Holland Class British submarine From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The Holland class were the first submarines built for the Royal Navy. They were built by Vickers, Barrow-in-Furness. The first three were designed by John Philip Holland. 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. This led to the myth of the Royal Navy not taking any interest in submarines. On the contrary, the Royal Navy thought the submarine could become a potential weapon, but it had been Admiralty policy in the 19th Century to avoid encouraging revolutionary weapons