British S class submarine (1931)

Second Group

The second group of S-class submarines consisted of eight boats. They were larger than the preceding first group and required more men to crew, but carried a similar armament. Construction was divided between Chatham Dockyard, and the yards of Scotts, of Greenock and Cammell Laird & Co Limited, of Birkenhead. All the ships were built between 1934 and 1937. During the war, they, like the submarines of the first group, mostly operated in home waters, ranging as far afield as the Bay of Biscay and the Scandinavian coast. One, HMS "Sunfish", was assigned to the Soviet Navy and operated in the Baltic Sea, before she was sunk by friendly aircraft.

A large percentage of these submarines were also lost during the war. Only two, HMS "Sealion" and HMS "Seawolf" survived to the end of the war.

Ships:

Two ordered under the 1931 Construction Programme:
* HMS "Sealion"
* HMS "Shark"Two ordered under the 1932 Construction Programme:
* HMS "Snapper"
* HMS "Salmon"One ordered under the 1933 Construction Programme:
* HMS "Seawolf"Two ordered under the 1934 Construction Programme:
* HMS "Spearfish"
* HMS "Sunfish"One ordered under the 1935 Construction Programme:
* HMS "Sterlet"

Third Group

The third and by far the most numerous group of S-class submarines consisted of 50 boats. They were the largest and most heavily armed of the S-class and required more men to crew. They were one knot faster on the surface, but two knots slower when submerged. Most of the group were built at the yards of either Scotts, of Greenock or Cammell Laird & Co Limited, of Birkenhead, with a handful being built at Chatham, or by Vickers Armstrong Ltd, of Barrow-in-Furness. Construction was carried out throughout the war, particularly between 1941 and 1945. Equipped with a greater fuel capacity than their predecessors, they operated much further afield, in the Mediterranean and in the Pacific far east.

There were two distinct subgroups. The first were boats of 842 tons, comprising those ordered under the 1939 War Emergency, 1940 and 1941 Programmes (except "Sea Devil" and "Scotsman"), plus the "Sturdy" and "Stygian" of the 1942 Programme; these carried an external stern torpedo tube in addition to the six bow tubes. The second subgroup were boats of 814 tons, comprising the "Sea Devil" and "Scotsman" of the 1941 Programme, plus those ordered under the 1942 and 1943 Programmes (except "Sturdy" and "Stygian"); these carried no external torpedo tube, but had a thicker welded pressure hull providing for an operational depth limit of 350 feet - compared with the 300 feet limit in the first subgroup.

Losses continued to be high. Nine ships; "P222", "Saracen", "Sahib", "Sickle", "Simoom", "Splendid", "Stonehenge", "Stratagem" and "Syrtis" were lost during the war, and "Shakespeare" and "Strongbow" were so badly damaged that they were written off and scrapped. Many surviving ships remained in service after the war. "Sportsman", by now transferred to the French navy, was lost off Toulon in 1951 and "Sidon" was sunk after a torpedo malfunction in 1955.

Ships:

*Five ships were ordered under the 1939 War Emergency Programme.
* HMS "Safari"
* HMS "Sahib"
* HMS "Saracen"
* HMS "Satyr"
* HMS "Sceptre"
* Twenty ships were ordered under the 1940 Programme. These differed from the initial five by having an external "stern" torpedo tube fitted, also a 20 mm AA gun and air warning RDF installed.
* HMS "Seadog"
* HMS "Sibyl"
* HMS "Sea Rover"
* HMS "Seraph"
* HMS "Shakespeare"
* HMS "P222" which was lost before a name could be alloted to her.
* HMS "Sea Nymph"
* HMS "Sickle"
* HMS "Simoom"
* HMS "Sirdar"
* HMS "Spiteful"
* HMS "Splendid"
* HMS "Sportsman"
* The final seven further ships ("P81" to "P87") ordered under the 1940 Programme, all from Vickers-Amstrong, were cancelled during 1943 (and were never laid down or named).
* Fifteen ships were ordered under the 1941 Programme.
* HMS "Stoic"
* HMS "Stonehenge"
* HMS "Storm"
* HMS "Stratagem"
* HMS "Strongbow"
* HMS "Spark"
* HMS "Scythian"
* HMS "Stubborn"
* HMS "Surf"
* HMS "Syrtis"
* HMS "Shalimar"
* HMS "Scotsman"
* HMS "Sea Devil"
* HMS "Spirit"
* HMS "Statesman"
* Thirteen ships were ordered under the 1942 Programme.
* HMS "Sturdy"
* HMS "Stygian"
* HMS "Subtle"
* HMS "Supreme"
* HMS "Sea Scout"
* HMS "Selene"
* HMS "Seneschal"
* HMS "Sentinel"
* HMS "Sidon"
* HMS "Sleuth"
* HMS "Solent"
* HMS "Spearhead"
* HMS "Springer"
* Eight ships were ordered under the 1943 Programme, but only four were completed. The other four submarines was cancelled after the war ended in 1945, and they became surplus to peace time requirements.
* HMS "Saga"
* HMS "Scorcher"
* HMS "Spur"
* HMS "Sanguine"
* HMS "Sea Robin" (P267) - cancelled
* HMS "Sprightly" (P268) - cancelled
* HMS "Surface" (P269) - cancelled
* HMS "Surge" (P271) - cancelled

References

ources

*Colledge