The Holland class were the first submarines built for the Royal Navy ordered by the British Admiralty to evaluate the potential of the submarine with the Royal Navy. The Hollands were built under licence from the Holland Torpedo Boat Company/Electric Boat Company during the years 1901 to 1903. The Admiralty of the Royal Navy hoped to keep the Holland class a secret and very few senior officers even knew of their existence.

Holland 5 was the last of the five Holland class submarines and is thought that she had one of the first periscopes ever designed.

Protected site
The class of submarine became obsolete in the early 20th Century and in 1912 the Holland 5 was destined for scrap. It was being towed to Sheerness in Kent when it foundered and sank six miles off the coast near Eastbourne. The wreck remained undiscovered until the mid-1990s when it was found by chance by a diver, according to the NAS. Ministers granted protection of the wreck in 2005 to prevent it from being damaged by unauthorised interference from divers.

Police said removing the hatch and accessing the site without a licence was illegal under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973. English Heritage and Sussex Police today appealed for help to catch the perpetrators who are believed to have struck over the past two years.