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                               6.    K13 SUBMARINE MEMORIAL – CARLINGFORD

 
In 1915 the British Admiralty secretly planned a class of submarines of revolutionary design. These submersible destroyers, as they were called, were to be the largest, heaviest and fastest submarines built anywhere in the world at that time. Driven on the surface by steam engine, with a conning tower and retractable funnels, they proved to be so fast that no British submarines of the 1939-45 War could outstrip them. 

Between August 1916 and May 1918 the Royal Navy commissioned 17 of these vessels, designating them the "K" class this design had been evolved out of fear that the German Navy were building U-boats capable of 20 knots on the surface. The main engines, two turbines fed by two oil-fired boilers producing 10,500 horsepower and these were backed by four electric motors for underwater propulsion, plus a 1,800 hp diesel unit for use on the surface while the boilers were building pressure.

On the morning of 29 January 1917 at 0800 hours, with 80 men on board, LCDR Godfrey HERBERT RN gave out the order to cast off and tugs towed the giant submarine K13 out of the basin of Fairfield’s yard to move slowly down the Clyde. There was a crew of fifty three, plus fourteen directors and employees of Fairfield’s, five representatives of subcontractors, five Admiralty officials, a Clyde pilot, with two passengers being the Commanding and Engineer officers of Submarine K14, which was being built at the same yard.

K13 looked impressive, she was 339 feet long and displaced on the surface 1,800 tons, figures greater than those of the largest destroyers at that time. Her submerged displacement was 2,600 tons. While the day before she had dived and remained satisfactorily submerged in Gareloch for an hour. On the final test drive a careful check of the dials and instruments showed everything functioning correctly. One indicator was seen to be flickering, but this was thought to faulty wiring and a bad contact. The indicator was vitally important however. It showed whether the boiler room air ventilator lids were fully shut before diving.  

                                                                           

There were in all nine watertight doors and apart from the torpedo hatches, twelve hatches and innumerable valves, manholes and other openings in the hull: "Too many damned holes", as more than one submariner observed. 

But on their final test dive, disaster struck, and for an incredible fifty-seven hours,  47 survivors were trapped in the submarine after it sank. They were finally able to climb out through a hole cut in the plating of the forward deck of the submarine. Against all odds they survived in this tomb of death while what was described as bad salvage was carried out above them with one botch after the next occurring. The final tally of survivors was officially forty-eight with a loss of thirty-two lives. K13 was raised to the surface six weeks after her fatal plunge and in mid March was towed into Fairfield’s for refitting.  

Some months later, with minimal ceremony, she was re-commissioned into the Royal Navy as K22. In the 16 years between 1917 and 1932 over 300 men lost their lives in the K-class and all died as the result of accidents".

Why therefore is a monument of K13 in Australia? 

Here the facts become hazy and take time to piece together. The story starts with Charles Freestone. 

Charles Freestone was born in Chelmsford, Essex, England in 1896, he had volunteered for Submarine service in the Royal Navy during the First World War. He became a Leading Telegraphist on K13, and was one of the 47 survivors. Subsequently he was transferred at his own request to HMA Submarines J3 and, later, J4.

At the completion of the first World War in 1919, the British Government gave Australia a gift of six J class submarines and six navy destroyers. All the donated submarines were commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy on 25 March 1919 at Portsmouth.

The submarines together with six navy destroyers left Britain on the 9th April 1919 and arrived in Sydney on the 15th July 1919.

                            J2
The J Class subs and HMAS Platypus

Probably in Sydney Harbour as Fort Dension appears to be in background. HMAS Platypus was the mother ship for the J class submarines. It went on to serve in the 2nd World War long after the J Class were scuttled. It withstood the Japanese air raids on Darwin and went out of service in the 1950's. The Submarine base in Sydney is named in its honour.

When the J class were removed from service they were all scuttled (sunk) in and around Port Phillip Bay Victoria. J3 was  placed in shallow water as a breakwater on the northern tip of Swan Island. The others of the class (J1, J2, J4, J5 ) were all sunk in approx 30 to 40 metres of water about 2 kilometers off the mouth of Port Phillip Bay and are a popular scuba dive site. (From David Patrick of Sydney,  http://www.dropbears.com/w/ww1subs/jclass.htm) The J4 was purchased by a Melbourne Salvage Company, and on the 6th December 1926 the J4 was successfully raised so it could be dismantled. The conning tower of J4 was removed and erected on St.Kilda pier, as a starting tower for the sailing club and was used until 1956. (http://home.vicnet.net.au/~maav/jsub2.htm)

When Charles Freestone finished his service as part of  the RAN (Royal Australian Navy) he remained in Australia. He was greatly attached to the Parramatta district where he achieved outstanding success as a manufacturer, employer and investor. This district reminded him of Chelmsford; both located on a river with large industrial zones and pleasant rural areas surrounding them.  

                                                                                                                                

He set aside part of his subdivision in Pennant Hills Road, Carlingford in 1956 to be named the "K13 Memorial Park". Without seeing the Memorial commenced Charles died in May 1958. His health was impaired by pneumonia and by long drawn out and exhausting battle with the authorities to have his "Greenacres" property released from the Green Belt and recognised as residential area. His wife then courageously took up her husband’s dream. During 1961, Mrs. M Freestone the widow of Charles, survivor of HMS K13, paid for the building of a memorial in commemoration of those who have lost their lives in K13 and other submarines. An architect was employed and while keeping in mind Charles’ idea of using "good solid Australian stone as used by the pioneers" to embody a seascape motif with the letters "K13" prominently displayed, a plan was finally submitted to the council which was adopted in March 1961.

Rear Admiral H.A. SHOWERS CBE RAN (Rtd) conducted the service commemorating the unveiling and dedication of the K13 Memorial to all Commonwealth submariners on Sunday, 10 September 1961, in the presence of Mrs. M.F. FREESTONE. Subsequently the Fourth Submarine Squadron of the Royal Navy and later RAN held Squadron Divisions at the Memorial each year, which included presentations of awards and wreath laying ceremony.  
                                                 

The inscription on the memorial reads: "This memorial has been created in memory of those officers and men of the Commonwealth who gave their lives in submarines while serving the cause of freedom. It is called the "K13" memorial in particular memory of those lost in HM Submarine K13."

Modified from an article written by Pauline Garland, the Librarian of the Submarine School Library, HMAS PLATYPUS

 

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