British S-class submarine (1914)

The S class was a class of three submarines, built by Scotts in Greenock, Scotland for the Royal Navy, and launched in 1914–1915. The boats were an experimental design for the Royal Navy, based on an Italian design by Cesare Laurenti and the FIAT-San Giorgio works. The S class was the first British submarine to be built in Scotland, and the first to feature a double hull. The boats were not considered a success, and were not popular with Royal Navy officers. S1 and S2 saw limited service in the North Sea during the start of the First World War, before all three boats of the class were transferred to the Italian Regia Marina upon its entry to the war in 1915. In Italian service, S1 and S2 were active in the Adriatic Sea, and S3 was part of the Submarine School. All three were stricken in 1919 after the war, and scrapped.