HMS ''Alaric'' (P441), was an ''Amphion''-class submarine of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

, built by

Cammell Laird Cammell Laird is a British shipbuilding company. It was formed from the merger of Laird Brothers of Birkenhead and Johnson Cammell & Co of Sheffield at the turn of the twentieth century. The company also built railway rolling stock until 1929, ...

laid down in May 1944 and launched 18 February 1946.

Design

Like all

Amphion-class submarine The ''Amphion'' class (also known as the "A" class and ''Acheron'' class) of British diesel-electric submarines were designed for use in the Pacific War. Only two were completed before the end of hostilities, but following modernisation in ...

s, ''Alaric'' had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. It had a total length of , a beam of , and a draught of . The submarine was powered by two Admiralty ML eight-cylinder diesel engines generating a power of each. It also contained four electric motors each producing that drove two shafts. It could carry a maximum of of diesel, although it usually carried between . The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a submerged speed of . When submerged, it could operate at for or at for . When surfaced, it was able to travel at or at . ''Alaric'' was fitted with ten

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 abo ...

s, one

QF 4 inch naval gun Mk XXIII The QF 4-inch gun Mark XXIII was introduced in late 1945 as a deck gun for Royal Navy submarines. It was the last type of gun to be fitted to British submarines, finally being retired in 1974. Development and service Development of the Mark XXI ...

, one

Oerlikon 20 mm cannon The Oerlikon 20 mm cannon is a series of autocannons, based on an original German Becker Type M2 20 mm cannon design that appeared very early in World War I. It was widely produced by Oerlikon Contraves and others, with various models emp ...

, and a

.303 British The .303 British (designated as the 303 British by the C.I.P. and SAAMI) or 7.7×56mmR, is a calibre rimmed rifle cartridge. The .303 inch bore diameter is measured between rifling lands as is the common practice in Europe which follows th ...

Vickers machine gun The Vickers machine gun or Vickers gun is a water-cooled .303 British (7.7 mm) machine gun produced by Vickers Limited, originally for the British Army. The gun was operated by a three-man crew but typically required more men to move and ...

. Its torpedo tubes were fitted to the

bow Bow often refers to: * Bow and arrow, a weapon * Bowing, bending the upper body as a social gesture * An ornamental knot made of ribbon Bow may also refer to: * Bow (watercraft), the foremost part of a ship or boat * Bow (position), the rower ...

and stern, and it could carry twenty torpedoes. Its

complement A complement is something that completes something else. Complement may refer specifically to: The arts * Complement (music), an interval that, when added to another, spans an octave ** Aggregate complementation, the separation of pitch-clas ...

was sixty-one crew members.

Service

''Alaric'' served on the home station all her life and was modernised in the 1960s. In 1953 she took part in the

Fleet Review A fleet review or naval review is an event where a gathering of ships from a particular navy is paraded and reviewed by an incumbent head of state and/or other official civilian and military dignitaries. A number of national navies continue to ...

to celebrate the

Coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of o ...

of Queen Elizabeth II. In 1968 she was part of the First Submarine Squadron based at

HMS Dolphin Numerous Royal Navy vessels have been named HMS ''Dolphin'' after the dolphin. * The first seven ''Dolphins'' were small ketches and fireships. * , launched in 1731, was a 20-gun post ship, renamed ''Firebrand'' in 1755 and ''Penguin'' in 1757. * ...

and took part in Navy Days at Portsmouth during that year.Programme, ''Navy Days at Portsmouth 31 August – 2 September 1968, p. 21.'' Following decommissioning, ''Alaric'' was sold to

Thos. W. Ward Thos. W. Ward Ltd was a Sheffield, Yorkshire, steel, engineering and cement business, which began as coal and coke merchants. It expanded into recycling metal for Sheffield's steel industry, and then the supply and manufacture of machinery. I ...

for scrapping at

Inverkeithing Inverkeithing ( ; gd, Inbhir Chèitinn) is a port city, port town and parish, in Fife, Scotland, on the Firth of Forth. A town of ancient origin, Inverkeithing was given royal burgh status during the reign of Malcolm IV of Scotland, Malcolm IV ...

, arriving there in July 1971.

References

Publications

External links

Pictures of HMS Alaric at MaritimeQuest
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alaric (P441) Amphion-class submarines Cold War submarines of the United Kingdom Ships built on the River Mersey 1946 ships