HMS Astute (P447)

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HMS Astute (P447/S45)
History
Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svgUnited Kingdom
NameHMS Astute
Builder Vickers Armstrongs
Laid down4 April 1944
Launched30 January 1945
Commissioned30 June 1945
FateSold for scrap, 1 October 1970
General characteristics
Class and type Amphion-class submarine
Displacement1,360/1,590 tons (surface/submerged)
Length293 ft 6 in (89.46 m)
Beam22 ft 4 in (6.81 m)
Draught18 ft 1 in (5.51 m)
Propulsion2 × 2,150 hp (1,600 kW) Admiralty ML 8-cylinder diesel engine, 2 × 625 hp (466 kW) electric motors for submergence driving two shafts
Speed
  • 18.5 knots (34.3 km/h; 21.3 mph) surfaced
  • 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) submerged
Range
  • 10,500 nautical miles (19,400 km) at 11 knots (20 km/h) surfaced
  • 16 nautical miles (30 km) at 8 knots (15 km/h) submerged
Test depth350 ft (110 m)
Complement60
Armament

HMS Astute (P447) was an Amphion-class submarine. Her keel was laid down by Vickers at Barrow-in-Furness. She was launched in 1944 and commissioned in 1945. [1]

Contents

In 1953 she took part in the Fleet Review to celebrate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. [2] Astute was scrapped on 1 October 1970 at Dunston on Tyne.

Design

Like all Amphion-class submarines, Astute had a displacement of 1,360 tonnes (1,500 short tons) when at the surface and 1,590 tonnes (1,750 short tons) while submerged. It had a total length of 293 feet 6 inches (89.46 m), a beam length of 22 feet 4 inches (6.81 m), and a draught length of 18 feet 1 inch (5.51 m). The submarine was powered by two Admiralty ML eight-cylinder diesel engines generating a power of 2,150 horsepower (1,600 kW) each. It also contained four electric motors each producing 625 horsepower (466 kW) that drove two shafts. [3] It could carry a maximum of 219 tonnes (241 short tons) of diesel fuel, although it usually carried between 159 and 165 tonnes (175 and 182 short tons). [3]

The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 18.5 knots (34.3 km/h; 21.3 mph) and a submerged speed of 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph). [4] When submerged, it could operate at 3 knots (5.6 km/h; 3.5 mph) for 90 nautical miles (170 km; 100 mi) or at 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) for 16 nautical miles (30 km; 18 mi). When surfaced, it was able to travel 15,200 nautical miles (28,200 km; 17,500 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) or 10,500 nautical miles (19,400 km; 12,100 mi) at 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph). [3] Astute was fitted with ten 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes, one QF 4-inch naval gun Mk XXIII, one Oerlikon 20 mm cannon, and a .303 British Vickers machine gun. Its torpedo tubes were fitted to the bow and stern, and it could carry twenty torpedoes. Its complement was sixty-one crew members. [3]

Astute was laid down at Vickers-Armstrongs Barrow-in-Furness shipyard on 4 April 1944, was launched on 30 January 1945 and completed on 30 June 1945. [5]

Service history

Astute arrived at Halifax, Nova Scotia on 11 April 1950 for a six-week training period with the Royal Canadian Navy ending on 1 July. [6] Astute spent 21 months in 1955–56 based at Halifax as part of the Canadian submarine squadron, leaving Canada for the UK on 10 December 1956. [7]

As a response to the Cuban Missile Crisis, Astute and sister ship Alderney, both part of the Halifax-based 6th Submarine Squadron, were deployed to the North-East of the Grand Banks to warn if Soviet submarines were to be sent across the Atlantic to Cuba. [8]

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References

  1. ↑ "HMS Astute (P 447)". uboat.net.
  2. ↑ Souvenir Programme, Coronation Review of the Fleet, Spithead, 15th June 1953, HMSO, Gale and Polden
  3. 1 2 3 4 Paul Akermann (1 November 2002). Encyclopedia of British Submarines 1901–1955. Periscope Publishing Ltd. p. 422. ISBN   978-1-904381-05-1.
  4. ↑ "Acheron class". World Naval Ships, Cranston Fine Arts. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  5. ↑ Blackman 1962, p. 275.
  6. ↑ "Submarine Arrives". The Crowsnest. Vol. 2, no. 7. King's Printer. May 1950. p. 4.
  7. ↑ "Command News: H.M.S. Ambrose". Navy News . February 1957. p. 9. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  8. ↑ Hennessy & Jinks 2016 , pp. 275–277

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