]
[[Category:World War I submarines of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Ships built in Barrow-in-Furness]]
[[Category:Royal Navy ship names]]
[[Category:1916 ships]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1918]]
[[Category:World War I shipwrecks in the North Sea]]