HMS ''Snapper'' was a second-batch S-class submarine built during the 1930s for the Royal Navy. Completed in 1935, the boat participated in the Second World War. ''Snapper'' is one of the 12 boats named in the song " Twelve Little S-Boats".

Design and description

The second batch of S-class submarines were designed as slightly improved and enlarged versions of the earlier boats of the class and were intended to operate in the North and Baltic Seas.Harrison, Chapter 16 The submarines had a length of overall, a beam of and a mean draught of . They displaced on the surface and submerged.Chesneau, p. 49 The S-class submarines had a crew of 40 officers and ratings. They had a diving depth of .McCartney, p. 6 For surface running, the boats were powered by two diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a electric motor. They could reach on the surface and underwater. On the surface, the second-batch boats had a range of at and at submerged. The S-class boats were armed with six 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes in the bow. They carried six reload torpedoes for a total of a dozen torpedoes. They were also armed with a 3-inch (76 mm) deck gun.

Construction and career

Ordered on 16 June 1933, ''Snapper'' was laid down on 18 September 1933 at

HM Dockyard, Chatham 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, ...

and was launched on 25 October 1934. The boat was completed on 14 June 1935. ''Snapper'' spent most of her career in home waters. She was mistakenly attacked by a British aircraft when returning to

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-on- ...

after a patrol in the North Sea. Although suffering a direct hit, ''Snapper'' escaped damage. She went on to sink the small German oil tanker , the German merchant ''Florida'', the German auxiliary minesweepers M 1701 / ''H. M. Behrens'' and M 1702 / ''Carsten Janssen'', the German armed trawler V 1107 / ''Portland'' and the Norwegian merchant ''Cygnus''. She also attacked the German

armed merchant cruiser An armed merchantman is a merchant ship equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after the fact. In the days of sail, piracy and privateers, many merchantmen would be routinely armed, especially those engaging in lo ...

, but the torpedoes missed their target.

Sinking

She left the Clyde on 29 January 1941 to patrol in the

Bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay (), known in Spain as the Gulf of Biscay ( es, Golfo de Vizcaya, eu, Bizkaiko Golkoa), and in France and some border regions as the Gulf of Gascony (french: Golfe de Gascogne, oc, Golf de Gasconha, br, Pleg-mor Gwaskogn), ...

. She should have arrived in her patrol area on 1 February. She was ordered to remain on station until 10 February and then to return with her escort. ''Snapper'' failed to make the rendezvous with the escort and was not heard from again. It is believed that she met her fate through a mine or that she was mortally damaged by a minesweeper which attacked a submarine in ''Snappers area on 11 February, although ''Snapper'' should have been out of the area by then. Other sources report that the S-class submarine was

depth charge 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 Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth ...

d and sunk in the

south west of Ouessant, Finistère, France () by the German minesweepers , and with the loss of all 41 crew.
wlb-stuttgart.de/seekrieg

Citations

References

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Snapper (39S) British S-class submarines (1931) Missing submarines of World War II 1934 ships World War II submarines of the United Kingdom Lost submarines of the United Kingdom Submarines lost with all hands Maritime incidents in February 1941 World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean Ships built in Chatham Submarines sunk by German warships