HMS Spearfish (N69)

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HMS Spearfish (N69)
Royal Navy
General data
Ship type : Submarine
Ship class : Shark class ( S class )
Navy : Royal Navy
Builder : Cammell Laird ( Birkenhead )
Keel laying : May 23, 1935
Launch : April 21, 1936
Commissioning: December 11, 1936
Whereabouts: Torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U 34 on August 1, 1940 .
Technical data
(see Shark class )

HMS Spearfish (N69) was a Royal Navy submarine during World War II . In April 1940 the British submarine torpedoed the German "Westentasche battleship" Lützow and damaged it so badly that it was only due to fortunate circumstances that it did not sink.

history

see: History of the Shark-Class and Detailed History of the S-Class

The Spearfish ( English : Speerfisch ) was a boat of the second batch of the successful S-Class . This lot is also known as the Shark class .

She was laid down on May 23, 1935 at Cammell Laird in Birkenhead and launched on April 21, 1936. She was commissioned by the Royal Navy on December 11, 1936.

The submarine was used in the North Sea after the outbreak of World War II .

German units damaged the Spearfish so badly off Horns Rev on September 24, 1939 that it was unclear to dive. Nevertheless, the submarine managed to escape, was later rescued by ships of the Home Fleet and returned to the base in Rosyth on September 26th. The damage forced a longer stay in the shipyard, which lasted until March 1940.

On 11 April 1940, the now again operational submarine cleared the Kattegat northeast of Skagen in position 57 ° 50 '  N , 11 ° 0'  O the of the operation weserübung returning heavy cruiser Lutzow on. The Spearfish attacked the large German warship with a torpedo fan . A torpedo hit the stern of the Lützow , which then buckled. 15 German sailors were killed. Since the last four torpedoes had been used up in the attack, no further attack took place. The Lützow , which then drifted without a drive , was rescued, but had to go to the shipyard for more than a year due to the severe damage.

On 20 May 1940 the recessed Spearfish in position 55 ° 0 '  N , 3 ° 30'  O the Danish fishing vessels S. 130 and S. 175 with the deck gun .

On August 1, 1940, U 34 130 NM north-east of Aberdeen ( Scotland ) at position 58 ° 7 '  N , 1 ° 32'  E discovered the surfaced HMS Spearfish . The German submarine was on its way home on its seventh patrol and only had one torpedo on board. The U 34 successfully attacked the Spearfish with its last torpedo . The direct hit destroyed the HMS Spearfish within a few seconds. The German submarine was only able to save a single survivor of the Spearfish . About 38 British sailors were killed.

Commanders

  • Lt. John Henry Eaden (December 17, 1938 - November 1939)
  • According to Cdr. John Hay Forbes (February 1940 - August 1, 1940)

Web links

Commons : British S-Class Submarines  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

literature

  • Erminio Bagnasco: Submarines in World War II. Motorbuchverlag, Stuttgart 1996, ISBN 3-613-01252-9 .
  • Robert Hutchinson: FIGHT UNDER WATER - Submarines from 1776 to the present day. Motorbuchverlag, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-613-02585-X .
  • Anthony Preston: The History of the Submarines. Karl Müller Verlag, Erlangen 1998, ISBN 3-86070-697-7 .

Explanations and references

  1. ↑ HMS is the abbreviation for His / Her Majesty's Ship and the name prefix of British ships. HMS means His / Her Majesty's Ship .