Starfish on the surface | |
History | |
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United Kingdom | |
Name | Starfish |
Ordered | 16 March 1931 |
Builder | Chatham Dockyard |
Laid down | 29 September 1931 |
Launched | 14 March 1933 |
Commissioned | 27 October 1933 |
Fate | Sunk, 9 January 1940 |
Badge | |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | S-class submarine |
Displacement |
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Length | 202 ft 6 in (61.7 m) |
Beam | 24 ft (7.3 m) |
Draught | 11 ft 11 in (3.6 m) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion |
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Speed |
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Range | 3,700 nmi (6,900 km; 4,300 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 | 38 |
Armament |
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HMS Starfish was a first-batch S-class submarine (often called the Swordfish class) built for the Royal Navy during the 1930s. Completed in 1933, she participated in the Second World War.
During the war, Starfish, part of the 2nd Submarine Flotilla, conducted five uneventful war patrols in the North Sea. On 9 January 1940, during her sixth patrol, she attacked a German minesweeper off Heligoland Bight, but after the attack failed and her diving planes jammed, Starfish was repeatedly attacked with depth charges. Badly damaged, she was forced to surface, and sank after all her crew were rescued by German ships.
The S-class submarines were designed as successors to the L class and were intended to operate in the North and Baltic Seas. [1] The submarines had a length of 202 feet 6 inches (61.7 m) overall, a beam of 24 feet (7.3 m) and a mean draught of 11 feet 11 inches (3.6 m). They displaced 730 long tons (740 t) on the surface and 927 long tons (942 t) submerged. [2] The S-class submarines had a crew of 38 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 first-batch boats had a range of 3,700 nautical miles (6,900 km; 4,300 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 boats were armed with six 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes in the bow. They carried six reload torpedoes for a grand total of a dozen torpedoes. They were also armed with a 3-inch (76 mm) deck gun. [2]
Ordered on 16 March 1931, HMS Starfish was laid down at Chatham Royal Dockyard on 29 September 1931 and was launched on 14 March 1933. She was commissioned later that year, on 27 October 1933. [2]
At the onset of World War II, Starfish was a member of the 2nd Submarine Flotilla. From 23–26 August 1939, the 2nd Submarine Flotilla deployed to the war bases at Dundee and Blyth. [5]
On 24 August 1939, Starfish, under the command of Lt. Thomas Anthony Turner, departed her homeport for it first patrol, southwest of Stavanger, Norway. On the First of September, a rating on board Starfish suffered a severe injury to the head, and her commander decided to return to port. When Britain declared war with Nazi Germany on 3 September, this became her first war patrol although she arrived at Dundee later that day. On the eleventh, she left port for her second combat patrol, in the same area as the first. After an uneventful patrol, Starfish returned to Dundee on 21 September. [6]
Starfish departed port on 4 October for her third war patrol, to the northwest of Bergen, Norway. On 17 October, she finished her uneventful third patrol at Rosyth. On 28 October Starfish left Rosyth for a patrol in the North Sea, off Dogger Bank. Again her patrol was uneventful, and Starfish returned to Blyth on 7 November. She left again for her fifth patrol, southwest of Norway, then later to the west of Denmark. On 8 December, Starfish ended her patrol, which had been uneventful, at Blyth. [6]
On 6 January 1940, Starfish departed for her sixth and last combat patrol, off Heligoland Bight. On 9 January at 10:40 (UTC), she sighted the German minesweeper M-7 and attacked it in position 55°00′N07°10′E / 55.000°N 7.167°E . However, the attack failed because, due to drill errors, the torpedoes were not fired. Starfish commenced a second attack but her diving planes jammed, and her commander decided to submerge to the 27 metres (88.6 ft) deep bottom to conduct repairs. According to Captain Turner in his postwar report, Starfish was located by the German minesweeper, who dropped two depth charges which caused no damage. At 10:50, a crew member asked for permission to restart one of the motors to prevent the gyro from wandering. Permission was granted, but no sooner the motor had been started, four depth charges were dropped directly above the boat, causing widespread damage. At 14:40, another attack was carried out, and twenty depth charges exploded close to the submarine's hull, damaging rivets and causing leaking. By 18:00 Starfish was severely flooded, and her commander, seeing the Germans would not leave, gave the order to surface at 18:20. She was forced to drop her ballast keel, coming up at a 45° angle due to flooding. All crew were rescued and taken as prisoners of war, and Starfish sank shortly after. [6]
In July 1940, a diving mission was sent to locate her wreck and secret documents, but the attempt was unsuccessful. [6]
HMS Sceptre (P215) was a third-batch S-class submarine built for the Royal Navy during World War II. Completed in April 1943, she spent the majority of her career in the North Sea, off Norway. After an uneventful patrol, the submarine participated in Operation Source, an attack on German battleships in Norway using small midget submarines to penetrate their anchorages and place explosive charges. However, the midget submarine that she was assigned to tow experienced technical difficulties and the mission was aborted. During her next four patrols, Sceptre attacked several ships, but only succeeded in severely damaging one. She was then ordered to tow the submarine X24, which was to attack a floating dry dock in Bergen. The operation, codenamed Guidance, encountered difficulties with the attacking submarine's charts, and the explosives were laid on a merchant ship close to the dock instead. The dock was damaged and the ship sunk, and X24 was towed back to England. Sceptre then conducted a patrol in the Bay of Biscay, sinking two German merchant ships, before being reassigned to tow X24 to Bergen again. The operation was a success, and the dry dock was sunk.
HMS Seahorse was a first-batch S-class submarine built for the Royal Navy during the 1930s. Ordered in March 1931, she was laid down at Chatham Dockyard in September 1931 and launched on 15 November 1932.
HMS Swordfish (61S) was a first-batch S-class submarine built for the Royal Navy during the 1930s. Commissioned in 1932, she was given the pennant number 61S and was assigned to the 2nd Submarine Flotilla.
HMS Safari was a third batch S-class submarine built for the Royal Navy during World War II. Commissioned in 1942, she was assigned to operate in the Mediterranean Sea. During the course of the war, Safari sank twenty-five ships, most of which were Italian.
HMS Spiteful was a third-batch S-class submarine built for the Royal Navy during the Second World War.
HMS Sturgeon was an S-class submarine that entered service with the Royal Navy in 1932. Ordered in 1930, she was laid down at Chatham Dockyard in January 1931 and launched on 8 January 1932. Commissioned on 27 February 1933, Sturgeon was assigned to the 2nd Submarine Flotilla.
HMS Syrtis was a third-batch S-class submarine built for the Royal Navy during the Second World War. Completed in 1943, Syrtis spent most of her career in the Arctic, off Norway, other than a single patrol in the Bay of Biscay,
HMS Saracen was a third-batch S-class submarine built for the Royal Navy during the Second World War. Completed in 1942, Saracen conducted a patrol in the North Sea where she sank a German U-boat. She was then assigned to the 10th Submarine Flotilla in Malta, from where she made three patrols; on her second, she sank an Italian submarine. Saracen was then reassigned to the 8th Submarine Flotilla, based in Algiers, French North Africa.
HMS Sea Nymph was a S-class submarine of the third batch built for the Royal Navy during World War II. Completed in July 1942, she spent the majority of her career patrolling the waters off Norway in the North Sea, then was sent to the Pacific but was forced back due to technical problems.
HMS Shalimar was a third-batch S-class submarine built for the Royal Navy during World War II. Completed in April 1944, she conducted one war patrol off the Orkney Islands, then was assigned to the Pacific theater, arriving there in September. The submarine conducted one war patrol off the Nicobar Islands, destroying several small ships with gunfire. During her next three patrols in the Strait of Malacca, Shalimar sank twelve sailing vessels, eleven landing craft, four coasters, three lighters, three tugboats, and one minesweeper. After the war ended, the boat was sent back to England, placed in reserve, then sold for scrap in July 1950.
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 Sportsman was a third-batch S-class submarine built for the Royal Navy during World War II. Completed in 1942, she spent most of the war serving in the Mediterranean Sea. After an initial patrol off Norway, she sank the heavy transport Général Bonaparte in the Mediterranean in 1943 and missed a French oil tanker. She was heavily damaged after a mistaken attack by an Allied bomber, and was sent east after repairs to participate in operations in the Black Sea. After the operation was cancelled, Sportsman patrolled the Aegean Sea, sending several Greek and German ships to the bottom. She sank the German transport SS Petrella in early 1944 despite it being clearly marked as a prisoner-of-war ship, killing 2,670 out of 3,173 Italians aboard. Sportsman sank several more ships, and suffered minor damage when she was detected and sighted while attempting to attack a convoy.
HMS Sterlet was a second-batch S-class submarine built during the 1930s for the Royal Navy. Completed in 1938, the boat fought in the Second World War. The submarine is one of the 12 boats named in the song Twelve Little S-Boats. Thus far she has been the only ship of the Royal Navy to be named Sterlet.
HMS Snapper was a second-batch S-class submarine built during the 1930s for the Royal Navy. Completed in 1935, the boat participated in the Second World War. Snapper is one of the 12 boats named in the song "Twelve Little S-Boats".
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.
HMS L27 was a L-class submarine built for the Royal Navy during World War I. The boat was not completed before the end of the war and was one of three L-class boats to serve during World War II. She served as training boat before being broken up in 1944.
HMS P222 was a third-batch S-class submarine built for the Royal Navy during World War II. Commissioned in 1942, the boat had an uneventful first war patrol in the Alboran Sea. She intercepted the Vichy French merchant ship SS Mitidja in July, then provided protection for an Allied convoy to Malta in Operation Pedestal the next month. The navy intended that she was to be sighted on the surface by enemy aircraft to discourage potential attacks by surface warships. Though P222 did not encounter enemy forces, the convoy arrived at its destination on 15 August after sustaining severe losses. She then reconnoitred along the coast of Algeria in advance of Operation Torch, and was attacked by a French patrol ship, but sustained no damage.
HMS Regulus (N88) was a Rainbow-class submarine built for the Royal Navy during the 1930s.
Ro-43 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Kaichū type submarine of the K6 sub-class. Completed and commissioned in December 1943, she served in World War II and was sunk in February 1945 during her fifth war patrol.
The second Ro-55 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Kaichū type submarine of the K6 sub-class. Completed and commissioned in September 1944, she served in World War II and was sunk during her first war patrol in February 1945.