Submarine class S (Royal Navy, 1931)

S-class
General data
Ship type :	Submarine
Navies :	Royal Navy Dutch Navy (1) Soviet Navy (1) Israeli Navy (2) Portuguese Navy (3) French Navy (4)
Builders :	Cammell Laird (Birkenhead) Chatham Dockyard (Chatham) Scotts SB & Eng. (Greenock) Vickers-Armstrong (Barrow-in-Furness)
Units:	62
Technical data (group 3)
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 :	6000  NM (11112 km) surfaced at 10 kn
Diving depth :	110 m
Alarm dive time:	25-30 seconds
Armament (Group 3)
Artillery :	1 × 3 ″ -L / 50- (76-mm) deck gun
Air defense :	1 × 20 mm Flak 3 ×  .303 ″ (7.7 mm) MG
Torpedoes :	6 × 21 ″ (533-mm) pipes in the bow an external 21 ″ pipe 13 torpedoes or sea ​​mines

The S-Class is the most produced British submarine - class and was mainly in the Second World War used. The submarines were used by the Royal Navy , but also by the Dutch , Soviet , Portuguese , French and Israeli navies . The last submarines in the class were not decommissioned until the second half of the 1960s.

Building history

In the late 1920s, the British Navy requested a successor to the outdated H-Class . The planned medium submarine was intended for use in confined waters such as the North Sea and the Mediterranean Sea and should retain the positive properties of the H-Class, such as fast alarm diving times, high maneuverability under water and easy handling. What was required, however, was a higher surface speed, longer travel distance and stronger armament.

The design of the S-Class met the requirements. In 1929 the building contract was awarded. Four boats of the first assembly had been completed by 1933. This was followed by the eight somewhat larger boats of the second assembly group by 1937.

After the beginning of the Second World War, the S-Class was built in large-scale production under wartime conditions. In 1939 five, thirteen in 1940, fifteen in 1941, twelve in 1942 and nine further S-class submarines in 1943 were commissioned. Four orders were canceled after the end of the war. The submarines built during the war were more efficient and their production was more effective through the use of prefabricated components and more modern working methods. The first war new buildings were put into service in March 1942.

Between 1939 and 1942 four boats of the Oruç-Reis class, developed from the S-class, were built for the Turkish Navy .

Shipyards

The submarines were built at four different shipyards in England and Scotland . Two submarines of the third construction lot were laid down at Scott’s , but completed at Vickers . They are included in the Vickers table :

Shipyard	Group 1	Group 2	Group 3	Group 4	total
Cammell Laird in Birkenhead		3	17th	15th	35
Chatham Dockyard ( Chatham Naval Yard ) in Chatham	4th	4th	3		11
Scott's Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. in Greenock		1	8th	2	11
Vickers-Armstrong at Barrow-in-Furness			5		5
	4th	8th	33	17th	62

Active units

Between 1933 and the end of the war in September 1945, 60 units were put into service. Two more units followed by December 1945. 18 submarines were lost during World War II. Two were irreparably damaged. (see losses in World War II ) When the war began in 1939, twelve submarines were in active service with the Royal Navy. After heavy losses, only four S-boats were still active at the beginning of 1942. As a result of the new war buildings, the stock recovered quickly from 1942:

January 1, 1933: 01             January 1, 1934: 04 January 1, 1935: 06 January 1, 1936: 08 January 1, 1937: 10 January 1, 1938: 11 January 1, 1939: 12 January 1, 1940: 12 January 1, 1941: 05

January 1, 1942: 04 June 1, 1942: 07 January 1, 1943: 16 June 1, 1943: 19 January 1, 1944: 29 June 1, 1944: 32 January 1, 1945: 38 June 1, 1945: 40 January 1, 1946: 42

Constructive features

The boats were built in four assemblies between 1930 and 1945. The differences between the third and fourth assemblies were small (artillery armament and tank size), so that they are often combined into one group.

The two propellers of the saddle tank submarines were powered by a classic hybrid drive consisting of two diesel engines for surface travel and two electric motors for diving. While the underwater propulsion power remained the same for all assemblies with 1300 HP (970 kW), the surface propulsion power and the resulting speed were increased with the introduction of the third assembly. HMS Sunfish was the only pre-war unit with the enhanced diesel engine. The fuel bunkers have also been enlarged, which also increases the driving distance enormously.

Since the designers feared a negative impact on the magnetic compass , the complete command tower and the periscopes of British submarines of this time were made of bronze . As a result, the periscopes were three to five meters shorter than the steel constructions of all other navies of that time, which relied on gyrocompasses . Due to the lower periscope depth, the submarines were higher than German, Japanese or American boats when using the periscope. This made them harder to maneuver and there was a higher risk of them breaking through the water surface unintentionally. Furthermore, the non-magnetic construction was at the expense of the immersion depth, because the higher weight of the control center was offset by a lighter pressure body .

The submarines were initially designed for a depth of 95 m. The hulls of the submarines built during the war were completely welded and reinforced. The guaranteed diving depth could be increased to 110 m. HMS Stubborn reached in February 1944 after a German water bombing a depth of 165 m and could resurface. During a destruction test in 1948, the unmanned HMS Stoic was crushed at a depth of 183 m. For comparison, the German Type VII-C / 41 boats had a test diving depth of 200 m and a calculated theoretical maximum diving depth of 300 m.

All S-boats were equipped with active and passive acoustic reconnaissance equipment such as the ASDIC device from the start. The first radar devices were installed in 1941 .

The main armament consisted of six torpedo tubes of 21 inches ( inches equal to 53.3 cm) in diameter at the front, for the twelve torpedoes were included in total. Alternatively, the use of up to twelve sea mines was also possible on all submarines. On the submarines of the third group, an external tube of the same caliber, which cannot be reloaded at sea, was installed in the stern . This increased the number of torpedoes carried to 13. Some boats of the second group were retrofitted with the additional torpedo tube. The fire control technology of the torpedo weapon was far inferior to the equipment of German and American submarines. At first, night sights didn't even exist. This disadvantage was later partially offset by the use of radar. The devices for determining the fire solution were primitive and unreliable compared to the sophisticated German target computers. The control of the torpedoes themselves was worse than that of the other navies. Therefore, British submarines often had to aim with the entire hull. However, the British percussion fuses and depth control were much more reliable than the German and US designs from the start.

The artillery armament consisted of a 3-inch (76.2-mm) L / 50 gun. In the case of the submarines of the second sub-assembly, a retractable mount was initially used for the deck gun. This construction was soon removed and replaced by a fixed, free-standing carriage. The units of the fourth group had a 4-inch (102-mm) L / 40 gun mounted in a parapet in front of the turret. For weight reasons, most of the submarines in the fourth batch did not use the external stern torpedo tube.

Two to three 7.7 mm machine guns were used as anti- aircraft armaments , which were dismantled before diving. From 1944 onwards, a 20-mm anti-aircraft gun from Oerlikon-Bührle was retrofitted on some units . The flak was mounted on a platform similar to the "winter garden" of the German submarines behind the tower.

The boats of the fourth subassembly intended for combat in Asia had, in addition to the larger gun, enlarged fuel oil bunkers and could carry up to 98 ts of diesel oil . They also carried more supplies of food and fresh water. The spatial conditions on these submarines were so cramped that ammunition was even stored under the forecastle in the officers' mess.

Technical data of the modules in comparison

Deck gun of the Sunfish 1943

Swordfish 1939

	Group 1	Group 2	Group 3	Group 4
Crew:	36 men	39 men	48 men	←
Displacement (above water):	730 ts	768 ts	865 ts	←
Displacement (submerged):	927 ts	960 ts	990 ts	←
Length over all:	61.70 m	63.58 m	66.08 m	←
Width (maximum):	7.28 m	←	7.19 m	←
Draft:	3.4 m	←	←	←
Engine power (surfaced with diesel engines):	2 times 775 hp	←	2 times 950 hp	←
Motor power (submerged with electric motors):	2 times 650 hp	←	←	←
Maximum speed (over water):	13.75 kn	←	15 kn	←
Maximum speed (underwater):	10 kn	←	←	←
Driving range (over water at 10 kn):	3700 NM	3800 NM	6000 NM	more than 6000 NM
Maximum immersion depth (factory specification):	95 m	←	110 m	←
Deck gun:	76 mm / L50	←	←	102 mm / L40
Torpedo tubes:	6th	←	7th	6th

Mission history

Details under: History of the S-Class

1939

At the time of the German invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, the Royal Navy only had 12 S-Class units.

In the first months of the war, the submarines mainly operated in the North Sea . The first combat action took place four minutes after the Anglo-French ultimatum to Germany expired, France and Great Britain officially entered the war, when a German submarine unsuccessfully attacked HMS Spearfish with torpedoes on September 3, 11:04 am .

On September 14th, HMS Sturgeon mistakenly attacked HMS Swordfish , but missed the sister ship. Since HMS Oxley ( O-Class ) was lost in a similar incident on September 10, the Admiralty subsequently increased the distances between the patrol areas of British submarines from the original 4 nautical miles to 16 nautical miles.

On November 20, 1939, HMS Sturgeon sank the German outpost boat V-209 / Gauleiter Telschow . It was the first combat success of a British submarine in World War II. On December 4, HMS Salmon sank the German submarine U 36 . On the same voyage, the Salmon torpedoed and damaged the light cruisers Nürnberg and Leipzig on December 13, 1939 , which could not be used for several months afterwards.

1940-1941

Seven months after defeating Poland, Germany ended the seated war phase by landing in Northern Europe on April 10 and invading Western Europe on May 10 . The S-class boats took part in the extensive defensive measures against the German landing forces in Norway. One of the most important successes against the invasion fleet was certainly the torpedo attack by HMS Spearfish against the heavy cruiser Lützow on April 11th. The German pocket battleship was badly damaged, narrowly escaped total loss and was out of action for almost a year.

After the French defeat on June 22, 1940, the area of ​​operations of the S-class submarines extended to the Bay of Biscay . 1940 was the year with the most losses of the war for the S-Class submarines. Seven out of twelve operational units were lost. In February 1941 there was another loss, so that by March 1942 only four units were available.

1942-1943

In the spring of 1942 the first war new buildings were put into service. Since then, there have been continuous influxes which, despite further losses, quickly increased the number of operational boats above the pre-war level. (see Active Units ) A submarine of the first assembly was loaned to the Dutch Navy in October 1943.

In addition to the previous missions in the North Sea and the Biscay, the newly built submarines were now increasingly used in the Mediterranean against supply lines of the Axis powers during the war in North Africa . The bases of the boats were in Gibraltar in the west, on the besieged island of Malta in the central Mediterranean and in Egypt in the east. Against the often inadequately protected Italian transport ships, many sinks were found with the deck gun. Due to the use of the British submarines, the axis was forced to form secured convoy trains . The constant supply problems of the Italian and German forces in North Africa are also due to the successful use of British S-class fighter submarines.

On April 30, 1943 was of board Seraph as part of the top-secret Operation Mincemeat thrown a male corpse in front of the southern Spanish coast into the sea. The dead man, disguised as a British naval officer, wore forged secret papers that were supposed to convince the German defense that the imminent Allied landing in southern Europe should take place in the Balkans .

On September 23, 1943 S and transported T-Class boats used British midget submarines of class X in front of the northern Norway Altafjord . The target of Operation Source were the German battleships Tirpitz and Scharnhorst . The Tirpitz was mined by the X 7 and at least one other small submarine and badly damaged.

After the surrender of the German / Italian units in North Africa in May 1943 and the subsequent Allied invasion of southern Italy in July, Italy left the axis on September 8, 1943. The combat area of ​​the British submarines in the Mediterranean was therefore concentrated in the following months in the northeastern part of the Mediterranean in front of the Greek islands, which were still occupied by the Germans.

1944-1945

In February 1944, HMS Sportsman sank the German transporter Petrella off Crete . Almost 3,200 Italian prisoners of war were on board, of whom 2,670 were killed. The losses were probably so high because the German guards did not open the prison rooms and forcibly prevented the prisoners from escaping. The tragedy is considered to be the greatest shipping disaster in the history of the Mediterranean.

In addition to operations in the Mediterranean, S-Class submarines also continued to operate in the North Sea. In a successful operation, HMS Scepter transported the X 24 to Bergen in September 1944 , where the small submarine sank a large floating dock.

The submarines, which were now available in large numbers, were no longer used only for pure combat tasks. HMS Satyr and HMS Scepter were disarmed in 1944/45 to make them lighter and faster. They also received a dummy snorkel. The submarines were used by the Navy as training targets for the submarine hunt .

In June 1944, HMS Sunfish was handed over to the allied Soviet Union . On the march to Murmansk in Northern Russia, the submarine was mistaken for an enemy submarine by a British bomber and sunk.

After the Allied victories in North Africa and South Italy, more and more S-boats were transferred to the Asian theater of war , where they were stationed on bases in Ceylon and British India . The boats of the fourth sub-group with their enlarged fuel tanks were specially designed for use in Asia.

The Imperial Japanese Navy was massively decimated in the great sea-to-air battles of Midway (1942), Guadalcanal (1943) and Leyte (1944). Even without the significant losses, the Japanese would hardly have been able to adequately protect their vital but overstretched supply lines in the Pacific and Indian Oceans against Allied submarine attacks, because Japanese merchant shipping was also close to collapse. By the end of 1943, over 3 million GRT of Japanese shipping space had been destroyed. The Japanese often had to resort to small, slow, wooden coastal sailors that sailed in shallow coastal waters, where they were difficult to reach for the large American deep-sea submarines.

The small, agile S-boats and similar Dutch submarines complemented the large ocean-going boats. They operated mainly in the Andaman Sea off Burma , Siam , Malaya and Sumatra ( Dutch East Indies ), the Malakka Strait off Singapore and Penang, and in the Java Sea in shallow waters within the 10 fathoms limit (18 m water depth).

In the case of a great number of attacks on the largely unprotected Japanese and Thai transporters, the S-boats were able to dispense with the use of torpedoes and sink the mostly defenseless ships with the deck guns or with the detonators of their boarding teams. In one of these frequent attacks, HMS Stubborn sank a Japanese patrol boat in the Java Sea on July 25, 1945 . The commander of the British submarine, Albert-George Davies, ordered the Japanese survivors to be shot. The murder order could not be carried out, however, because a Japanese plane forced the submarine to submerge.

On August 18, 1945, three days after the surrender of Japan , HMS Statesman sank a floating Japanese wreck with torpedoes in the Malakka Strait. This was probably the last torpedo attack by a submarine in World War II. Since then, there have only been two other successful submarine torpedo attacks in real war operations. In the Bangladesh War, the Pakistani submarine PNS Hangor sank the Indian frigate Khukri on December 9, 1971, and in the Falklands War, the British nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror sank the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano on May 2, 1982 .

After 1945

After the end of the war, many S-boats were decommissioned within a few years and scrapped or sunk for testing and training purposes. Some units remained in service with the Royal Navy until the early 1960s. The last active British unit was HMS Sea Devil , which was decommissioned in 1962 and scrapped in 1966 .

A total of nine submarines were given to allied nations:

• The Portuguese Navy took over three Group 4 S-Class submarines in 1948 . The last unit was decommissioned in 1969.

HMS saga	P 161	Náutilo	To Portugal on October 11, 1948, decommissioned in 1969.
HMS Spearhead	P. 162	Neptuno	In August 1948 to Portugal, scrapped in 1967.
HMS track	P. 160	Narval	1948 to Portugal, 1969 decommissioned.

• The French navy took over four S-class submarines of Group 3 in 1951/52 . A boat was lost at sea in 1952. The remaining three units were returned to Great Britain between 1958 and 1961 and then scrapped there.

HMS satyr	sapphire	In February 1952 to France, in August 1961 back to the Royal Navy, in April 1962 sold for scrapping.
HMS Spiteful	Siren	On January 25, 1952 to France, in November 1958 back to the Royal Navy, scrapped in 1963.
HMS Sportsman	Sibylle	1951 to France, sunk on September 23, 1952.
HMS Statesman	Sultans	1952 to France, in November 1959 back to the Royal Navy, 1961 sold for scrapping.

• The Israeli Navy received two Group 4 S-Class submarines in 1958 . The last boat was scrapped in 1972.

HMS Sanguine	Rahav (רחב)	1958 to Israel, decommissioned in 1968.
HMS Springer	Tanin	1958 to Israel, decommissioned in 1972.

Losses in World War II

Of 62 built units of the class, 17 submarines were lost in the war due to enemy action. Two other boats were so badly damaged during fighting that they were no longer repaired. A submarine was mistakenly sunk by its own aircraft.

boat	date	comment
HMS Seahorse	January 7, 1940	Probably sunk northwest of Heligoland by German depth charges, no survivors.
HMS Starfish	January 9, 1940	Sunk by German depth charges near Heligoland, the entire crew was taken prisoner of war .
HMS Sterlet	April 18, 1940	Probably in Skagerrak by German U-hunters UJ-125 , UJ-126 and UJ-128 sunk, no survivors.
HMS Shark	July 6, 1940	Attacked by German planes off Norway and badly damaged, 2 dead and 19 wounded, then surrender. Towed by German minesweepers, but sunk. The survivors went into German captivity.
HMS Salmon	July 16, 1940	Missed in the North Sea , probably run into a German sea ​​mine , no survivors.
HMS Spearfish	August 1, 1940	Torpedoed by the German submarine U 34 northeast of Aberdeen , a lone survivor.
HMS Swordfish	November 16, 1940	Missing in the Bay of Biscay , probably run into a German sea mine, no survivors.
HMS Snapper	February 12, 1941	Missing in the Bay of Biscay, no survivors.
HMS P222	December 12, 1942	In the Mediterranean , missing probably from the Italian torpedo boat Fortunale southeast of Capri sunk with depth charges, no survivors.
HMS Splendid	April 21, 1943	Sunk by the German destroyer ZG 3 Hermes south of Capri with depth charges. 30 crew members were rescued from the destroyer. 18 men were killed.
HMS Sahib	April 24, 1943	Badly damaged by the Italian corvettes Gabbiano , Climene , Euterpe and then sunk with depth charges by a German Ju 88 of Group II of Lehrgeschwader 1 northeast of Sicily .
HMS Saracen	August 14, 1943	Badly damaged by the Italian corvettes Minerva and Euterpe with depth charges off Bastia / Corsica . The crew was able to leave the sinking submarine and fell into Italian captivity.
HMS Simoom	November 19, 1943	Missing in the eastern Mediterranean, probably run into a sea mine, no survivors.
HMS Sickle	January 18, 1944	Missed off Greece , probably run into a sea mine, no survivors.
HMS Stonehenge	March 22, 1944	Missing between Sumatra and the Nicobar Islands , no survivors.
HMS Syrtis	March 28, 1944	In Bodø / Norway went on German sea mine, no survivors.
HMS Sunfish	July 27, 1944	Delivered to the Soviet Union. On the way to Murmansk mistakenly sunk by a British Liberator with bombs, no survivors.
HMS Stratagem	November 22, 1944	Sunk by Japanese depth charges in the Malacca Straits . Ten men were able to save themselves and fell into Japanese hands. Only three men survived captivity.
HMS Shakespeare	January 3, 1945	Badly damaged in an artillery duel with the Japanese auxiliary minesweeper Wa 1 on Nankauri Strait ( Andamans ) . The Japanese ship was also badly hit. Towed to Ceylon by the sister boat HMS Stygian , but no longer repaired and later scrapped.
HMS Strongbow	January 13, 1945	Attacked by Japanese escort ships with depth charges for 14 hours off Port Swettenham ( Malaya ) and badly damaged. No repairs were made.

Boats of the type

Group 1

Between 1930 and 1933 the four submarines of the first assembly were built at the Chatham naval shipyard . After the first boat put into service, the construction lot is also referred to as the Swordfish class .

Sturgeon , 1933

Three units were lost as early as 1940. Sturgeon was loaned to the Dutch Navy in 1943 and operated under the name Zeehond until 1945 .

boat	#	Keel laying	Commissioning	End of service
HMS Swordfish	61S	December 1, 1930	November 28, 1932	November 7, 1940
HMS Sturgeon	73S	January 3, 1931	February 27, 1933	1947
HMS Seahorse	96S	September 14, 1931	October 2, 1933	January 7, 1940
HMS Starfish	19S	September 29, 1931	October 27, 1933	January 9, 1940

Group 2

Between 1933 and 1938 the eight submarines of the second assembly were built at three different shipyards. In the Naval Shipyard Chatham walked four, at Cammell Laird three and Scott's Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. a boat from the deck. After the first boat put into service, the construction lot is also referred to as the Shark class .

Five submarines were lost to enemy action during the war. HMS Sunfish was handed over to the Soviet Navy, but sunk by friendly fire on the march to Northern Russia . The two remaining submarines were decommissioned and demolished in 1945.

Sterlet , 1938

boat	#	Shipyard	Keel laying	Commissioning	End of service
HMS Shark	N54	Chatham Dockyard	June 12, 1933	December 31, 1934	July 6, 1940
HMS Sealion	N72	Cammell Laird	May 16, 1933	December 21, 1934	1945
HMS Salmon	N65	Cammell Laird	June 15, 1933	March 8, 1935	July 16, 1940
HMS Snapper	N39	Chatham Dockyard	September 18, 1933	June 14, 1935	February 12, 1941
HMS Seawolf	N47	Scott's	May 25, 1934	March 12, 1936	June 23, 1945
HMS Spearfish	N69	Cammell Laird	May 23, 1935	December 11, 1936	August 1, 1940
HMS Sunfish	N81	Chatham Dockyard	July 22, 1935	July 2, 1937	July 27, 1944
HMS Sterlet	N 22	Chatham Dockyard	July 14, 1936	April 6, 1938	April 18, 1940

Group 3

Between 1940 and 1945, 33 units of the third assembly were built at four different shipyards. After the Typboot, the class is also known as the Seraph class . 17 boats were built at Cammell Laird , three at Vickers-Armstrong, three at the Chatham shipyard and eight at Scott's Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. Two boats were keeled at Scott's but completed by Vickers-Armstrong.

Seven boats were lost to enemy action during World War II. Two boats were so badly damaged during the fighting that repairs were no longer worthwhile and they were scrapped after the war.

In the 1950s, four submarines were loaned to the French Navy. One of these boats sank in the Mediterranean in 1952.

Some boats remained in active service until the 1960s.

Scepter , April 1943

Syrtis , April 1943

Sibyl , August 1942

Shakespeare , August 6, 1942

Satyr , January 21, 1943

boat	#	Shipyard	Keel laying	Commissioning	End of service
HMS P222	P222	Vickers-Armstrong	August 10, 1940	March 4, 1942	December 12, 1942
HMS Safari	P211 (ex P61)	Cammell Laird	June 5, 1940	March 14, 1942	January 7, 1946
HMS Sahib	P212 (ex P62)	Cammell Laird	5th July 1940	May 13, 1942	April 24, 1943
HMS Seraph	P219 (ex P69)	Vickers-Armstrong	August 16, 1940	June 10, 1942	1965
HMS Saracen	P247 (ex P63, P213)	Cammell Laird	July 16, 1940	June 27, 1942	August 14, 1943
HMS Shakespeare	P221 (ex P71)	Vickers-Armstrong	November 13, 1940	July 10, 1942	January 3, 1945
HMS Splendid	P228 (ex P78)	Chatham Docks	March 7, 1941	August 8, 1942	April 21, 1943
HMS Sibyl	P217 (ex P67)	Cammell Laird	December 31, 1940	August 16, 1942	1948
HMS Sea Dog	P216 (ex P66)	Cammell Laird	December 31, 1940	September 24, 1942	1947
HMS Sea Nymph	P223	Cammell Laird	May 6, 1941	November 3, 1942	1948
HMS Sickle	P224 (ex P74)	Cammell Laird	May 8, 1941	December 1, 1942	June 18, 1944
HMS Sportsman	P229 (ex P79)	Chatham Docks	July 1, 1941	December 21, 1942	September 23, 1952
HMS Simoom	P225 (ex P75)	Cammell Laird	July 14, 1941	December 30, 1942	November 19, 1943
HMS satyr	P214 (ex P64)	Scott's	June 8, 1940	February 8, 1943	1961
HMS Stubborn	P238 (ex P88)	Cammell Laird	September 10, 1941	February 20, 1943	1946
HMS Surf	P239	Cammell Laird	February 1, 1941	March 18, 1943	1949
HMS Scepter	P215 (ex P65)	Scott's	July 25, 1940	April 15, 1943	1949
HMS Syrtis	P241	Cammell Laird	October 14, 1941	April 23, 1943	March 28, 1944
HMS Stonehenge	P232	Cammell Laird	April 4, 1942	June 15, 1943	March 22, 1944
HMS Stoic	P231	Cammell Laird	June 18, 1942	June 29, 1943	1948
HMS Sea Rover	P218 (ex P68)	Scott's (completed by Vickers-Armstrong)	April 14, 1941	July 7, 1943	1949
HMS Storm	P233	Cammell Laird	June 23, 1942	August 23, 1943	1949
HMS Sirdar	P226 (ex P76)	Scott's (completed by Vickers-Armstrong)	April 24, 1941	September 20, 1943	1953
HMS Spiteful	P227 (ex P77)	Scott's	September 19, 1941	October 6, 1943	1963
HMS Stratagem	P234	Cammell Laird	April 15, 1942	October 9, 1943	November 22, 1944
HMS Spirit	P245	Cammell Laird	October 27, 1942	October 25, 1943	1950
HMS Statesman	P246	Cammell Laird	November 2, 1942	December 13, 1943	1961
HMS Strongbow	P235	Scott's	April 17, 1942	December 23, 1943	June 1945
HMS Shalimar	P242	Chatham Docks	April 17, 1942	April 22, 1944	1950
HMS Spark	P236	Scott's	October 10, 1942	April 28, 1944	1949
HMS Scythian	P237	Scott's	February 21, 1943	August 11, 1944	1960
HMS Scotsman	P243	Scott's	April 15, 1943	December 9, 1944	1964
HMS Sea Devil	P244	Scott's	May 5, 1943	May 12, 1945	4th June 1962

Group 4

Between 1942 and 1945, 17 units of the fourth assembly were built at two different shipyards. Cammell Laird supplied 15 and Scott's Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. supplied two submarines. At Cammell Laird four more boats were commissioned. These construction contracts were canceled in 1945. After the type boat, the construction lot is also referred to as the subtle class .

After the end of the war, three submarines were handed over to the Portuguese and two to the Israeli navy, where they remained in service until the 1960s.

Subtle , April 10, 1944

Spur , February 10, 1945

Seneschal , August 22, 1945

boat	#	Shipyard	Keel laying	Commissioning	End of service
HMS Sturdy	P248	Cammell Laird	December 22, 1942	December 29, 1943	July 9, 1955
HMS Stygian	P249	Cammell Laird	January 6, 1943	February 29, 1944	1949
HMS Subtle	P251	Cammell Laird	February 1, 1943	April 16, 1944	1958
HMS Supreme	P252	Cammell Laird	February 15, 1943	May 20, 1944	1947
HMS Sea Scout	P253	Cammell Laird	April 1, 1943	June 19, 1944	September 1962
HMS Selene	P254	Cammell Laird	April 16, 1943	July 14, 1944	1961
HMS Solent	P262	Cammell Laird	May 7, 1943	September 7, 1944	1961
HMS Sleuth	P261	Cammell Laird	June 30, 1943	October 8, 1944	1959
HMS Sidon	P259	Cammell Laird	July 7, 1943	November 23, 1944	June 16, 1955
HMS Spearhead	P263	Cammell Laird	August 18, 1943	December 21, 1944	September 1, 1967
HMS track	P265 (?)	Cammell Laird	October 1, 1943	February 18, 1945	1969
HMS Scorcher	P258	Cammell Laird	December 14, 1943	March 16, 1945	1962
HMS Sanguine	P266	Cammell Laird	January 10, 1944	May 13, 1945	1969
HMS saga	P257	Cammell Laird	April 5, 1944	June 14, 1945	1969
HMS Seneschal	P255	Scott's	September 1, 1943	September 6, 1945	1960
HMS Sentinel	P256	Scott's	November 15, 1943	December 28, 1945	1962
HMS Springer	P265 (?)	Cammell Laird	May 8, 1944	August 2, 1945	1972
HMS Sea Robin		Cammell Laird	Order canceled
HMS Sprightly		Cammell Laird	Order canceled
HMS Surface		Cammell Laird	Order canceled
HMS Surge		Cammell Laird	Order canceled

See also

• List of French submarine classes
• Submarine class S (other submarine classes with the name S )

literature

• Erminio Bagnasco: Submarines in World War II. 5th edition. Motorbuchverlag, Stuttgart 1996, ISBN 3-613-01252-9 .
• Robert Hutchinson: Fight Under Water - Submarines from 1776 to the Present. 1st edition. Motorbuchverlag, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-613-02585-X .
• Anthony Preston: The History of the Submarines. German edition. Karl Müller Verlag, Erlangen 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 submariners.co.uk (English)
• S-Class at www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk (English)
• Israeli S-class submarines (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} 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 ts to 872 ts.
2. ↑ ^{a b} The uboat.net gives 990 GRT for the underwater displacement of the Seraph class. Hutchinson and Bagnasco give 990 ts.
3. ↑ ^{a b} The sources uboat.net and Robert Hutchinson give very different dates for the date of commissioning. Bagnasco does not provide dates for individual submarines. According to uboat.net, the first new P222 was put into service on March 4, 1942. According to Hutchinson, the first new building put into service was the Safari on February 15, 1942. The text takes the information from uboat.net as a basis. Contradictions are mentioned in further footnotes.
4. ↑ The overview only shows the relationship between departures due to accidents or enemy action and additions due to new buildings. Shipyard stays for overhaul or modernization are not considered. As a result, the number of real operational submarines was lower.
5. ^ Peter Padfield: The Submarine War 1939-1945. P. 39, see literature
6. ↑ The uboat.net specifies 640 GRT for the overwater displacement of the Swordfish class. Hutchinson gives 730 ts. Erminio Bagnasco gives 737 ts.
7. ↑ The uboat.net gives 670 GRT for the above water displacement of the Shark class. Robert Hutchinson and Erminio Bagnasco give 768 ts.
8. ↑ The uboat.net specifies 927 GRT for the underwater displacement of the Swordfish class. Hutchinson and Bagnasco give 927 ts.
9. ↑ The uboat.net gives 960 GRT for the underwater displacement of the Shark class. Hutchinson and Bagnasco give 960 ts.
10. ↑ A feature film about the secret service operation was produced in 1956 under the title The Man Who Never Was (Eng .: The man who never existed ). In the film, HMS Scythian took on the role of HMS Seraph .
11. ↑ Source: www.wlb-stuttgart.de/seekrieg/kriegsrecht/transporte.htm
12. ↑ The source: Anthony Preston: The History of the Submarines. (see literature ) is unclear about the point of diving depth. There it is stated on page 59f: "The small Dutch and British submarines could operate within the 10-fathom line (28 m)". But 10 threads would be about 18 m.
13. ↑ Source: www.wlb-stuttgart.de/seekrieg/kriegsrecht/schiffbruechige.htm
14. ↑ As of May 9, 2007
15. ↑ ^{a b} Hutchinson does not mention the sterlet . Bagnasco and uboat.net assign them to the second assembly.
16. ↑ Jürgen Rohwer , Gerhard Hümmelchen : Chronicle of the Sea War 1939–1945, April 1943. Retrieved on June 13, 2019 . 
17. ↑ The uboat.net states November 28, 1932 for the Swordfish to be commissioned. Hutchinson gives September 16, 1932.
18. ↑ The uboat.net states February 27, 1933 for the Sturgeon to be commissioned. Hutchinson gives December 15, 1932.
19. ↑ The uboat.net states October 2, 1933 for the Seahorse to be commissioned. Hutchinson gives July 26, 1933.
20. ↑ The uboat.net states October 27, 1933 for the Starfish to be put into service. Hutchinson gives July 3, 1933.
21. ↑ The uboat.net states December 31, 1934 for the Shark to be commissioned. Hutchinson gives October 5, 1934.
22. ↑ The uboat.net states March 4th 1942 for the commissioning of the P 222. Hutchinson states November 3, 1942.
23. ↑ The uboat.net states March 14, 1942 for the safari to go into service. Hutchinson gives February 15, 1942.
24. ↑ The uboat.net states March 13, 1942 for the commissioning of the Sahib. Hutchinson states May 30, 1942.
25. ↑ The uboat.net specifies June 10, 1942 for the Seraph to be commissioned. Hutchinson gives May 27, 1942.
26. ↑ The uboat.net states August 8, 1942 for the Splendid to be commissioned. Hutchinson gives August 4, 1942.
27. ↑ The uboat.net states November 3rd, 1942 for the commissioning of the Sea Nymph. Hutchinson gives July 29, 1942.
28. ↑ The uboat.net states December 30, 1942 when the Simoom was put into service. Hutchinson states November 28, 1942.
29. ↑ The uboat.net states February 8, 1943 for the commissioning of the satyr. Hutchinson gives September 28, 1942.
30. ↑ The uboat.net states March 18, 1943 for the start of the Surf. Hutchinson gives November 18, 1943.
31. ↑ The uboat.net states April 15, 1943 for the commissioning of the Scepter. Hutchinson gives January 1943.
32. ↑ The uboat.net states April 23, 1943 for the Syrtis to be commissioned. Hutchinson gives March 24, 1943.
33. ↑ The uboat.net states that the Stoic was put into service as June 29, 1943. Hutchinson gives May 31, 1943.
34. ↑ The uboat.net specifies August 23, 1943 for the commissioning of the Storm. Hutchinson gives July 9, 1943.
35. ↑ The uboat.net states that the Sirdar was put into service as September 20, 1943. Hutchinson gives August 18, 1943.
36. ↑ The uboat.net states October 9, 1943 for the commissioning of the Stratagem. Hutchinson gives August 14, 1943.
37. ↑ The uboat.net states that the Strongbow was put into service on December 23, 1943. Hutchinson gives November 17, 1943.
38. ↑ The uboat.net states April 22, 1944 for the Shalimar to be commissioned. Hutchinson gives April 3, 1944.
39. ↑ The uboat.net states August 11, 1944 for the commissioning of the Scythian. Hutchinson gives July 11, 1944.
40. ↑ The uboat.net states December 9, 1944 for the Scotsman's commissioning. Hutchinson gives October 27, 1944.
41. ↑ The uboat.net states May 12th 1945 for the commissioning of the Sea Devil. Hutchinson states March 31, 1945.
42. ↑ The uboat.net are for the commissioning of the Sturdy on 29 December 1943rd Hutchinson states November 29, 1943.
43. ↑ The uboat.net states April 16, 1944 for the Subtle to go into service. Hutchinson gives March 11, 1944.
44. ↑ The uboat.net states that the Sea Scout was commissioned on June 19, 1944. Hutchinson states May 15, 1944.
45. ↑ The uboat.net states July 14, 1944 for the commissioning of the Selene. Hutchinson gives June 10, 1944.
46. ↑ The uboat.net states September 7, 1944 for the Solent to be commissioned. Hutchinson gives July 29, 1944.
47. ↑ The uboat.net states October 8, 1944 for the Sleuth to be commissioned. Hutchinson gives September 2, 1944.
48. ↑ The uboat.net specifies November 23, 1944 for the Sidon to be commissioned. Hutchinson gives October 24, 1944.
49. ↑ The uboat.net states December 21, 1944 for the commissioning of the Spearhead. Hutchinson gives November 21, 1944.
50. ↑ ^{a b} The uboat.net gives the same tower number 265 for both HMS Spur and HMS Springer .
51. ↑ The uboat.net states February 18, 1945 for the commissioning of the track. Hutchinson states January 6, 1945.
52. ↑ The uboat.net states March 16, 1945 for the commissioning of the scorcher. Hutchinson states February 6, 1945.
53. ↑ The uboat.net states May 13th 1945 for the commissioning of the Sanguine. Hutchinson states February 15, 1945.
54. ↑ The uboat.net states June 14, 1945 for the saga to go into service. Hutchinson states May 27, 1945.
55. ↑ The uboat.net states that the Seneschal was commissioned on September 6, 1945. Hutchinson states July 31, 1945.
56. ↑ The uboat.net states December 28, 1945 for the commissioning of the Sentinel. Hutchinson states November 28, 1945.
57. ↑ The uboat.net states August 2, 1945 for the jumpers to go into service. Hutchinson states July 2, 1945.