HMS ''Turpin'' (pennant number P354) was one a group three T-class submarines 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 ...

which entered service in the last few months 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 ...

. So far she has been the only ship of the Royal Navy to be named ''Turpin''. She was sold to

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

in 1965 and commissioned into the

Israeli Sea Corps The Israeli Navy ( he, חיל הים הישראלי, ''Ḥeil HaYam HaYisraeli'' (English: The Israeli Sea Corps); ar, البحرية الإسرائيلية) is the naval warfare service arm of the Israel Defense Forces, operating primarily in ...

in 1967 as INS ''Leviathan''.

Construction

''Turpin'' 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 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 24 May 1943, was launched on 5 August 1944 and completed on 18 December 1944 (although she had already been commissioned on 1 October that year). ''Turpin'' was a Group 3 T-class submarine, of all-welded construction.

Career

As HMS ''Turpin''

At the end of the war, all surviving Group 1 and Group 2 boats were scrapped, but the group 3 boats (which were of welded rather than riveted construction) were retained and fitted with snort masts. In 1955, ''Turpin'' was inside the arctic circle on an ELINT mission, listening for specific frequency bands of Soviet radars. Suddenly, the ELINT specialist noted an unusual signal that was from a very short range radar. The operator registered that they were about to be rammed by a Soviet Navy surface vessel, and a crash dive was ordered. The ''Turpin'' submerged below a cold water line which allowed them to evade Soviet sonar and escape.Richard Aldrich, ''GCHQ'', (London: Harper Collins, 2010), p. 171. ''Turpin'' was sold to the

Israeli Navy The Israeli Navy ( he, חיל הים הישראלי, ''Ḥeil HaYam HaYisraeli'' (English: The Israeli Sea Corps); ar, البحرية الإسرائيلية) is the naval warfare service arm of the Israel Defense Forces, operating primarily in ...

in 1965, and renamed ''

Leviathan Leviathan (; he, לִוְיָתָן, ) is a sea serpent noted in theology and mythology. It is referenced in several books of the Hebrew Bible, including Psalms, the Book of Job, the Book of Isaiah, the Book of Amos, and, according to some ...

'', after a biblical sea monster.

As INS ''Leviathan''

The submarine was purchased by

, along with two of her T-class sisters, in 1965, HMS ''Truncheon'' and HMS ''Totem''. She was commissioned into the Israeli Sea Corps in 1967. She was eventually scrapped in 1978. A

Dolphin class submarine The ''Dolphin'' class (Hebrew: הצוללות מסדרת דולפין) is a diesel-electric submarine developed in Israel and constructed by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft AG (HDW) in Kiel, Germany, for the Israeli Navy. The first boats of the c ...

named ''Leviathan'' was commissioned in 2000 to the Israeli Navy.

Footnotes

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Turpin (P354) British T-class submarines of the Royal Navy Ships built in Chatham 1943 ships World War II submarines of the United Kingdom Cold War submarines of the United Kingdom British T-class submarines of the Israeli Navy