HMS ''Sleuth'' was a S-class submarine of the third batch 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 Fr ...

during World War II. She survived the war and was sold for scrap in 1958.

Design and description

The last 17 boats of the third batch were significantly modified from the earlier boats. They had a stronger hull, carried more fuel and their armament was revised. 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 of and a

draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vesse ...

of . They displaced on the surface and submerged.Chesneau, p. 52 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 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-cal ...

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 f ...

. They could reach on the surface and underwater. On the surface, the third batch boats had a range of at and at submerged. ''Sleuth'' was 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. She carried six reload torpedoes for a grand total of a dozen torpedoes. Twelve mines could be carried in lieu of the torpedoes. The boat was also equipped with a 4-inch (102 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

HMS ''Sleuth'' was built by Cammell Laird and launched on 6 July 1944. So far she has been the only ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name ''Sleuth''. The boat operated in the Pacific Far East for most of her wartime career, often in company with her sister, HMS ''Solent''. Together they sank fifteen Japanese sailing vessels and the Japanese auxiliary minesweeper ''Wa 3''.HMS Sleuth
Uboat.net ''Sleuth'' survived 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 ...

and continued in service. On 13 June 1952 she collided with the destroyer HMS ''Zephyr'', while leaving Portland harbour. She put her stern through the side of ''Zephyr'' as she reversed out of her berth. ''Sleuth'' was eventually sold. She arrived at Charlestown on 15 September 1958 for breaking up.

Notes

References

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sleuth British S-class submarines (1931) 1944 ships Ships built on the River Mersey World War II submarines of the United Kingdom Royal Navy ship names