HMS Spearfish

	Spearfish on the surface
History
United Kingdom
Name	Spearfish
Ordered	18 February 1935
Builder	Cammell Laird, Birkenhead
Laid down	23 May 1935
Launched	21 April 1936
Commissioned	11 December 1936
Fate	Sunk by U-34, 1 August 1940
Badge
General characteristics
Class and type	S-class submarine
Displacement	768 long tons (780 t) surfaced; 960 long tons (980 t) submerged;
Length	208 ft 8 in (63.6 m)
Beam	24 ft (7.3 m)
Draught	11 ft 10 in (3.6 m)
Installed power	1,550 bhp (1,160 kW) (diesel); 1,300 hp (970 kW) (electric);
Propulsion	2 × diesel engines ; 2 × electric motors ;
Speed	13.75 knots (25.47 km/h; 15.82 mph) surfaced; 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) submerged;
Range	6,000 nmi (11,000 km; 6,900 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surface; 64 nmi (119 km; 74 mi) at 2 knots (3.7 km/h; 2.3 mph) submerged
Test depth	300 feet (91.4 m)
Complement	40
Armament	6 × bow 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes ; 1 × 3-inch (76 mm) deck gun ;

Last updated July 24, 2023

HMS Spearfish was a second-batch S-class submarine built during the 1930s for the Royal Navy. Completed in 1936, the boat participated in the Second World War. The submarine was one of the 12 boats named in the song "Twelve Little S-Boats". So far she has been the only ship of the Royal Navy to be named Spearfish.

Design and description

The second batch of S-class submarines were designed as slightly improved and enlarged versions of the earlier boats of the class and were intended to operate in the North and Baltic Seas.^[1] The submarines had a length of 208 feet 8 inches (63.6 m) overall, a beam of 24 feet (7.3 m) and a mean draught of 11 feet 10 inches (3.6 m). They displaced 768 long tons (780 t) on the surface and 960 long tons (980 t) submerged.^[2] The S-class submarines had a crew of 40 officers and ratings. They had a diving depth of 300 feet (91.4 m).^[3]

For surface running, the boats were powered by two 775- brake-horsepower (578 kW) diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a 650-horsepower (485 kW) electric motor. They could reach 13.75 knots (25.47 km/h; 15.82 mph) on the surface and 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) underwater.^[4] On the surface, the second-batch boats had a range of 6,000 nautical miles (11,000 km; 6,900 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) and 64 nmi (119 km; 74 mi) at 2 knots (3.7 km/h; 2.3 mph) submerged.^[3]

The S-class boats were armed with six 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes in the bow. They carried six reload torpedoes for a total of a dozen torpedoes. They were also armed with a 3-inch (76 mm) deck gun.^[2]

Construction and career

Ordered on 18 February 1935, Spearfish was laid down on 23 May 1935 in Cammell Laird's shipyard in Birkenhead and was launched on 21 April 1936. The boat was completed on 11 December 1936.^[5]

Her wartime career started inauspiciously, when on 24 September 1939, she was heavily damaged by German warships off Horns Reef. She managed to escape despite being unable to submerge. A rescue mission was undertaken by the British Humber force and Home Fleet, including the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, and the battleship HMS Nelson, which performed escort duty whilst search and rescue attempts were made. The fleet was attacked by Junkers Ju 88 bombers of the Luftwaffe's Kampfgeschwader 30, and a bomb caused slight damage to the battlecruiser HMS Hood. Spearfish safely put in Rosyth on 26 September, and repairs were completed in early March 1940.

Another notable action occurred on 11 April 1940, whilst patrolling in the Kattegat, under the command of Lieutenant Commander John Hay Forbes, she torpedoed and damaged the German heavy cruiser Lützow, putting her out of action for over a year.^[6]^[7] At the time it was reported that she sank her sister ship, Admiral Scheer.^[8] Later that year, on 20 May, she sank two Danish fishing vessels S.130 and S.175 with gunfire in the North Sea.^[6]

Spearfish sailed from Rosyth on 31 July 1940, still under the command of "Jock" Forbes, to patrol off the Norwegian coast. On 1 August she was spotted on the surface by the German submarine U-34 under the command of Wilhelm Rollmann who attacked and sank her, about 180 miles (290 km) west-southwest of Stavanger.^[9] There was only one survivor, Able Seaman William Pester, who was taken about the U-34 as a prisoner of war.^[10]

Citations

↑ Harrison, Chapter 16
1 2 Chesneau, p. 49
1 2 McCartney, p. 6
↑ Bagnasco, p. 110
↑ Akermann, p. 334
1 2 "HMS Spearfish (N 69)". uboat.net.
↑ "TracesOfWar.com – Deutschland". TracesOfWar.com .
↑ I Was There! – We Knew We Had Hit The 'Scheer' Archived 3 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine , The War Illustrated, 3 May 1940.
↑ "HMS Spearfish (N 69)". uboat.net. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
↑ "Losses – National Maritime History – NMH". rnsubmus.co.uk. Archived from the original on 8 August 2007. Retrieved 23 June 2007.

Related Research Articles

HMS Spiteful was a third-batch S-class submarine built for the Royal Navy during the Second World War.

HMS Salmon was a second-batch S-class submarine built during the 1930s for the Royal Navy. Completed in 1935, the boat fought in the Second World War. Salmon is one of twelve boats named in the song "Twelve Little S-Boats".

HMS Stonehenge was an S-class submarine of the third batch built for the Royal Navy during World War II. Completed in 1943, she made her initial patrol off Norway and was then transferred to the Far East, where she conducted two war patrols, during which she sank two Japanese ships. On her second patrol, Stonehenge disappeared with all hands and was declared overdue on 20 March 1944. The most probable cause of her sinking is that she hit a mine, but her wreck has never been found.

HMS Stratagem was a third-batch S-class submarine built for the Royal Navy during World War II. Completed in 1943, she made her first war patrol off Norway before she was sent to the Far East, where she conducted three war patrols. On her second, she shelled installations on a Japanese-held island. Her only success came on her last patrol, when she torpedoed and sank a Japanese oil tanker. Soon after, she was spotted by aircraft and depth charged by a destroyer. She was forced to surface, and was scuttled to prevent her capture. Ten crew members escaped the sinking submarine and were taken prisoner, of whom only three survived the war.

HMS Simoom was a third-batch S-class submarine built for the Royal Navy during World War II. She was laid down on 14 July 1941 and launched on 12 October 1942.

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HMS Scythian was a S-class submarine of the third batch built for the Royal Navy during World War II. She survived the war and was sold for scrap in 1960.

HMS Scotsman was a third-batch S-class submarine of the third batch built for the Royal Navy during World War II. After training exercises in Britain during which she ran aground, requiring repairs, she was transferred to the Pacific fleet as the war with Germany had ended. The submarine sank one junk en route to her submarine unit, but arrived after the end of the Pacific war and World War II. She was scrapped in November 1964.

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HMS Shakespeare was an S-class submarine built for the Royal Navy during the Second World War, and part of the Third Group built of that class. She was built by Vickers-Armstrongs and launched on 8 December 1941.

HMS Solent was a S-class submarine built by Cammell Laird and launched on 8 June 1944 of the third batch built for the Royal Navy during World War II. She spent most of her career in the Pacific Far East, often in company with her sister ship, HMS Sleuth. Together they sank fifteen Japanese sailing vessels and the Japanese auxiliary minesweeper Wa 3. She survived the war and was sold for scrap in 1961.

HMS Surf was a S-class submarine of the third batch built for the Royal Navy during World War II. She survived the war and was scrapped in 1948.

HMS Sleuth was a S-class submarine of the third batch built for the Royal Navy during World War II. She survived the war and was sold for scrap in 1958.

HMS Supreme was a S-class submarine of the third batch built for the Royal Navy during World War II. She survived the war and was sold for scrap in 1950.

HMS Spirit was a S-class submarine of the third batch built for the Royal Navy during World War II. She survived the war and was scrapped in 1950.

HMS Stoic was a S-class submarine of the third batch built for the Royal Navy during World War II. She survived the war and was scrapped in 1950.

HMS Sturdy was a S-class submarine of the third batch built for the Royal Navy during World War II. She survived the war and was scrapped in 1958.

HMS Subtle was a S-class submarine of the third batch built for the Royal Navy during World War II. She survived the war and was scrapped in 1959.

HMS Sealion was a second-batch S-class submarine built during the 1930s for the Royal Navy. Completed in 1934, the boat fought in the Second World War.

HMS Seawolf was a second-batch S-class submarine built during the 1930s for the Royal Navy. Completed in 1936, the boat fought in the Second World War.

References

Akermann, Paul (2002). Encyclopaedia of British Submarines 1901–1955 (reprint of the 1989 ed.). Penzance, Cornwall: Periscope Publishing. ISBN 1-904381-05-7.
Bagnasco, Erminio (1977). Submarines of World War Two. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-962-6.
Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
Harrison, A. N. (January 1979). "The Development of HM Submarines From Holland No. 1 (1901) to Porpoise (1930) (BR3043)". RN Subs. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
McCartney, Innes (2006). British Submarines 1939–1945. New Vanguard. Vol. 129. Oxford, UK: Osprey. ISBN 1-84603-007-2.
Rohwer, Jürgen (2005). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two (Revised & Expanded ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-119-2.

57°50′N11°00′E / 57.833°N 11.000°E / 57.833; 11.000

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[h6-1] Harrison, Chapter 16

[gg9-2] 1 2 Chesneau, p. 49

[i7-3] 1 2 McCartney, p. 6

[4] Bagnasco, p. 110

[5] Akermann, p. 334

[uboat-6] 1 2 "HMS Spearfish (N 69)". uboat.net.

[7] "TracesOfWar.com – Deutschland". TracesOfWar.com .

[8] I Was There! – We Knew We Had Hit The 'Scheer' Archived 3 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine , The War Illustrated, 3 May 1940.

[uboat.net-9] "HMS Spearfish (N 69)". uboat.net. Retrieved 31 July 2012.

[10] "Losses – National Maritime History – NMH". rnsubmus.co.uk. Archived from the original on 8 August 2007. Retrieved 23 June 2007.

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v t e Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in August 1940
Shipwrecks	1 Aug: HMS Oswald, HMS Spearfish 3 Aug: U-25 7 Aug: Mohamed Ali El-Kebir 8 Aug: Ajax, Empire Crusader , Ouse 10 Aug: HMS Transylvania 15 Aug: Elli 19 Aug: HMS Corfu 20 Aug: U-51 21 Aug: Anglo Saxon 22 Aug: Iride 23 Aug: HMS Hostile 24 Aug: USS Peacock, HMS Penzance 25 Aug: Stakesby 28 Aug: HMS Dunvegan Castle 29 Aug: I-67 30 Aug: Mill Hill 31 Aug: HMS Esk, Har Zion Unknown date: J. W. Clise
Other incidents	11 Aug: Ceramic, Testbank 18 Aug: Von der Groeben 26 Aug: I-58 31 Aug: HMS Express, Volendam
1939 1940 1941 July 1940 September 1940

History
Spearfish on the surface
United Kingdom
Name	Spearfish
Ordered	18 February 1935
Builder	Cammell Laird, Birkenhead
Laid down	23 May 1935
Launched	21 April 1936
Commissioned	11 December 1936
Fate	Sunk by U-34, 1 August 1940
Badge
General characteristics
Class and type	S-class submarine
Displacement	768 long tons (780 t) surfaced 960 long tons (980 t) submerged
Length	208 ft 8 in (63.6 m)
Beam	24 ft (7.3 m)
Draught	11 ft 10 in (3.6 m)
Installed power	1,550 bhp (1,160 kW) (diesel) 1,300 hp (970 kW) (electric)
Propulsion	2 × diesel engines 2 × electric motors
Speed	13.75 knots (25.47 km/h; 15.82 mph) surfaced 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) submerged
Range	6,000 nmi (11,000 km; 6,900 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surface; 64 nmi (119 km; 74 mi) at 2 knots (3.7 km/h; 2.3 mph) submerged
Test depth	300 feet (91.4 m)
Complement	40
Armament	6 × bow 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes 1 × 3-inch (76 mm) deck gun