Grampus-class submarine

Last updated

HMS Porpoise-1-.jpg
Class overview
NameGrampus class
OperatorsNaval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  Royal Navy War ensign of Germany (1938-1945).svg  Kriegsmarine
Preceded by River class
Succeeded by T class
In commission1933—1945
Completed6
Lost5
Retired1
General characteristics
Type Submarine
Displacement
  • 1,810 tons surfaced
  • 2,157 tons submerged
Length293 ft (89 m)
Beam25 ft 6 in (7.77 m)
Draught16 ft 10 in (5.13 m)
Propulsion2 shaft, diesel (3,300 hp; 2,500 kW) plus electric (1,630 hp; 1,220 kW)
Speed
  • 15.5 knots (28.7 km/h; 17.8 mph) surfaced
  • 8.75 knots (16.21 km/h; 10.07 mph) submerged
Complement59
Armament

The Grampus-class submarines were a group of minelaying submarines built for the Royal Navy in the late 1930s. These boats are sometimes referred to as the Porpoise class from the single prototype, HMS Porpoise built in 1932. Five boats to a modified design were built between 1936 and 1938. The ships were all named after marine mammals.

Contents

Design

The naval mines were stored in a special "gallery" with a conveyor belt built into the outer casing as pioneered by the converted M-class submarine HMS M3. These boats were of a saddle tank type.

Service

Boats of this class were used extensively in the Mediterranean, particularly as part of the supply effort to the besieged island of Malta in a service nicknamed the "magic carpet".

Only one, HMS Rorqual, survived the war.

Boats in class

ShipBuilderLaunchedFate
HMS Porpoise (N14) Vickers, Barrow30 August 1932Sunk by Japanese aircraft in the Malacca straits, 16 January 1945.
HMS Grampus (N56) Chatham Dockyard 25 February 1936Sunk by Italian torpedo boats Circe and Clio off Sicily 16 June 1940.
HMS Narwhal (N45) Vickers, Barrow29 August 1935Sunk 30 July 1940 by German aircraft near Norway.
HMS Rorqual (N74) Vickers, Barrow21 July 1936Arrived Newport to be broken up 17 March 1946.
HMS Cachalot (N83) Scotts 2 December 1937Sunk by Italian torpedo boat Generale Achille Papa off Cyrenaica 30 July 1941.
HMS Seal (N37) Chatham Dockyard 27 September 1938Captured by the Germans in the Kattegat 4 May 1940 after sustaining mine damage, commissioned as the UB, scuttled 3 May 1945, but later raised and scrapped.

Related Research Articles

Eleven vessels of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Grampus after two members of the dolphin family (Delphinidae): Grampus griseus, also known as Risso's dolphin, and Orcinus orca, also known as the killer whale.

HMS <i>Grampus</i> (N56) Submarine of the Royal Navy

HMS Grampus (N56) was the lead ship of her class of mine-laying submarine of the Royal Navy. She was built at Chatham Dockyard and launched on 25 February 1936. She served in World War II off China before moving to the Mediterranean Sea. She was sunk with all hands by the Regia Marina on 16 June 1940.

United States <i>Porpoise</i>-class submarine Class of US Navy submarine

The Porpoise class were submarines built for the United States Navy in the late 1930s, and incorporated a number of modern features that would make them the basis for subsequent Salmon, Sargo, Tambor, Gato, Balao, and Tench classes. In some references, the Porpoises are called the "P" class.

British C-class submarine

The British C-class submarines were the last class of petrol engined submarines of the Royal Navy and marked the end of the development of the Holland class in the Royal Navy. Thirty-eight were constructed between 1905 and 1910 and they served through World War I.

British D-class submarine Type of British submarines in service before WWI

The D-class submarine was the Royal Navy's first class of submarines capable of operating significantly beyond coastal waters. They were also the first boats to be fitted with wireless transmitters. Ten were laid down between 1907 and 1910, though only 8 were completed as D-class boats. The final two hulls were completed as British E-class submarine.

HMS <i>C12</i> Submarine of the Royal Navy

HMS C12 was one of 38 C-class submarines built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. The boat survived the First World War and was sold for scrap in 1920.

HMS <i>C14</i> Submarine of the Royal Navy

HMS C14 was one of 38 C-class submarines built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. The boat survived the First World War and was sold for scrap in 1920.

HMS <i>C16</i> C-class submarine built for the Royal Navy

HMS C16 was one of 38 C-class submarines built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. The boat survived the First World War and was sold for scrap in 1922.

HMS C24 was one of 38 C-class submarines built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. The boat survived the First World War and was sold for scrap in 1921.

HMS C26 was one of 38 C-class submarines built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century.

HMS <i>C38</i> C-class submarine of the Royal Navy

HMS C38 was one of 38 C-class submarines built for the United Kingdom Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. The boat survived the First World War and was sold for scrap in 1919.

HMS C35 was one of 38 C-class submarines built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century.

HMS C27 was one of 38 C-class submarines built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century.

HMS <i>L4</i>

HMS L4 was a L-class submarine built for the Royal Navy during World War I. The boat survived the war and was sold for scrap in 1934.

HMS Porpoise (N14) was one of the six-ship class of Grampus-class mine-laying submarines of the Royal Navy. She was built at Vickers Armstrong, Barrow and launched 30 August 1932. She served in World War II in most of the naval theatres of the war, in home waters, the Mediterranean and the Far East. She was sunk with all hands by Japanese aircraft on 19 January 1945, and was the last Royal Navy submarine to be lost to enemy action.

HMS <i>Narwhal</i> (N45) Submarine of the Royal Navy

HMS Narwhal (N45) was one of the six ship class of Grampus-class mine-laying submarine of the Royal Navy. She was built by Vickers Armstrong, Barrow and launched 29 August 1935. She served in the Second World War in home waters. She was lost in the North Sea on 23 July 1940, probably sunk by German aircraft.

HMS <i>Rorqual</i> (N74) British mine-laying submarine

HMS Rorqual (N74) was a British mine-laying submarine, one of the six ships of the Grampus class of the Royal Navy. She was built by Vickers Armstrong, Barrow and launched 27 July 1936. She served in the Second World War in the Mediterranean and in the far east. She was the only Grampus-class submarine to survive the war, and she is considered the most successful minelaying submarine of World War II, sinking 57,704 GRT of enemy shipping, 35,951 of which through her mines.

Eleven ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Porpoise, after the marine mammal, the porpoise:

Several ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Cachalot, after the marine mammal, the cachalot, or sperm whale:

References

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