HMS ''Sturgeon'' was an
S-class submarine
A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...
that entered service with the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
in 1932. Ordered in 1930, she 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 ...
at
Chatham Dockyard
Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham, Kent, Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham, Kent, Gillingham; at its most extens ...
in January 1931 and
launched on 8 January 1932.
Commissioned on 27 February 1933, ''Sturgeon'' was assigned to the 2nd Submarine Flotilla.
At the start of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, ''Sturgeon'' conducted patrols in the
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...
. On 6 September, she was mistakenly bombed by British aircraft. On her second patrol, she fired three torpedoes at an unidentified submarine, which was in fact her
sister ship
A sister ship is a ship of the same Ship class, class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They o ...
, but the torpedoes missed. On her third patrol, she missed the German U-boat and was damaged after hitting the bottom, requiring repairs. On 20 November, she sank the German armed trawler with torpedoes. The sinking was the first successful attack by a British submarine of the war, and was a morale boost for British submariners. During her next patrols in the North Sea, ''Sturgeon'' sighted and sank several ships, including the German troop transport ''Pionier'' and the Danish merchants SS ''Sigrun'' and SS ''Delfinus''. Afterwards, ''Sturgeon'' patrolled in the
Bay of Biscay
The Bay of Biscay ( ) is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Point Penmarc'h to the Spanish border, and along the northern coast of Spain, extending westward ...
, acted as a beacon during
Operation Torch
Operation Torch (8–16 November 1942) was an Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of securing victory in North Africa whil ...
, then, after being again damaged by Allied aircraft, escorted the
Arctic Convoys
The Arctic convoys of World War II were oceangoing convoys which sailed from the United Kingdom, Iceland, and North America to northern ports in the Soviet Union – primarily Arkhangelsk (Archangel) and Murmansk in Russia. There were 78 convoys ...
PQ 15 and
PQ 17. ''Sturgeon'' was transferred to the 8th Submarine Flotilla, which operated on the
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...
, in October 1942 to support the
Allied landings in North Africa
Operation Torch (8–16 November 1942) was an Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of securing victory in North Africa while allowing American arm ...
. In May 1943, she was loaned to the
Royal Netherlands Navy
The Royal Netherlands Navy (, ) is the Navy, maritime service branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. It traces its history to 8 January 1488, making it the List of navies, third-oldest navy in the world.
During the 17th and early 18th centurie ...
as HNLMS ''Zeehond''. ''Zeehond'' was returned to the Royal Navy following the war and was sold for
scrap
Scrap consists of recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap can have monetary value, especially recover ...
in 1946. She was one of the four submarines that formed the First Group of the S class, and the only one of these to survive the war.
Design and description
The
S-class submarine
A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...
s were designed as successors to the
L class and were intended to operate in the
North
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography.
Etymology
T ...
and
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...
s.
[Harrison, Chapter 16] The submarines had a length of
overall
Overalls or bib-and-brace overalls, also called dungarees in British English, 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 ...
, a
beam
Beam may refer to:
Streams of particles or energy
*Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy
**Laser beam
*Radio beam
*Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles
**Charged particle beam, a spatially lo ...
of and a mean
draught of . They
displaced on the surface and submerged.
[Chesneau, p. 49] The S-class submarines had a crew of 38 officers and
ratings. They had a diving depth of .
[McCartney, p. 4]
For surface running, the boats were powered by two
diesel engine
The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...
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, torque, and rotation, usually used to connect o ...
. When submerged each propeller was driven by a
electric motor
An electric motor is a 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 electromagnetic coil, wire winding to gene ...
. They could reach on the surface and underwater. On the surface, the first-batch boats had a range of at and at submerged.
[
The boats were armed with six ]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. They carried six reload torpedoes for a grand total of a dozen torpedoes. They were also armed with a 3-inch (76 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 w ...
.[
]
Construction and career
Ordered on 2 July 1930, ''Sturgeon'' 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 ...
by Chatham Dockyard
Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham, Kent, Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham, Kent, Gillingham; at its most extens ...
on 3 January 1931. She was launched on 8 January 1932 and commissioned on 15 December 1932.[
At the onset of the ]World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, ''Sturgeon'' was a member of the 2nd Submarine Flotilla. From 23 to 26 August 1939, the 2nd Submarine Flotilla transferred to their war bases at Dundee
Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...
and Blyth.
North Sea patrols
On 23 August, ''Sturgeon'' departed her homeport of Portland
Portland most commonly refers to:
*Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon
*Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine
*Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel
Portland may also r ...
along with her sister ship
A sister ship is a ship of the same Ship class, class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They o ...
s and . On 25 August, she commenced patrolling southwest of Stavanger
Stavanger, officially the Stavanger Municipality, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the third largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the ...
, Norway. When Britain declared war against Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
on 1 September, this became ''Sturgeon''s first combat patrol. On 4 September 1939, ''Sturgeon'', on her way to return to Dundee, was erroneously bomber by a British aircraft at 16:20 (UTC
Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is the primary time standard globally used to regulate clocks and time. It establishes a reference for the current time, forming the basis for civil time and time zones. UTC facilitates international communica ...
) in position . At 16:42 the aircraft dropped another bomb but ''Sturgeon'' was not damaged, arriving the next day at Dundee.[HMS Sturgeon]
Uboat.net
''Sturgeon'' departed Dundee on 13 September on her second war patrol, in the same are as the first. On 14 September, ''Sturgeon'' sighted an unidentified submarine, thought to be a German U-boat, and fired three torpedoes at it in position , south-east of Aberdeen
Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...
, Scotland. The submarine, which was in fact the British HMS ''Swordfish'', dived and the torpedoes missed. ''Sturgeon'' ended her second war patrol in Dundee on 21 September.[
On 8 October 1939, ''Sturgeon'' left her home port for her third patrol, in the ]Skagerrak strait
The Skagerrak (; , , ) is a strait running between the North Jutlandic Island of Denmark, the east coast of Norway and the west coast of Sweden, connecting the North Sea and the Kattegat sea.
The Skagerrak contains some of the busiest shipping ...
. On 14 October, she sighted the German U-boat
U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...
northwest of Skagen
Skagen () is the northernmost town in Denmark, on the east coast of the Skagen Odde peninsula in the far north of Jutland, part of Frederikshavn Municipality in North Denmark Region, Nordjylland, north of Frederikshavn and northeast of Aalbo ...
, Denmark in position . All three torpedoes missed their target. Two days later on 16 October, ''Sturgeon'' hit the bottom at depth, damaging her ASDIC
Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances ( ranging), communicate with or detect objects o ...
dome. On 21 October, she ended her third patrol at Rosyth
Rosyth () is a town and Garden City in Fife, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth.
Scotland's first Garden city movement, Garden City, Rosyth is part of the Greater Dunfermline Area and is located 3 miles south of Dunfermline city cen ...
.[
After repairs, ''Sturgeon'' left for her fourth patrol, off ]Heligoland
Heligoland (; , ; Heligolandic Frisian: , , Mooring Frisian: , ) is a small archipelago in the North Sea. The islands were historically possessions of Denmark, then became possessions of the United Kingdom from 1807 to 1890. Since 1890, the ...
then west of Denmark
Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
. On 20 November, she sank the German armed trawler V 209 ''Gauleiter Telshow'' with torpedoes approximately northwest of Heligoland in position . The sinking of ''V-209'' was the first successful attack on an enemy ship by a British submarine during the Second World War. On 29 November, ''Sturgeon'' ended her fourth war patrol at Blyth.[
On 13 December 1939, ''Sturgeon'' departed Blyth for a patrol are off the British east coast. However, she was recalled two days later. On 17 December, she again departed Blyth for another war patrol, her sixth. She was ordered to patrol the area west of Denmark. On 20 December, ''Sturgeon'' was ordered to patrol the Skagerrak strait instead, but she was ordered to return to her original patrol area the next day. ''Sturgeon'' returned to Blyth on 30 December.][
After an uneventful seventh war patrol in the ]North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...
, ''Sturgeon'' underwent a refit at Wallsend
Wallsend () is a town in North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne.
History Roman Wallsend
In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of ...
until 14 April 1940. After shifting back to Blyth, she conducted an uneventful eighth patrol southwest of Stavanger, Norway from 30 April to 11 May 1940. From 22 May to 5 June, ''Sturgeon'' conducted another uneventful patrol northwest of Terschelling
Terschelling (; ; Terschelling dialect: ''Schylge'') is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and an island in the northern Netherlands, one of the West Frisian Islands. It is situated between the islands of Vlieland and Ameland.
...
, Netherlands. On 9 June, she was ordered to patrol close to the British east coast because of fears that German warships would conduct a raid there. She was recalled the next day. Starting on 26 June, ''Sturgeon'' patrolled off Texel
Texel (; Texels dialect: ) is a municipality and an island with a population of 13,643 in North Holland, Netherlands. It is the largest and most populated island of the West Frisian Islands in the Wadden Sea. The island is situated north of Den ...
, Netherlands. On 30 June, she hit the deep bottom, sustaining minor damage. She ended her patrol on 11 July.[
On 27 July 1940, ''Sturgeon'' departed Blyth for her twelfth war patrol, off Texel, Netherlands. On 4 August, she sighted the German patrol boat , which was being towed by a ]tug
A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, suc ...
after hitting a mine
Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to:
Extraction or digging
*Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging
*Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine
Grammar
*Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun
M ...
. Six torpedoes were fired, but all missed their target. ''V-811''s escorts, the German auxiliary anti-aircraft ships ''FL 21'' and ''FL 24'', attacked ''Sturgeon'' for 30 minutes, dropping six depth charges. ''Sturgeon'' returned to Blyth on 9 August.[
''Sturgeon'' departed Blyth again on 27 August, on her thirteenth patrol, in the Skagerrak strait. On 2 September, she torpedoed and sank the German troop transport north of Skagen, Denmark in position . On 10 September, ''Sturgeon'' sighted the German U-boat in position and fired six torpedoes at it; the torpedoes missed their target although ''Sturgeon'' reported a hit. She returned to Blyth on 13 September at the end of her patrol.][
After an uneventful patrol in the western entrance of the Skagerrak strait from 29 September to 14 October, ''Sturgeon'' left Blyth for her fifteenth patrol, again close to the Skagerrak strait, on 26 October. On 3 November, she sank the Danish merchant in position with torpedoes. The next day, ''Sturgeon'' attempted to attack the Norwegian vessel at , but both torpedoes missed their target. On 6 November, ''Sturgeon'' fired two torpedoes at the Norwegian merchant ship . One torpedo hit, and ''Delfinus'' sank in position . ''Sturgeon'' returned to port on 9 November.][
From 28 November 1940 23 February 1941, ''Sturgeon'' conducted three uneventful patrols off ]Bergen
Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo.
By May 20 ...
, Stadlandet
Stad or Stadlandet is a peninsula in Stad Municipality in the northwestern part of the Nordfjord district in Vestland county in Norway. The peninsula is considered the dividing point between the Norwegian Sea to the north and the North Sea t ...
, and Lista
Lista is a former municipality located in the old Vest-Agder county in Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1965. The administrative centre was the village of Vanse where Vanse Church is located. Lista municip ...
, Norway. On 11 March, she departed Blyth for her nineteenth war patrol, assigned to various areas off Norway. She missed a merchant ship with two torpedoes on 20 March and returned to port on 27 March. ''Sturgeon'' conducted another uneventful patrol from 12 to 30 April.[
]
Bay of Biscay and Arctic patrols
After conducting exercises off Dartmouth, ''Sturgeon'' departed Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...
on 22 May for a patrol in the Bay of Biscay
The Bay of Biscay ( ) is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Point Penmarc'h to the Spanish border, and along the northern coast of Spain, extending westward ...
. The patrol was uneventful, and she returned to Portsmouth on 10 June. Her next patrol, starting on 24 June, was aborted when ''Sturgeon'' developed a crack in her pressure hull, forcing her to go back to port on 25 June.[
After repairs, ''Sturgeon'' departed Portsmouth on 26 July 1941 for another patrol in the Bay of Biscay, her twenty-third since the beginning of the war. On 11 August, she ended her patrol in ]Holy Loch
The Holy Loch () is a sea loch, part of the Firth of Clyde, in Argyll and Bute, Scotland.
The "Holy Loch" name is believed to date from the 6th century, when Saint Munn landed there after leaving Ireland. Kilmun Parish Church and Argyll Mausole ...
, and on the 15th she arrived at Troon
Troon (Scottish Gaelic: ''An Truthail'') is a town and sea port in South Ayrshire, situated on the west coast of Ayrshire in Scotland, about north of Ayr and northwest of Glasgow Prestwick Airport. Troon has a port with ferry and freight serv ...
for a refit. On 11 December 1941, she shifted back to Holy Loch, then to Scapa Flow
Scapa Flow (; ) is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray,S. C. George, ''Jutland to Junkyard'', 1973. South Ronaldsay and Hoy. Its sheltered waters have played an impor ...
on 27–29 December after training exercises.[
On 1 January 1942, ''Sturgeon'' sailed to Polyarny, northern Russia, arriving ten days later. On 17 January she departed Polyarny for a patrol off Norway, returning to ]Lerwick
Lerwick ( or ; ; ) is the main town and port of the Shetland archipelago, Scotland. Shetland's only burgh, Lerwick had a population of about 7,000 residents in 2010. It is the northernmost major settlement within the United Kingdom.
Centred ...
on 13 February. From there ''Sturgeon'' left for Holy Loch, then to Portsmouth, arriving on 19 March. On 23 March, she departed Portsmouth for her twenty-fifth patrol. She was to act as a beacon for the St Nazaire Raid
The St Nazaire Raid or Operation Chariot was a British amphibious attack on the heavily defended Louis Joubert Lock, Normandie dry dock at St Nazaire in German occupation of France during World War II, German-occupied France during the Second ...
, known as Operation Chariot. Having successfully completed her mission, ''Sturgeon'' ended her patrol in Holy Loch on 3 April.[
On 24 April 1942, ''Sturgeon'' departed Holy Loch for another patrol mission, in the ]Norwegian Sea
The Norwegian Sea (; ; ) is a marginal sea, grouped with either the Atlantic Ocean or the Arctic Ocean, northwest of Norway between the North Sea and the Greenland Sea, adjoining the Barents Sea to the northeast. In the southwest, it is separate ...
, as an escort of Convoy PQ 15. She was damaged by friendly aircraft on 28 April and returned to Lerwick on 6 May. On 11 May, she shifted to Elderslie for repairs to her main battery. After passing through various British ports, ''Sturgeon'' arrived at Lerwick on 14 June. She left port on 25 June to provide protection for Convoy PQ 17
Convoy PQ 17 was an Allied Arctic convoy during the Second World War. On 27 June 1942, the ships sailed from Hvalfjörður, Iceland, for the port of Arkhangelsk in the Soviet Union. The convoy was located by German forces on 1 July, shadowed ...
, returning on 12 July. On 4 August, ''Sturgeon'' was ordered to patrol off Lister, Norway. She sighted the German merchant off southern Norway at and sank her with torpedoes. ''Sturgeon'' ended her patrol in Lerwick on 16 August. On 2 September, she started her twenty-ninth combat patrol, in the Norwegian Sea. The next day, ''Sturgeon'' sighted a German submarine in position and attempted to attack it, but the range between the two submarines could not be closed. The submarine was likely the German , sailing towards the Atlantic on her first war patrol. On 6 September, ''Sturgeon''s aft hydroplanes jammed, rendering diving highly unsafe. She set course for Lerwick, arriving there four days later.[
]
Mediterranean patrols
After repairs at Chatham Dockyard
Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham, Kent, Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham, Kent, Gillingham; at its most extens ...
and Scapa Flow, ''Sturgeon'' sailed for Gibraltar
Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...
on 27 October 1942, temporarily assigned to the 8th Submarine Flotilla which operated in the Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...
. On 6 November, ''Sturgeon'' was mistakenly attacked by Lockheed Hudson
The Lockheed Hudson is a light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built by the American Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. It was initially put into service by the Royal Air Force shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and ...
aircraft, which dropped three depth charges in position , causing no damage. ''Sturgeon'' arrived later that day.[
On 10 November 1942, ''Sturgeon'' departed Gibraltar for her thirtieth (first in the Mediterranean) patrol, off ]Toulon
Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department.
The Commune of Toulon h ...
, France, then Naples
Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...
, Italy. ''Sturgeon'' ended her patrol at Gibraltar on 2 December. Between 20 and 24 December, she moved to Algiers
Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...
, then between 12 and 14 January, she shifted to Mers El Kébir
Mers El Kébir ( ) is a port on the Mediterranean Sea, near Oran in Oran Province, northwest Algeria. It is famous for the attack on the French fleet in 1940, in the Second World War.
History
Originally a Phoenician port, it was called ''Port ...
. From 16 January 1943 to 15 February, she conducted antisubmarine exercises off Mers El Kébir with various Royal Navy ships, then returned to Algiers on 16 February. ''Sturgeon'' then conducted further exercises off Gibraltar until 23 April 1943, when she set sail for Portsmouth, Britain. On 13 May, she shifted to Plymouth
Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...
for a refit, but before it could be completed, she was loaned to the Royal Netherlands Navy
The Royal Netherlands Navy (, ) is the Navy, maritime service branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. It traces its history to 8 January 1488, making it the List of navies, third-oldest navy in the world.
During the 17th and early 18th centurie ...
, which renamed her RnMs ''Zeehond''.[HNMS Zeehond]
uboat.net
Service as HNLMS ''Zeehond''
Under the command of Donald Theodoor Mackay, ''Zeehond'' shifted to Portsmouth, then departed for the River Clyde
The River Clyde (, ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde, in the west of Scotland. It is the eighth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the second longest in Scotland after the River Tay. It runs through the city of Glasgow. Th ...
on 11 November 1943. Between 14 November and 10 December, she conducted training off Rothesay
Rothesay ( ; ) is the principal town on the Isle of Bute, in the council area of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies along the coast of the Firth of Clyde. It can be reached by a Caledonian MacBrayne ferry from Wemyss Bay, which also offers an ...
, then in the Clyde area. On 11 December, ''Zeehond'' departed Rothesay for St. John's, Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...
. However, she encountered heavy seas and used too much fuel for the trip, forcing her to return to Londonderry, Northern Ireland. She then conducted exercises off the River Clyde with from 1 to 8 February.[
After sailing to Lerwick, she left port for the first war patrol. She was ordered to conduct an antisubmarine patrol in the Norwegian Sea. The patrol was uneventful, and ''Zeehond'' returned to Lerwick on 26 February. After sailing through various British port cities, ''Zeehond'' departed Lerwick on 18 March for her second war patrol, off the Norwegian coast. She was recalled on 21 March and arrived two days later at Lerwick.][
From 24 March 1944 to the end of World War II, ''Zeehond'' conducted training exercises with several British submarines and ships in various British and Netherlands port cities. She arrived at Dundee on 8 September, where she was returned to the Royal Navy.][
HMS ''Sturgeon'' was ]broken up
Ship breaking (also known as ship recycling, ship demolition, ship scrapping, ship dismantling, or ship cracking) is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships either as a source of Interchangeable parts, parts, which can be sol ...
at Granton in January 1946. She was one of four First Group S-class submarines, and the only one of these to survive the war.[
]
Notes
References
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*
*
*
*
*
External links
IWM Interview with Mervyn Wingfield, who commanded HMS Sturgeon from 1941 to 1942
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sturgeon (73S)
British S-class submarines (1931)
Ships built in Chatham
1932 ships
World War II submarines of the United Kingdom
British S-class submarines (1931) of the Royal Netherlands Navy
World War II submarines of the Netherlands