View source for HMS L23

{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2016}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image= 
|Ship caption=
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country= United Kingdom
|Ship flag= {{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}}
|Ship name= HMS ''L23''
|Ship namesake=
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder= [[Chatham Dockyard]]
|Ship laid down= 29 August 1917
|Ship launched= 1 July 1919
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned= 
|Ship decommissioned=May 1946
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck= 
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship homeport=
|Ship motto= 
|Ship nickname=
|Ship honours=
|Ship fate= 
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class=[[British L class submarine|L-class submarine]]
|Ship displacement=*{{convert|914|LT|t|abbr=on}} surfaced
*{{convert|1089|LT|t|abbr=on}} submerged
|Ship length={{convert|238|ft|7|in|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|23|ft|6|in|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught={{convert|13|ft|3|in|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship power=*{{convert|2400|bhp|kW|lk=in|abbr=on}} (diesel)
*{{convert|1600|hp|kW|abbr=on}} (electric)
|Ship propulsion=*2 × [[diesel engine]]s
*2 × [[electric motor]]s
|Ship speed=*{{convert|17|kn|abbr=on|lk=in}} surfaced
*{{convert|10.5|kn|abbr=on}} submerged
|Ship range={{convert|3800|nmi|abbr=on|lk=in}} at {{convert|10|kn|abbr=on}} on the surface
|Ship test depth={{convert|150|ft|1}}
|Ship complement=38
|Ship armament=*4 × bow [[British 21-inch torpedo|{{convert|21|in|mm|0|abbr=on}}]] [[torpedo tube]]s
*2 × beam [[British 18 inch torpedo|{{convert|18|in|mm|0|abbr=on}}]] torpedo tubes
*1 × [[QF 4 inch naval gun Mk IV, XII, XXII|4-inch]] [[deck gun]]
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
'''HMS ''L23''''' was a [[British L class submarine|L-class submarine]] built for the Royal Navy during World War I. The boat was not completed before the end of the war and was one of the three L-class boats to serve during World War II. ''L23'' was sold for [[ship breaking|scrap]] in 1946.

==Design and description==
''L9'' and its successors were enlarged to accommodate [[British 21 inch torpedo|21-inch (53.3&nbsp;cm)]] torpedoes and more fuel. The submarine had a length of {{convert|238|ft|7|in|m|1}} [[length overall|overall]], a [[beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|23|ft|6|in|m|1}} and a mean [[draft (ship)|draft]] of {{convert|13|ft|3|in|m|1}}.<ref name=gg9>Gardiner & Gray, p. 93</ref> They [[displacement (ship)|displaced]] {{convert|914|LT|t}} on the surface and {{convert|1089|LT|t}} submerged. The L-class submarines had a crew of 35 officers and [[naval rating|ratings]].<ref name=a5>Akermann, p. 165</ref> They had a diving depth of {{convert|150|ft|1}}.<ref name=h11/>

For surface running, the boats were powered by two 12-cylinder [[Vickers]]<ref>Harrison, Chapter 25</ref> {{convert|1200|bhp|lk=in|0|adj=on}} [[diesel engine]]s, each driving one [[propeller shaft]]. When submerged each propeller was driven by a {{convert|600|hp|0|adj=on}} [[electric motor]].<ref name=gg9/> They could reach {{convert|17|kn|lk=in}} on the surface and {{convert|10.5|kn}} underwater. On the surface, the L class had a range of {{convert|3800|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|10|kn}}.<ref name=h11>Harrison, Chapter 11</ref>

The boats were armed with four 21-inch [[torpedo tube]]s in the bow and two [[British 18 inch torpedo|18-inch (45&nbsp;cm)]] in broadside mounts. They carried four reload torpedoes for the 21-inch tubes for a grand total of ten torpedoes of all sizes.<ref>Harrison, Chapter 27</ref> They were also armed with a {{convert|4|in|mm|adj=on|0}} [[deck gun]].<ref name=a5/>

==Construction and career==
HMS ''L23'' was [[laid down]] on 26 July 1917 by [[Vickers]] at their [[Barrow-in-Furness]] [[shipyard]], [[Ship naming and launching|launched]] on 1 July 1919. The boat was then towed to [[Chatham Royal Dockyard]] and finished on 31 October 1924. She served on the China Station in the 1920s. HMS ''L23'' survived a heavy [[depth charge]] attack by two [[Germany|German]] [[destroyers]] in February 1940. An oil leak occurred, which lead the Germans to believe that the submarine was destroyed. ''L23'' was sold for scrap in May 1946.

==Notes==
{{reflist|30em}}

==References==
* {{cite book|last=Akermann|first=Paul|title=Encyclopaedia of British Submarines 1901–1955|edition=reprint of the 1989|year=2002|publisher=Periscope Publishing|location=Penzance, Cornwall|isbn=1-904381-05-7}}
* {{Cite Colledge2006}}
* {{cite book |editor1-last=Gardiner|editor1-first=Robert|editor2-last=Gray|editor2-first=Randal|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921|year=1985|location=Annapolis, Maryland|publisher=Naval Institute Press|isbn=0-85177-245-5|name-list-style=amp}}
* {{cite web|url=http://rnsubs.co.uk/dits-bits/br-3043.html|title=The Development of HM Submarines From Holland No. 1 (1901) to Porpoise (1930) (BR3043)|last=Harrison|first=A. N.|date=January 1979|publisher=RN Subs|access-date=27 September 2022}}

{{British L class submarine}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:L23}}
[[Category:British L-class submarines]]
[[Category:Ships built in Barrow-in-Furness]]
[[Category:1919 ships]]
[[Category:World War I submarines of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Royal Navy ship names]]