HMS ''Artemis'' (P449) was an of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

, built by Scotts Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. of

Greenock Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh of barony, burgh within the Counties of Scotland, historic ...

and launched 28 August 1946. The submarine sank while refueling in 1971, was raised and sold for breaking up in 1972.

Design

Like all ''Amphion''-class submarines, ''Artemis'' had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. It had a total length of , a beam of , and a draught of . The submarine was powered by two Admiralty ML eight-cylinder diesel engines generating each. It also contained four electric motors, each producing , that drove two shafts. It could carry a maximum of of diesel, although it usually carried between . The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a submerged speed of . When submerged, it could operate at for or at for . When surfaced, it was able to travel at or at . ''Artemis'' was fitted with ten 21 inch (533 mm)

torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...

s, one

QF 4 inch naval gun Mk XXIII The QF 4-inch gun Mark XXIII was introduced in late 1945 as a deck gun for Royal Navy submarines. It was the last type of gun to be fitted to British submarines, finally being retired in 1974. Development and service Development of the Mark XXII ...

, one Oerlikon 20 mm cannon, and a

.303 British The .303 British (designated as the 303 British by the C.I.P. and SAAMI) or 7.7×56mmR, is a calibre rimmed rifle cartridge. The .303 inch bore diameter is measured between rifling lands as is the common practice in Europe which follows th ...

Vickers machine gun The Vickers machine gun or Vickers gun is a Water cooling, water-cooled .303 British (7.7 mm) machine gun produced by Vickers Limited, originally for the British Army. The gun was operated by a three-man crew but typically required more me ...

. Its torpedo tubes were fitted to the bow and stern, and it could carry twenty torpedoes. Its complement was sixty-one crew members.

Service history

In September 1952 ''Artemis'' deployed to Canada a second time for anti-submarine training with the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack s ...

. ''Artemis'' replaced the damaged , which had developed issues while training with vessels of the Royal Canadian Navy off Bermuda. In 1953 she took part in the Fleet Review to celebrate the Coronation of Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

. On 1 July 1971 ''Artemis'' sank in of water while moored at the shore establishment HMS ''Dolphin'' at

Gosport Gosport ( ) is a town and non-metropolitan borough on the south coast of Hampshire, South East England. At the 2011 Census, its population was 82,662. Gosport is situated on a peninsula on the western side of Portsmouth Harbour, opposite t ...

during refuelling. The sub dipped by the stern (she was being prepared for fuelling using the aft externals) which filled and the sub sank. All aboard escaped, with decisive action by four crew members resulting in bravery awards. She was raised on 6 July and decommissioned, sold to be broken up for scrap on 12 December 1971.

References

Publications

External links

Boat veterans homepage

{{DEFAULTSORT:Artemis (P449) Amphion-class submarines Cold War submarines of the United Kingdom Ships built by Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company 1946 ships Maritime incidents in 1968 Maritime incidents in 1971