HMS Tantalus (P318)

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HMS Tantalus
Career (UK) Royal Navy Ensign
Builder: Vickers Armstrong, Barrow
Laid down: 6 June 1942
Launched: 24 February 1943
Commissioned: 2 June 1943
Fate: Scrapped November 1950
General characteristics
Class and type: British T class submarine
Displacement: 1,290 tons surfaced
1,560 tons submerged
Length: 276 ft 6 in (84.3 m)
Beam: 25 ft 6 in (7.8 m)
Draught:

12 ft 9 in (3.9 m) forward

14 ft 7 in (4.4 m) aft
Propulsion:

Two shafts
Twin diesel engines 2,500 hp (1.86 MW) each

Twin electric motors 1,450 hp (1.08 MW) each
Speed:

15.5 knots (28.7 km/h) surfaced

9 knots (20 km/h) submerged
Range: 4,500 nautical miles at 11 knots (8,330 km at 20 km/h) surfaced
Test depth: 300 ft (91 m) max
Complement: 61
Armament:

6 internal forward facing torpedo tubes
2 external forward facing torpedo tubes
2 external amidships rear facing torpedo tubes
1 external rear facing torpedo tubes
6 reload torpedoes
4 inch (100 mm) deck gun

3 anti aircraft machine guns

HMS Tantalus was a British submarine of the third group of the T class. She was built as P318 by Vickers Armstrong, Barrow, and launched on 24 February 1943. So far she has been the only ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name Tantalus, after the mythological Tantalus, son of Zeus.

[edit] Service

Tantalus served in the Far East for much of her wartime career. She sank the Malaysian tug Kampung Besar, and the Malaysian Pulo Salanama in April 1944, and went on to sink the Japanese army cargo ships Amagi Maru and Hiyoshi Maru, the Japanese cargo ship Hachijin Maru, the Japanese coaster Palang Maru, the Japanese fishing vessel Taisei Maru No. 12, a Japanese tug and three barges, an unknown Japanese vessel, and a Siamese sailing vessel, whilst claiming to have damaged a second. Tantalus also damaged a tug and the Japanese submarine chaser Ch 1. She also attacked, but missed the Japanese submarine I-166, which was sunk later that day by HMS Telemachus.

Tantalus survived the war and continued in service with the Navy, finally being scrapped at Milford Haven in November 1950.[1]

[edit] References

  1. ^ HMS Tantalus, Uboot.net