HMS Varangian (P61)

HMS Varangian
History
Name:	HMS Varangian
Builder:	Vickers Armstrong, Tyne
Laid down:	23 December 1941
Launched:	4 April 1943
Commissioned:	10 July 1943
Out of service:	A
Fate:	Scrapped, 1 June 1949, Gateshead
Badge:
General characteristics
Displacement:	Surfaced - 540 tons standard, 630 tons full load Submerged - 740 tons
Length:	60 m (196 ft 10 in)
Beam:	4.90 m (16 ft 1 in)
Draught:	4.62 m (15 ft 2 in)
Propulsion:	2 shaft diesel-electric 2 Paxman Ricardo diesel generators + electric motors 615 / 825 hp
Speed:	11.25 knots (21 km/h) max surfaced 9 knots (17 km/h) max submerged
Complement:	33
Armament:	4 bow internal, 2 bow external 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes: 8 - 10 torpedoes 1 × 3-inch (76 mm) gun 3 × AA machine guns

HMS Varangian was a British built U class submarine, a member of the third group of that class to be built. Her commander was Lt. Geoffrey J Gellie RAN. The submarine carried out patrols in the Norwegian Sea, covering Arctic Convoys ^[1] and seems also to have been used in a training role.^[2] She was broken up at Gateshead in 1949. Her ship's bell (inscribed HMS Varangian 1943) is in the possession of the Royal Navy Submarine Museum in Gosport, UK.^[3] It was believed that Varangian was the submarine featured in the 1943 film We Dive at Dawn, due to the boat carrying the P61 pennant number. However the submarine in the film was in fact portrayed by other two boats: P614 and P615, with their final digit painted out to disguise the fact that there were two boats being filmed.

References

• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8. OCLC 67375475. 
• Hutchinson, Robert (2001). Jane's Submarines: War Beneath the Waves from 1776 to the Present Day. London: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-00-710558-8. OCLC 53783010. 

External links

• Submariners Association - U and V class submarines

British U-class submarine  Royal Navy First group Undine Unity Ursula Second group Umpire Una Unbeaten Undaunted Union Unique Upholder Upright Urchin Urge Usk Utmost Third group Ultimatum Ultor Umbra Unbending Unbroken Unison United Universal Unrivalled Unruffled Unruly Unseen Unshaken Unsparing Unswerving Untamed Untiring Uproar Upstart Usurper Uther Vandal Varangian Varne Vitality Vox P32 P33 P36 P38 P39 P41 P47 P48 P52   Other operators  Royal Danish Navy Springeren  Free French Naval Forces Curie  Royal Hellenic Navy Amphitriti Xifias  Royal Netherlands Navy Dolfijn  Royal Norwegian Navy Uredd Ula  Polish Navy Dzik Sokół  Soviet Navy V-2 V-3 V-4 Preceded by: T class Followed by: P611 class List of submarines of the Royal Navy List of submarine classes of the Royal Navy