Themes

Conflict and Change

• Introduction

• In Focus: 1900

• In Focus: World War One

  • Surface Fleet

  • Submarines

  • Royal Marines

  • Fleet Air Arm

• In Focus: Interwar

• In Focus: World War Two

• In Focus: Post War Conflict

• In Focus: Cold War Climate

• In Focus: Falklands and Beyond

• Special Exhibition: Falklands 25

Learning

• How To: Understand Propaganda

• Propaganda Image Galleries

• Education Project: Sea With Your Own Eyes

Battle of May Island

Article Highlights

• Introduction

• The collision

• Sinking of K17 and K4

Sinking of K17 and K4

The cruiser HMS Fearless then hit HMS K17, causing the submarine to sink. Then K11 hit K6, followed by K6 hitting K4, cutting her almost in half and causing her to sink immediately. Attempts began to pull K17's survivors from the sea, but then destroyers from the battlewagon screen unknowingly churned through the spot where K17 had sunk, killing most of the submarine's survivors. There were also no survivors from K4.

Damaged bow of HMS Fearless after ramming K17 at Battle of May Island (RNSM)

The design faults of the K class did not cause the disaster. Instead, it resulted from the flawed concept of mixing surface warships and submarines.

Related External Links

• Royal Navy Submarine Museum