HMS Meteorite
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|
| Career (Germany) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | U-1407 |
| Ordered: | 1943-01-04 |
| Laid down: | 1943-11-13 |
| Launched: | February 1945 |
| Commissioned: | 1945-03-13 |
| Fate: | Scuttled at Cuxhaven, later raised and rebuilt |
| Career (UK) |  |
| Name: | HMS Meteorite |
| Acquired: | 1945 |
| Commissioned: | 1946 |
| Fate: | Scrapped September 1949 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | German Type XVIIB submarine |
| Displacement: | 312 tons surfaced 337 tons submerged |
| Length: | 136 ft (41 m) |
| Beam: | 15 ft (4.6 m) |
| Draught: | 14 ft (4.3 m) |
| Propulsion: | High Test Peroxide (HTP) steam raising plant driving steam turbines (submerged) Diesel-electric (surfaced) 2 shafts |
| Speed: | 25 knots (46.3 km/h) (submerged) 8.8 knots (16.3 km/h) (surfaced) |
| Armament: | 4 torpedoes |
HMS Meteorite was an experimental submarine developed in Germany, captured at the end of World War II, and commissioned into the Royal Navy.
In 1945, 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 Explorer and HMS 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.
