HMS Sceptre (P215)

HMS ''Sceptre'' (P215) was a third-batch S-class submarine built for the Royal Navy during World War II. Completed in April 1943, she spent the majority of her career in the North Sea, off Norway. After an uneventful patrol, the submarine participated in Operation Source, an attack on German battleships in Norway using small midget submarines to penetrate their anchorages and place explosive charges. However, the midget submarine that she was assigned to tow experienced technical difficulties and the mission was aborted. During her next four patrols, ''Sceptre'' attacked several ships, but only succeeded in severely damaging one. She was then ordered to tow the submarine ''X24'', which was to attack a floating dry dock in Bergen. The operation, codenamed Guidance, encountered difficulties with the attacking submarine's charts, and the explosives were laid on a merchant ship close to the dock instead. The dock was damaged and the ship sunk, and ''X24'' was towed back to England. ''Sceptre'' then conducted a patrol in the Bay of Biscay, sinking two German merchant ships, before being reassigned to tow ''X24'' to Bergen again. The operation was a success, and the dry dock was sunk.

After a last patrol in which she sank one ship, ''Sceptre'' underwent a lengthy refit to serve as a high-speed target submarine for training purposes. When the war ended, the submarine continued training operations, and was sold for scrap in September 1949.

Design and description

The S-class submarines were designed to patrol the restricted waters of the North Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. The third batch was slightly enlarged and improved over the preceding second batch of the S class. The submarines had a length of overall, a beam of and a draught of . They displaced on the surface and submerged. The S-class submarines had a crew of 48 officers and ratings. They had a diving depth of .McCartney, p. 7

For surface running, the boats were powered by two diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a electric motor. They could reach on the surface and underwater. On the surface, the third batch boats had a range of at and at submerged.

The boats were armed with seven torpedo tubes. A half-dozen of these were in the bow and there was one external tube in the stern. They carried six reload torpedoes for the bow tubes for a grand total of thirteen torpedoes. Twelve mines could be carried in lieu of the internally stowed torpedoes. They were also armed with a deck gun. The third-batch S-class boats were fitted with either a Type 129AR or 138 ASDIC system and a Type 291 or 291W early-warning radar.

Construction and career

HMS ''Sceptre'' was a third-batch S-class submarine and was ordered by the British Admiralty on 23 January 1940. She was laid down in the Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company shipyard in Greenock on 25 July 1940 and was launched on 6 January 1943.Akermann, p. 339 On 15 April 1943, ''Sceptre'', under the command of Lieutenant Ian McIntosh, sailed to Holy Loch, where she was commissioned later in the day. The submarine was named after the symbol of Royal authority, the Sceptre; she was the fourth ship with this name.

After going through training exercises off Scapa Flow and Holy Loch, ''Sceptre'' set sail on 20 July 1943 for an anti-submarine patrol off Norway. The patrol was uneventful, and the boat returned to port on 5 August.

Operation Source

On 1 September 1943, ''Sceptre'' conducted training at Port HHZ, Scotland with midget submarines in preparation for Operation Source, an attack on the German battleships in Norway using midget submarines. On 12 September 1943, the boat departed port towing the X-class submarine ''X10'' to her target, the .Akermann, p. 455 An auxiliary crew was on board during the passage, which was meant to switch with the operational crew near the target. On 20 September, the midget submarine was released to attack the battleship , but experienced engine troubles and had to abandon the mission. ''Sceptre'' returned to Lerwick on 8 October, but ''X10'' had been forced to scuttle due to mechanical problems on 3 October.

Northern patrols

''Sceptre'' conducted another uneventful patrol in Arctic waters from 15 November to 7 December, then, in her next patrol, fired four torpedoes at the Norwegian merchantman ''Nina'', but missed. The submarine then commenced another patrol in northern waters beginning on 26 January 1944. After six days at sea, ''Sceptre'' attacked a convoy of merchant ships with four torpedoes, but it is unclear if she hit any. Two day later, the submarine attacked what appeared to be a German U-boat, but did not claim any hits; no German submarines were in the vicinity at the time, so she may have mistaken another surface ship for an U-boat. ''Sceptre'' then ended her patrol in Scotland on 9 February.

The submarine set to sea again on 28 February, again patrolling in the Arctic. On 6 March, the boat fired two torpedoes at a merchant ship in a convoy, but missed. The next day, ''Sceptre'' again sighted a convoy, and succeed in inflicting heavy torpedo damage on the German merchantman ''Lippe''; ''Lippe'' was forced to beach itself and broke up the next day. On 12 and 13 March, the submarine fired torpedoes at the merchants ''Kong Harald'' and ''Gordias'', but failed on both occasions to score a hit. ''Sceptre'' returned to port on 16 March.

From 25 March to 9 April, ''Sceptre'' again participated in training operations with X-class submarines, after which she departed for a special operation, Operation Guidance. This operation was similar to the earlier attack on ''Tirpitz'' in that X-class midget submarines would be used to penetrate a heavily defended area and attack targets underwater with limpet mines. This mission's target was a floating dry dock in Bergen, Norway. On 11 April, ''Sceptre'' set out towards Bergen with the midget submarine ''X24'' under tow, and released her the next day. ''X24'' successfully entered the harbour two days later, but faulty intelligence and incorrect charts resulted in the explosive charges being laid on the German merchant ''Barenfels'' and not on the dock. The ship was sunk and the dock damaged, and ''X24'' rendezvoused with ''Sceptre'' and both submarines left the area at full speed; only later was ''X24'' taken under tow again. The pair returned to Port HZZ on 18 April.

On 6 May 1944, ''Sceptre'' departed harbour for a patrol in the Bay of Biscay area, off northern Spain. Two weeks later, the submarine torpedoed and sank the German merchant ship ''Hochheimer'' off Bilbao, Spain. ''Sceptre'' followed up with this success by sinking the merchant ''Baldur'' off Punta Lamie, Spain, three day later. The submarine ended her patrol in Gibraltar on 2 June. ''Sceptre'' returned to England between 20 June, and 1 July.

After training for operations with X-class midget submarines at Port HZZ, the boat departed on 7 September, towing ''X24'' to her target, the same floating dry dock in Bergen. ''Sceptre'' released ''X24'' in the evening of 10 September; ''X24'' penetrated the harbour in broad daylight, avoiding tugs and ships, and successfully placed her explosive charges under the targeted dock. The midget submarine met ''Sceptre'' later in the day, and both submarines returned to their base unharmed, while the charges under the dock exploded, breaking it in two and sinking it.

The boat set out for another patrol in northern waters on 14 September; six days later, she attacked a coaster with three torpedoes, which all exploded on the beach after missing their target; later in the day ''Sceptre'' attacked the Norwegian merchant ''Vela'' and sank it with a full salvo of six torpedoes. The submarine ended her patrol on 23 September. ''Sceptre'' then conducted another patrol from 15 to 28 October, sinking the German submarine chaser ''UJ 1111''.

Refit as target submarine

On 22 November, ''Sceptre'' arrived at Sheerness where she was extensively refitted and modified for use as a target submarine. Her deck gun was removed and her hull streamlined, and she was fitted with more powerful batteries. She was allocated to the Seventh Submarine Flotilla and used for training, based at Sheerness. She continued to run as a training unit based in Portland until February 1947. After sustaining damage due to a battery explosion on 8 August 1949, she was sold to BISCO for scrap in September 1949.

Summary of raiding history

During her service with the Royal Navy, ''Sceptre'' sank five ships for a total of .

Notes

References

*
*
*
*
*
*
*

External links

IWM Interview with Ian McIntosh, who commanded HMS ''Sceptre'' from 1943 to 1944

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sceptre
British S-class submarines (1931)
1943 ships
World War II submarines of the United Kingdom