HMS Rorqual (S02)

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Career
HMS Rorqual
Ordered:
Laid down:
Launched:
Commissioned:
Decommissioned:
Fate:	Paid off
Struck:
General Characteristics
Displacement:	2,113 tonnes (2,080 tons) surfaced 2,489 tonnes (2,450 tons) dived
Length:	88.4 m (290 ft)
Beam:	8.1 m (26.5 ft)
Draught:	5.5 m (18 ft)
Propulsion:	Two ASR 16VVS AS21 diesel generators totaling 2,740 kW (3680 bhp) Two English Electric main motors totaling 895 kW (12000 hp) driving two shafts Two 880 V batteries each of 224 cells
Speed:	22 km/h) (12 knots) surfaced 31 km/h (17 knots) dived
Range:	17,000 km at 22 km/h (9,000 nautical miles at 12 knots)
Complement:	71
Armament:	6 x 21 inch (533 mm) bow torpedo tubes 2 x 21 inch (533 mm) stern torpedo tubes 30 torpedoes could be carried (usually Mk8 or Mk23) or mines
Motto:

HMS Rorqual (S02) was a Porpoise-class submarine launched in 1956. She was built by the Vickers shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. The boat was named for both the Rorqual whale and the earlier World War II era submarine of the same name.

In 1958, Rorqual experienced a fire. In 1963, she was caught in a trawler's net. An explosion in 1966 killed two crew members and injured twenty; Rorqual was off the cost of Mozambique en route to Singapore. In 1969, Rorqual rammed a moored minesweeper, USS Endurance (MSO-435) while docking at River Point pier in Subic Bay, Philippines. The collision punched a large hole in Endurance's hull but did not damage Rorqual.

Rorqual won the SOCA Efficiency trophy in 1973.

From 1968 to 1970, Rorqual was commanded by Lieutenant-Commander Gavin Menzies. Menzies became famous after his retirement for publishing the controversial book 1421: The Year China Discovered America. Menzies' book asserted that ships from the Chinese fleet of admiral Zheng He traveled to the Americas prior to Columbus' arrival in 1492 and circumnavigated the globe a century before Magellan.