HMS Swordfish (61S)
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| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Ordered: | |
| Laid down: | 1 December 1930 at Chatham Dockyard |
| Launched: | 10 November 1931 |
| Commissioned: | 28 November 1932 |
| Sunk: | 7 November 1940 |
| Fate: | Sunk by mine |
| Stricken: | |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 640 tons surfaced, 935 tons submerged |
| Length: | 202 feet 6 inches |
| Beam: | 24 feet |
| Draught: | 10 feet 6 inches |
| Propulsion: | Twin diesel/electric |
| Speed: | 13.75 knots surfaced, 10 knots submerged |
| Range: | |
| Complement: | 36 officers and men |
| Armament: | six forward 21-inch torpedo tubes, twelve torpedoes, one three-inch gun; one .303-calibre machine gun |
| Motto: | |
HMS Swordfish (61S) was a group one British S class submarine that was sunk on a combat patrol in the English Channel in November 1940 during the Second World War.
Nothing was heard from her following her departure from Portsmouth on 7 November 1940 with 40 crew onboard to relieve HMS Usk which was on patrol off the Western Approaches near Brest, France. At the time it was thought that she had been sunk by a German destroyer[1]. However she was discovered by a local diver in 1983, split into two halves just forward of the gun by a mine[2]. The wreck lies in about 46 metres of water roughly 12 miles south of St. Catherine’s Head, Isle of Wight[3]. It is likely that she struck the mine shortly after sailing whilst carrying out a trim dive.
[edit] References
- ^ Submarine losses 1904 to present day, RN Submarine Museum, Gosport
- ^ Disappearence of HMS Swordfish, Isle of Wight index
- ^ HMS Swordfish, Uboot.net
| S-class submarine |
| First Group |
|---|
|
Swordfish | Sturgeon | Seahorse | Starfish |
| Second Group |
|
Sealion | Salmon | Shark | Snapper | Spearfish | Sterlet | Sea Devil | Sunfish | Seawolf |
| Third Group |
|
Saracen | Satyr | Safari | Sanguine | Saga | Sahib | Sceptre | Scythian | Scotsman | Scorcher | Sea Scout | Seneschal | Sentinel | Selene | Sea Dog | Sea Nymph | Sea Rover | Seraph | Shakespeare | Shalimar | Sibyl | Sickle | Simoom | Surf | Stubborn | Sirdar | Sidon | Sleuth | Solent | Splendid | Spiteful | Sportsman | Spearhead | Spur | Springer | Spark | Spirit | Stoic | Storm | Stonehenge | Strongbow | Statesman | Sturdy | Stratagem | Stygian | Supreme | Subtle | Syrtis | |
| List of submarines of the Royal Navy List of submarine classes of the Royal Navy |
