HMS Porpoise (S01)

HMS Porpoise (S01) was a Porpoise-class submarine of the Royal Navy. She was launched on 25 April 1956, commissioned on 17 April 1958,[1] and was decommissioned in 1982. Finally, she was sunk as a target in 1985[2] in torpedo trials, for which purpose she was painted bright red.

HMS Porpoise (S01)
History
United Kingdom
Name: HMS Porpoise
Builder: Vickers-Armstrongs, Barrow-in-Furness
Launched: 25 April 1956
Commissioned: 17 April 1958
Decommissioned: 1982
Fate: Sunk as a target in 1985
General characteristics
Class and type: Porpoise class submarine
Displacement:
  • 2,080 tons surfaced
  • 2,450 tons submerged
Length: 290 ft (88 m)
Beam: 26 ft 7 in (8.10 m)
Draught: 18 ft (5.5 m)
Propulsion:
  • 2 × Admiralty Standard range diesel generators, 1,650 hp (1.230 MW)
  • 2 × English Electric main motors, 12,000 hp (8.95 MW)
  • 2 shafts
Speed:
  • 12 kn (22 km/h) surfaced
  • 17 kn (31 km/h)submerged
Range: 9,000 nmi (17,000 km) at 12 kn (22 km/h)
Complement: 71
Armament:

She had been used as a training target while still serving with the Navy; in 1979 her casing, ballast tanks and vents were reinforced so that unarmed torpedoes could be fired at her without the risk of sinking.

In 2000, a glacier in East Greenland was named after her

Commanding officers

FromToCaptain
19651966Lieutenant Commander G R H Lloyd-Williams RN
19771977
19781979Lieutenant Commander J L Milnes RN
19791981Lt Commander Kilgour

Accidents and incidents

Notable accidents involving HMS Porpoise
  • 18 October 1963: Suffers superficial damage departing Portsmouth harbor after colliding with the aircraft carrier HMS Centaur.
  • 1 January 1969 - Entangled in the nets of the French trawler Belle Poule.
  • 18 April 1982 - HMS Porpoise became entangled in the fishing nets of the Irish trawler Sharelga. The Sharelga, after travelling backwards two miles for twenty minutes, capsized and sank.[3]
A model of HMS Porpoise’’

References

  1. Submarines of The Royal Navy. Maritime Books. ISBN 0-907771-00-9.
  2. "Porpoise Class Submarines". Battleships-Cruisers.co.uk. Retrieved 15 February 2010.
  3. "The day 'Sharelga' was sunk by a sub" The Irish Independent.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.