HMS Meteorite
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| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Ordered: | January 4th 1943 (as U 1407 Type XVIIB) |
| Laid down: | November 13th 1943 |
| Launched: | February 1945 |
| Completed: | na |
| Commissioned (into Kriegsmarine: | March 13th 1945 |
| Commissioned (into Royal Navy: | 1946 |
| Decommissioned: | na |
| Fate: | Scrapped 1949 |
| Struck: | na |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 312 tons surfaced
337 tons submerged |
| Length: | 136 feet (41.5 m) |
| Beam: | 15 feet (4.5 m) |
| Draught: | 14 feet (4.3 m) |
| Propulsion: |
|
| Speed: | 8.8 knots (16 km/h) surfaced
maximum 25 knots (46.3 km/h) dived |
| Range: | na |
| Complement: | na |
| Armament: | 4 torpedoes |
In 1945, the British and American forces in Europe had captured a number of U-boats, among which were two prototypes of the Walter design that were built around an experimental engine fuelled by High test peroxide (HTP). One boat, U 1406, was handed over to the Americans, while the other, U 1407, was raised from where she had been scuttled at Cuxhaven and rebuilt by the British, being commissioned as HMS/m Meteorite. The reconstruction was supervised by Professor Hellmuth Walter and his staff at Barrow-in-Furness in England.
Initial trials with HMS Meteorite arose considerable interest in the possibility of HTP as an alternative to nuclear power as Air-independent propulsion, and the construction of two larger submarines was ordered, these being HMS/m Explorer and Excalibur.
HMS Meteorite was not popular with its crews, who regarded it as a dangerous and volatile piece of machinery, and control was difficult due to its lack of forward hydroplanes and aircraft-type controls.
Meteorite's Royal Navy service came to an end in September 1949.
