The Submarine Heritage Centre - HMS/M Porpoise (1931)

Sponsorship Comments

This painting was sponsored by the Rutland Branch of the Submariners Association. The reason for the choice of this painting, is one of their members served onboard this particular submarine.

Porpoise Technical Facts:

- Builder: Vickers Armstrong Limited - Barrow-in-Furness
- Yard No: 679
- Pennant numbers: 14M to September 1939, 14N to 1940 and N14 to 1945
- Laid down: September 22nd 1931
- Launched: August 30th 1932
- Completed: March 11th 1933
- Displacement: Surface 1,768 tons, Submerged 2,053 tons
- Dimensions (in feet and inches): Length: 289 feet, Breadth: 29 feet 10", Draught: 16 feet
- Propulsion: Surface: Twin diesels 3,300bhp, Submerged: Twin electric motors 1,630hp
- Endurance: 10,750 nautical miles at 8 knots
- Speed: 16 knots, Submerged: 8.75 knots
- Weapons: Six 21 inch bow torpedo tubes, 1 x 4.7 inch gun, 2 machine guns, 50 mines.
- Complement: 5 Officers and 54 Ratings.

Historical Facts:

A class of six boats, of which three, Porpoise Narwhal (N.45) and Roqual (N.74) where built at Barrow.This class was a development based on the trials carried out by HM Submarine M3 when converted to a minelayer. They carried 50 standard mines on a rail system under the casing, discharging the mines through doors in the stern.

During 1940/41
Porpoise was employed minelaying off the coast of Norway and escorting East Coast convoys.

January 1941
Transferred to North Atlantic, escorting UK/Halifax convoys.

October 1941
Transferred to Alexandria, stopping at Malta with supplies including aviation spirit carried in special containers under the casing.

October 1941/December 1942.
Patrolling the Eastern Mediterranean and Aegean. This included running supplies to beleaguered Malta. This become known as the Magic Carpet run, Porpoise and the River class boat Clyde were the boats most regularly employed.The total supplies carried by submarines totalled:

- Aviation Spirit: 90,150 gallons
- Petrol: 89,144 gallons
- General Stores: 30 tons.
- Mail: 12 tons.
- Munitions: 6 tons
- Essential Personnel: 126

December 1942 to May 1944.
Refit at Portsmouth Dockyard.

June 4th 1944.
Arrived Trincomalee (Ceylon) to join the 4th Submarine Squadron.

June 1944 to January 1945.
Patrolling and minelaying in the Malacca Straights.

Operation RIMAU (September 1944).
An operation to land 24 special forces with the aim of sinking Japanese shipping in Singapore harbour. It all went wrong, fourteen were killed and ten captured, the ten that were captured were interrogated and executed by their Japanese captors.

January 16th 1945.
Sank in the Malacca Straight, off Penang by Japanese aircraft. Porpoise was the last submarine of the Royal Navy to be sunk in World War II.

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