Subtle class

Subtle class
General data
Ship type :	Submarine
Construction series:	S-class
Navies :	Royal Navy Israeli Navy (2) Portuguese Navy (3)
Builders :	Cammell Laird ( Birkenhead ) Scott's Shipbuild. ( Greenock )
Units:	17th
Technical specifications
Crew :	48 men
Displacement :	surfaced: 814–872  ts submerged: 990 ts
Length :	66.1 m
Width :	7.2 m
Draft :	3.4 m
Drive :	Diesel engines : 1900  PS (1420  KW ) Electric motors : 1300 PS (969 KW)
Speed :	surfaced: 15  kn (28  km / h ) submerged: 10 kn (19 km / h)
Driving range :	surfaced at 10 kn: > 6000  NM (> 11100 km)
Fuel supply:	up to 98 ts
Diving depth :	110 m
Alarm dive time:	25-30 seconds
Armament
Artillery :	1 × 4 ″ -L / 40- (102-mm) deck gun
Air defense :	1 × 20 mm Flak 3 ×  .303 ″ (7.7 mm) MG
Torpedoes :	6 × 21 ″ (533-mm) tube in the bow 12 torpedoes or sea ​​mines

The Subtle class was the fourth subassembly of the British S class . The majority of the 17 submarines were used in Southeast Asia in the final stages of World War II .

After the war, the submarines were used by the British, Portuguese and, from 1958, the Israeli navy until well into the 1960s.

Building history and structural features

see: Construction history of the S-Class and structural features of the S-Class

The Navy put the first units of the fourth assembly into service at the turn of the year 1943/44. By 1945 a total of 17 submarines had been built in two shipyards. The planned construction of four more units was canceled after the end of the war.

Shipyard	Submarines
Cammell Laird	15th
Scott's Shipbuilding & Engineering Co.	2

The submarines were designed for use in the Asian theater of war . Just like the units of the third subassembly, which were built at the same time but were intended for the North Sea and the Mediterranean, the submarines had radar equipment and an enhanced diesel engine.

Although the boats of the fourth batch were no larger than those of the third, they had a higher sea endurance. This was achieved through a more consistent use of space for the storage of consumer goods such as food, fresh water and ammunition. The crew's quality of life decreased due to the extreme confinement. The use of space went so far that ammunition for the deck gun was even stored under the forecastle (dining table) of the officers' mess.

The main differences to the third construction lot lay in the heavier artillery armament and the drift oil bunkers, which were enlarged to 98 ts. The first three construction lots of the S-Class were armed with a 3-inch L / 50 (76 mm) deck gun. The fourth lot carried a 4-inch L / 40 (102 mm) gun.

Because of the heavier artillery armament, the additional external stern torpedo tube and thus the thirteenth torpedo was dispensed with in most units for weight reasons.

Several units were equipped with reinforced anti-aircraft armament from 1944 onwards. The up to three 7.7 mm machine guns were supplemented by a 20 mm anti-aircraft cannon from the Swiss weapons manufacturer Oerlikon-Bührle . The anti- aircraft gun was mounted on a platform aft of the tower that resembled the winter garden of the German Type VII boats .

history

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

The combat use of the submarines began in 1944. They were ordered to the Asian theater of war. By this time the Imperial Japanese Navy and merchant shipping had suffered heavy losses. The Japanese withdrew more and more into the coastal waters and often used small sailing ships as transport units.

The shallow sea areas were difficult to reach for the large US submarines. The British submarines, which are smaller and more manoeuvrable by comparison, and similarly manoeuvrable Dutch units were able to support the Americans in the fight against the Japanese supply routes even shortly before the enemy coasts.

The main areas of application were the Andaman Sea , the Malakka Strait off Singapore and the waters around the large islands of the Dutch East Indies .

During the Second World War, the Subtle class boats did not suffer any losses.

In peacetime, one submarine was lost and another was so badly damaged that it had to be taken out of service prematurely. The first loss of a class submarine was the Supreme . The boat was to serve as a practice target and was converted accordingly in 1947. But it sank shortly after the renovation work. The wreck was lifted and then scrapped. The Sturdy was badly damaged in an explosion in July 1957. It was later scrapped in Malta.

The Royal Navy used their boats until the early 1960s.

Use in Portugal and Israel

In 1948 three units were sold to Portugal. The Israeli Navy took over two class submarines in the 1950s. The Portuguese and Israelis decommissioned the last units in the second half of the 1960s.

Israel
HMS Sanguine	Rahav (רחב)
HMS Springer	Tanin

Portugal
HMS saga	Náutilo
HMS Spearhead	Neptuno
HMS track	Narval

Boats of the class

see also: Group 4 of the S-Class

HMS Sturdy
Builder :	Cammell Laird	No:	P 248
Keel laying :	December 22, 1942	Launch :	September 30, 1943
Commissioning:	December 29, 1943	End of duty:	July 9, 1955
The Sturdy ( English : steadfast or stable ) was used in Southeast Asia. The submarine was badly damaged in an explosion on July 9, 1955. The unit was scrapped in Malta in May 1958 .
HMS Stygian
Builder:	Cammell Laird	No.:	P 249
Keel laying:	January 6, 1943	Launch:	November 30, 1943
Commissioning:	February 29, 1944	End of duty:	1948
The Stygian (English: stygian , dark , demonic ) was used in Southeast Asia. The submarine was sold for scrapping on October 28, 1948 and demolished in Faslane.
HMS Subtle
Builder:	Cammell Laird	No.:	P 251
Keel laying:	February 1, 1943	Launch:	January 27, 1944
Commissioning:	April 16, 1944	End of duty:	1958
The Subtle (English: subtle , astute ) was used in Southeast Asia. The boat was sold for scrapping in June 1958 and demolished in Charlestown in July 1959.
HMS Supreme
Builder:	Cammell Laird	No.:	P 252
Keel laying:	February 15, 1943	Launch:	February 24, 1944
Commissioning:	May 20, 1944	End of duty:	1947
The Supreme (English: immutable , supreme or supreme ) was used in Southeast Asia. The boat was converted into a training target in 1947, but sank shortly afterwards. The wreck was lifted, examined, sold for scrapping in 1949 and demolished in Troon in 1950 .
HMS Sea Scout
Builder:	Cammell Laird	No.:	P 253
Keel laying:	April 1, 1943	Launch:	March 24, 1944
Commissioning:	June 19, 1944	End of duty:	September 1962
The Sea Scout (ger .: sea scouts ) was used in Southeast Asia. The boat was cannibalized in 1963, sold in 1965 and scrapped in Swansea in December 1965 .
HMS Selene
Builder:	Cammell Laird	No.:	P 254
Keel laying:	April 16, 1943	Launch:	April 24, 1944
Commissioning:	July 14, 1944	End of duty:	1961
The Selene (ancient Greek moon goddess, see Selene ) was used in Southeast Asia. The boat was scrapped in Gateshead in June 1961 .
HMS Solent
Builder:	Cammell Laird	No.:	P 262
Keel laying:	May 7, 1943	Launch:	June 8, 1944
Commissioning:	September 7, 1944	End of duty:	1961
The Solent (branch of the English Channel, see Solent ) was used in Southeast Asia. The boat was scrapped in Troon in August 1961.
HMS Sleuth
Builder:	Cammell Laird	No.:	P 261
Keel laying:	June 30, 1943	Launch:	July 6, 1944
Commissioning:	October 8, 1944	End of duty:	1958
The Sleuth (English synonym for bloodhound ) was used in Southeast Asia. The boat was scrapped in Charlestown in September 1958.
HMS Sidon
Builder:	Cammell Laird	No.:	P 259
Keel laying:	July 7, 1943	Launch:	September 4, 1944
Commissioning:	November 23, 1944	End of duty:	June 16, 1955
The Sidon (a city in Lebanon, see Sidon ) sank on 16 June 1955 by the explosion of a novel with hydrogen peroxide -fueled torpedoes. There were 13 deaths. The wreck was lifted on June 23 and sunk off Portland as a sonar target.
HMS Spearhead Neptuno
Builder:	Cammell Laird	No.:	P 263
Keel laying:	August 18, 1943	Launch:	October 2, 1944
Commissioning:	December 21, 1944	End of duty:	September 1, 1967
The Spearhead (ger .: spearhead ) was sold to the Portuguese Navy in August 1948, in Neptuno ( port. : Neptune ) renamed. The Portuguese scrapped the submarine in 1967.
HMS Lane Narval
Builder:	Cammell Laird	No.:	P 265 (?)
Keel laying:	October 1, 1943	Launch:	November 17, 1944
Commissioning:	February 18, 1945	End of duty:	1969
The track (eng .: spur ) was used in Southeast Asia. It was handed over to the Portuguese Navy in November 1948 and renamed Narval ( Portuguese : Narwal ). The submarine was decommissioned in 1969.
HMS Scorcher
Builder:	Cammell Laird	No.:	P 258
Keel laying:	December 14, 1943	Launch:	December 18, 1944
Commissioning:	March 16, 1945	End of duty:	1962
The Scorcher was canceled in Charlestown in September 1962.
HMS Sanguine Rahav ( רחב )
Builder:	Cammell Laird	No.:	P 266
Keel laying:	January 10, 1944	Launch:	February 15, 1945
Commissioning:	May 13, 1945	End of duty:	1969
The Sanguine (English: confident ) was handed over to the Israeli Navy in 1958 and renamed Rahav ( Iwrit : רחב, biblical figure). The boat was abandoned in Haifa in 1969 .
HMS Saga Náutilo
Builder:	Cammell Laird	No.:	P 257
Keel laying:	April 5, 1944	Launch:	March 14, 1945
Commissioning:	June 14, 1945	End of duty:	1969
The saga was handed over to the Portuguese Navy on October 11, 1948 and renamed Náutilo ( Portuguese : Nautilus ). Portugal took the boat out of active service in 1969.
HMS Seneschal
Builder:	Scott's Shipbuilding & Engineering Co.	No.:	P 255
Keel laying:	September 1, 1943	Launch:	April 23, 1945
Commissioning:	September 6, 1945	End of duty:	1960
The Seneschal (see Seneschal ) was damaged in an explosion in 1947. Another accident occurred in 1952 when she collided with a Danish frigate. The boat was scrapped in Dunston in 1960 .
HMS Sentinel
Builder:	Scott's Shipbuilding & Engineering Co.	No.:	P 256
Keel laying:	November 15, 1943	Launch:	July 27, 1945
Commissioning:	December 28, 1945	End of duty:	1962
The Sentinel (ger .: guardian ) was sold on 28 February 1962 and scrapped in Gillingham canceled.
HMS Springer Tanin
Builder:	Cammell Laird	No.:	P 265 (?)
Keel laying:	May 8, 1944	Launch:	May 14, 1945
Commissioning:	August 2, 1945	End of duty:	1972
The Springer was handed over to the Israeli Navy in 1958 and renamed Tanin . It was scrapped in 1972.
HMS Sea Robin
Builder:	Cammell Laird
The contract to build the Sea Robin (English: Knurrhahn ) was canceled in 1945.
HMS Sprightly
Builder:	Cammell Laird
The contract to build the Sprightly (ger .: perk ) was canceled 1945th
HMS Surface
Builder:	Cammell Laird
The contract to build the Surface (ger .: surface ) has been deleted 1945th
HMS Surge
Builder:	Cammell Laird
The contract to build the Surge (ger .: wave ) has been deleted 1945th

literature

• Erminio Bagnasco: Submarines in World War II. Motorbuchverlag, Stuttgart, 5th edition 1996, ISBN 3-613-01252-9 .
• Robert Hutchinson: FIGHT UNDER WATER - Submarines from 1776 to the present day. Motorbuchverlag, Stuttgart, 1st edition 2006, ISBN 3-613-02585-X .
• Anthony Preston: The History of the Submarines. Karl Müller Verlag, Erlangen, German edition 1998, ISBN 3-86070-697-7 .
• Peter Padfield: The Submarine War 1939-1945. Ullstein Taschenbuchverlag, Munich, 2000, ISBN 3-548-24766-0 .

Web links

Commons : S Class  - Collection of Pictures, Videos and Audio Files

• S-Class on uboat.net (English)
• S-Class at www.submariners.co.uk (English)
• S-Class at www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk (English)
• Israeli S-class submarines (English)

Footnotes

The PONS large English dictionary, ISBN 3-12-517178-4, was used as the basis for translations from English to German .

1. ↑ The uboat.net (see: Weblinks ) gives 715 GRT for the overwater displacement of the Seraph class  . Robert Hutchinson (see: literature ) gives 865 ts. Erminio Bagnasco (see: literature) gives 814 to 872 ts.
2. ↑ The uboat.net gives 990 GRT for the underwater displacement of the Seraph class. Hutchinson and Bagnasco give 990 ts.
3. ↑ HMS is the abbreviation for His / Her Majesty's Ship and the name prefix of British ships. HMS means His / Her Majesty's Ship .
4. ↑ The uboat.net are for the commissioning of the Sturdy on 29 December 1943rd Hutchinson states November 29, 1943.
5. ↑ The uboat.net states April 16, 1944 for the Subtle to go into service. Hutchinson gives March 11, 1944.
6. ↑ The uboat.net states that the Sea Scout was commissioned on June 19, 1944. Hutchinson states May 15, 1944.
7. ↑ The uboat.net states July 14, 1944 for the commissioning of the Selene. Hutchinson gives June 10, 1944.
8. ↑ The uboat.net states September 7, 1944 for the Solent to be commissioned. Hutchinson gives July 29, 1944.
9. ↑ The uboat.net states October 8, 1944 for the Sleuth to be commissioned. Hutchinson gives September 2, 1944.
10. ↑ The uboat.net specifies November 23, 1944 for the Sidon to be commissioned. Hutchinson gives October 24, 1944.
11. ↑ The uboat.net states December 21, 1944 for the commissioning of the Spearhead. Hutchinson gives November 21, 1944.
12. ↑ ^{a b} The uboat.net gives the same tower number 265 for both HMS Spur and HMS Springer .
13. ↑ The uboat.net states February 18, 1945 for the commissioning of the track. Hutchinson states January 6, 1945.
14. ↑ The uboat.net states March 16, 1945 for the commissioning of the scorcher. Hutchinson states February 6, 1945.
15. ↑ The uboat.net states May 13th 1945 for the commissioning of the Sanguine. Hutchinson states February 15, 1945.
16. ↑ The uboat.net states June 14, 1945 for the saga to go into service. Hutchinson states May 27, 1945.
17. ↑ The uboat.net states that the Seneschal was commissioned on September 6, 1945. Hutchinson states July 31, 1945.
18. ↑ The uboat.net states December 28, 1945 for the commissioning of the Sentinel. Hutchinson states November 28, 1945.
19. ↑ The uboat.net states August 2, 1945 for the jumpers to go into service. Hutchinson states July 2, 1945.