HMS ''Sunfish'' was a

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 ...

S-class

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

which was launched on 30 September 1936 and served 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 opposin ...

. ''Sunfish'' is one of 12 boats named in the song Twelve Little S-Boats.

Service history

At the onset of the Second World War, ''Sunfish'' was a member of the 2nd Submarine Flotilla. From 26–29 August 1939, the flotilla deployed to its war bases at

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

and Blyth.Rohwer, p.1 She spent an eventful period with the Royal Navy on the outbreak of war, and was commanded for much of her career in the war by

Lieutenant Commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

J.E. Slaughter. In February 1940, she attacked the German U-boat , but missed, and in April sank two German merchant ships, ''Amasis'' and ''Antares'', and narrowly missed ''Hanau'' and an auxiliary patrol vessel. She also sank two German '

Q ship Q-ships, also known as Q-boats, decoy vessels, special service ships, or mystery ships, were heavily armed merchant ships with concealed weaponry, designed to lure submarines into making surface attacks. This gave Q-ships the chance to open fi ...

s' that month, ''Schürbeck'' and ''Oldenburg''. On 7 December 1940, she sank the Finnish merchant and damaged the Norwegian merchant ''Dixie'' off

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 t ...

. ''Sunfish'' was transferred to the Soviet Navy in 1944 and renamed ''V-1''. She did not spend long under Soviet command, being bombed and sunk in error by a

RAF Coastal Command RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was founded in 1936, when the RAF was restructured into Fighter, Bomber and Coastal Commands and played an important role during the Second World War. Maritime Aviation ...

Liberator off Norway, during passage from Dundee to

Murmansk Murmansk (Russian: ''Мурманск'' lit. "Norwegian coast"; Finnish: ''Murmansk'', sometimes ''Muurmanski'', previously ''Muurmanni''; Norwegian: ''Norskekysten;'' Northern Sámi: ''Murmánska;'' Kildin Sámi: ''Мурман ланнҍ'') i ...

on 27 July 1944. Her commander – Capt. 2nd rank Fisanovich – had allegedly taken her out of her assigned area and she was diving when the aircraft came in sight instead of staying on the surface and firing recognition signals as instructed. All crew – including the British liaison staff – were lost.HMS Sunfish
Uboat.net However, both the Royal Navy and RAF inquiries found that the RAF aircrew, who were at least 80 miles off course and who ignored unmistakable signs that the submarine was friendly, were fully responsible. The submarine's 50 Soviet and one British crew are all commemorated on

Dundee International Submarine Memorial Dundee International Submarine Memorial commemorates the 296 sailors and commandos lost on operations from the submarine base at Dundee in Scotland, HMS ''Ambrose'', during World War II. Background Dundee in Scotland was the home port of the Ro ...

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sunfish British S-class submarines (1931) Ships built in Chatham 1936 ships World War II submarines of the United Kingdom Maritime incidents in 1939 British S-class submarines (1931) of the Soviet Navy World War II submarines of the Soviet Union World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean Submarines sunk by aircraft Soviet Union–United Kingdom relations Friendly fire incidents of World War II Maritime incidents in July 1944 Ships sunk by British aircraft Submarines lost with all hands

Service history

See also

References

Sources