HMS Sturgeon (73S)

HMS "Sturgeon" was a British S class submarine built by HM Dockyard, Chatham. She was laid down on the 1 January 1931 and was commissioned on the 15 December 1932. She was one of the four submarines that formed the First Group of the "S" class, and the only one of these to survive the war.

Career

"Sturgeon" spent most of her career in the North Sea, off the Scandinavian coast. On September 14 1939, she attacked her sister ship HMS "Swordfish" with three torpedoes but they all missed. This took place off the coast of Norway. Because of this incident, the Admiralty increased the operating distance of British submarines off Norway from 4 miles to 16 miles. She also attacked the German submarine "U-23", but failed to hit her. "Sturgeon" claimed her first success when she sank the German anti submarine trawler "Gauleiter Telshow" on the 20 November 1939.

She went on to sink the German troop transport "Pionier", the Danish merchant "Sigrun", the Norwegian merchant "Delfinus", and the German merchant "Boltenhagen". She also fired six torpedoes against the German submarine "U-43", but they all missed their target. [ [http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/3418.html HMS Sturgeon] , Uboat.net]

She was one of a number of submarines ordered to track the German battleship Bismarck before her eventual sinking.

HMS "Sturgeon" was then lent to the Dutch Navy from 11 October 1943 to 14 September 1945. During this time, she was renamed "Zeehond". [ [http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/2909.html HNMS Zeehond] , Uboat.net]

HMS "Sturgeon" was returned to the Royal Navy after being lent to the Dutch Navy, and then broken up at Granton in January 1946.

Notes

References

*"Submarines, War Beneath The Waves, From 1776 To The Present Day", by Robert Hutchinson.
*Colledge