HMS C19 was the first of the Group 2 C Class submarines and was built at Chatham. The Group 2 boats were slightly larger than the earlier Group 1.


C19 was laid down on No 7 slip on 11th March 1907. She was launched into the Medway by Miss de Salis, the daughter of the Captain of the Dockyard, Capt. William de Salis on 20th March 1909. She commissioned at Chatham on 9th November 1909.


HMS C19 displaced 290 tons surfaced, 320 tons dived, she was 143ft 2" long and 13ft 6" wide at the beam. She was armed with 2 18" torpedo tubes and carried a crew of 16 men.


The C Class were the last British evolution of the original Holland design. They were petrol rather than diesel-electric boats and had a limited endurance, although they featured innovations such as forward hydroplanes which gave better control over the boat. They only had a 10% bouyancy reserve over their surfaced displacement, so handled poorly on the surface, but their elongated cylindrical with a rounded bow (a fore-runner of the modern 'tear-drop' shaped submarines) meant that they handled and performed well when submerged.


The C Class Submarine:





A C Class submarine running on the surface, showing the low profile:





HMS C19 was based at Dundee, attached to the depot ship HMS Vulcan and the 7th Submarine Flotilla between 1910 and 1912. From there, she moved to the Tyne, attached to HMS Alecto as part of the 10th Flotilla in 1914. In 1915, she had rejoined 7th Flotilla, which along with HMS Vulcan, had moved to Leith. In 1916, she was with 4th Flotilla and HMS Arrogant at Dover. Later in 1917, she moved to Harwich and joined 9th Flotilla and HMS Maidstone. She moved again in 1917, this time to join 3rd Flotilla with HMS Hebe at Immingham and remained there until the end of the Great War.


By the time the 1st World War ended, the C Class were obsolete and HMS C19 was sold for scrap on 2nd February 1920.