Photo: Used by kind permission of BAE Systems. Keyes’ efforts were not the first, nor would they be the last instances of the British fleet copying and improving on German technology.Īn early A Class submarine of the Royal Navy, which did not have a German or French origin retractable periscope at the time (1903). Rather than a fixed scope on the outside of the hull – elevated via a knuckle pivot, with the submarine porpoising to poke it above the waves or withdraw it – the new style periscope could be extended and retracted mechanically from inside the submarine (which could keep a steady depth). The procurement of French and German retractable periscopes – soon copied and improved on by British firms – represented a huge step forward. The off-the-shelf engines and designs were not necessarily a success. Keyes went overseas for better periscopes and diesel engines and even bought in French and Italian submarine designs. He also quickly assessed that development of Britain’s submarines was being hampered by the monopoly that Vickers held over construction of the vessels and provision of their equipment, including periscopes and engines. In 1910, the intrepid Captain Roger Keyes, who had as a young naval officer participated in operations against slave traders off east Africa and helped quell the notorious Boxer Rebellion in China, found himself in command of the Submarine Service of the Royal Navy.Ī surface fleet outsider with no specific technical skills or even sea-going experience related to submarines, Keyes nonetheless delegated well.
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