HMS ''Starfish'' was a first-batch S-class submarine (often called the ''Swordfish'' class) built for 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 ...

during the 1930s. Completed in 1933, she participated in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. During the war, ''Starfish'', part of the 2nd Submarine Flotilla, conducted five uneventful war patrols in the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...

. On 9 January 1940, during her sixth patrol, she attacked a German

minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

off

Heligoland Bight The Heligoland Bight, also known as Helgoland Bight, (german: Helgoländer Bucht) is a bay which forms the southern part of the German Bight, itself a bay of the North Sea, located at the mouth of the Elbe river. The Heligoland Bight extends f ...

, but after the attack failed and her diving planes jammed, ''Starfish'' was repeatedly attacked with depth charges. Badly damaged, she was forced to surface, and sank after all her crew were rescued by German ships.

Design and description

The S-class submarines were designed as successors to the L class and were intended to operate in the

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north ...

and

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and ...

s.Harrison, Chapter 16 The submarines had a length of

overall Overalls, also called bib-and-brace overalls or dungarees, are a type of garment usually used as protective clothing when working. The garments are commonly referred to as a "pair of overalls" by analogy with "pair of trousers". Overalls were ...

, a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

of and a mean draught of . They displaced on the surface and submerged.Chesneau, p. 49 The S-class submarines had a crew of 38 officers and ratings. They had a diving depth of .McCartney, p. 4 For surface running, the boats were powered by two

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-ca ...

s, each driving one

propeller shaft A drive shaft, driveshaft, driving shaft, tailshaft (Australian English), propeller shaft (prop shaft), or Cardan shaft (after Girolamo Cardano) is a component for transmitting mechanical power and torque and rotation, usually used to connect ...

. When submerged each propeller was driven by a

electric motor An electric motor is an electrical machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a wire winding to generate for ...

. They could reach on the surface and underwater. On the surface, the first-batch boats had a range of at and at submerged. The boats were armed with six 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 in the bow. They carried six reload torpedoes for a grand total of a dozen torpedoes. They were also armed with a 3-inch (76 mm)

deck gun A deck gun is a type of naval artillery mounted on the deck of a submarine. Most submarine deck guns were open, with or without a shield; however, a few larger submarines placed these guns in a turret. The main deck gun was a dual-purpose ...

Construction and career

Ordered on 16 March 1931, HMS ''Starfish'' was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

Chatham Royal Dockyard Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham (at its most extensive, in the early 20th century, ...

on 29 September 1931 and was launched on 14 March 1933. She was commissioned later that year, on 27 October 1933. At the onset of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, ''Starfish'' was a member of the 2nd Submarine Flotilla. From 23–26 August 1939, the 2nd Submarine Flotilla deployed to the war bases at Dundee and Blyth.Rohwer, p.1 On 24 August 1939, ''Starfish'', under the command of Lt. Thomas Anthony Turner, departed her homeport for it first patrol, southwest of Stavanger, Norway. On the First of September, a

rating A rating is an evaluation or assessment of something, in terms of quality, quantity, or some combination of both. Rating or ratings may also refer to: Business and economics * Credit rating, estimating the credit worthiness of an individual, c ...

on board ''Starfish'' suffered a severe injury to the head, and her commander decided to return to port. When Britain declared war with

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

on 3 September, this became her first war patrol although she arrived at Dundee later that day. On the eleventh, she left port for her second combat patrol, in the same area as the first. After an uneventful patrol, ''Starfish'' returned to Dundee on 21 September. ''Starfish'' departed port on 4 October for her third war patrol, to the northwest of

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...

, Norway. On 17 October, she finished her uneventful third patrol at

Rosyth Rosyth ( gd, Ros Fhìobh, "headland of Fife") is a town on the Firth of Forth, south of the centre of Dunfermline. According to the census of 2011, the town has a population of 13,440. The new town was founded as a Garden city-style suburb ...

. On 28 October ''Starfish'' left Rosyth for a patrol in the

, off

Dogger Bank Dogger Bank (Dutch: ''Doggersbank'', German: ''Doggerbank'', Danish: ''Doggerbanke'') is a large sandbank in a shallow area of the North Sea about off the east coast of England. During the last ice age the bank was part of a large landmass ...

. Again her patrol was uneventful, and ''Starfish'' returned to Blyth on 7 November. She left again for her fifth patrol, southwest of

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

, then later to the west of

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

. On 8 December, ''Starfish'' ended her patrol, which had been uneventful, at Blyth. On 6 January 1940, ''Starfish'' departed for her sixth and last combat patrol, off

. On 9 January at 10:40 ( UTC), she sighted the German minesweeper M-7 and attacked it in position . However, the attack failed because, due to drill errors, the torpedoes were not fired. ''Starfish'' commenced a second attack but her diving planes jammed, and her commander decided to submerge to the deep bottom to conduct repairs. According to Captain Turner in his postwar report, ''Starfish'' was located by the German minesweeper, who dropped two

depth charges A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive hydraulic shock. Most depth charges use h ...

which caused no damage. At 10:50, a crew member asked for permission to restart one of the motors to prevent the gyro from wandering. Permission was granted, but no sooner the motor had been started, four depth charges were dropped directly above the boat, causing widespread damage. At 14:40, another attack was carried out, and twenty depth charges exploded close to the submarine's hull, damaging rivets and causing leaking. By 18:00 ''Starfish'' was severely flooded, and her commander, seeing the Germans would not leave, gave the order to surface at 18:20. She was forced to drop her

ballast Ballast is material that is used to provide stability to a vehicle or structure. Ballast, other than cargo, may be placed in a vehicle, often a ship or the gondola of a balloon or airship, to provide stability. A compartment within a boat, ship ...

keel, coming up at a 45° angle due to flooding. All crew were rescued and taken as prisoners of war, and ''Starfish'' sank shortly after. In July 1940, a diving mission was sent to locate her wreck and secret documents, but the attempt was unsuccessful.HMS Starfish
uboat.net

Notes

References

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Starfish 1933 ships British S-class submarines (1931) Lost submarines of the United Kingdom Maritime incidents in January 1940 World War II shipwrecks in the North Sea World War II submarines of the United Kingdom Submarines sunk by German warships