Paxman Diesel Engines in RN Submarines

RN Paxman Submarine Diesel Engines
Home Page: http://www.paxmanhistory.org.uk/

A document produced by Paxman in 1945 says the Company manufactured all the diesel engines for U Class submarines.
Initially these were a 6 cylinder type, built to an Admiralty design, with a fabricated main frame and an output of 307 bhp at 600 rpm.
Paxman started delivering them (2 engines per boat) in 1938, before war broke out.

U and V Class submarines fitted with Paxman-built engines, as recorded in the Paxman order book, were:



Paxman's 6RXS was specially developed for service in submarines, the fabricated (welded) steel frame being better than a cast one for withstanding the shock of underwater explosions.
It produced 400 bhp at 825 rpm and was coupled to a 275 kW generator by a Wellman-Bibby flexible coupling.
The engines were made in pairs, left and right handed, so that all controls were between the two engines.

The U and V Class boats were the first British submarines with diesel-electric drive.
They were also the Royal Navy's only diesel-electric submarines until the post-War P and O Classes and then the Upholder (now Victoria) Class boats.
The electric motors in the U Class were built by General Electric and had a combined rating of 825 bhp. General Electric also supplied the electric motors for the V Class boats.

Detailed information continued at: http://www.paxmanhistory.org.uk/paxsubs.htm

 

Interesting post. I had not thought of welded steel mounted engines being better to resist shock but then there is much written on riveted shiops vs welded, the riveted ones being more flexible. I would think rivets would pop. I often wondered about tank construction along similar lines.

Type V11 UBoats had about 2100 horse power a pair, big difference but electric motors were closer.