Porpoise Class
Prototype Minelaying Submarine
- Porpoise Prototype Minelayer
- Porpoise
This represented Britains first purpose built minelaying submarine.
Porpoise was of saddle-tank construction with the hull form simillar to the Parthian class submarine. Most of the fuel was carried in external welded tanks. The mines were carried on a single line of rails fitted on top of the pressure hull and enclosed by a non-watertight high casing. This extended from 65 feet from the bow to the stern doors. The rails ran down the centre line of the boat. This resulted in the periscopes and mast etc. being offset to starboard and special ballas being carred on the port side to balance weights.
1 Built
| Submarine | Builder | Built |
| Porpoise | Vickers, Barrow-in-Furness. | 1931 - 1933 |
Technical Information
| Displacement (tons): | 1,500
sf 2,053 sm |
| Length (ft): | 288 oa |
| Breadth (ft) | 29.75 oa |
| Draught/Height (ft): | 15.75 |
| Machinery: | 2 Admiralty
x 3,300 bhp diesel engines. 2 Admiralty x 1,630 bhp electric motors. Twin screws. |
| Speed (kts): | 15.5 kts
sf 8.75 kts sm |
| Oil Supply (tons): | 155/190 tons |
| Armament: | 6 x 21
inch bow tubes. 12 reloads. 1 x 4.7/45 QF Mk IX. 2 x 0.303 Lewis Machine guns. 50 Mk XVI mines. (In 1934 the 4.7 inch gun was replaced by a 4 inch/40 QF Mk XII. From 1941 12M Mk II ground mines could be caried in place of torpedoes, later 1 - 20mm HA (Oerlikon) was almost certainly added.) |
| Range: | 6,300/64 nm at 10.6/4 kts |
| Complement: | 59 Officers and Ratings. |
| sm = submerged, sf = surfaced, oa = overall, hp = horsepower, na = not available. | |
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'Minelayer'
H.M. Submarine Porpoise (Minelayer)
| Type: | Porpoise Prototype (Minelayer) Class | |
| Pennant No.: | 14.M N.14 |
|
| Laid Down: | 22nd September 1931. | Vickers-Armstrong, Barrow-in-Furness. |
| Commissioned: | 25th April 1933. | Not known at present. |
| Commander: | 1940 1944. |
Cdr. P.
Q. Roberts. Lt. Cdr. H. B. Turner. |
| Complement: | 55 | Officers and Ratings. |
| Service Career: | 1940 - 2nd Flotilla. | H.M.S. Forth, Rosyth. |
| Sank the U1.on 16th April 1940. | ||
| Fate: | Bombed by Japanese aircraft in Malacca strait 19th January 1945, last submarine to be lost in WW2. | |
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