HMS ''Sunfish'' was a
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 ...
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 ...
which was
launched on 30 September 1936 and served in the
Second World War
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 ...
. ''Sunfish'' is one of 12 boats named in the song
Twelve Little S-Boats.
Service history
At the onset of the Second World War, ''Sunfish'' was a member of the 2nd Submarine Flotilla. From 26–29 August 1939, the flotilla deployed to its 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.
[Rohwer, p.1]
She spent an eventful period with the Royal Navy on the outbreak of war, and was commanded for much of her career in the war by
Lieutenant Commander J.E. Slaughter. In February 1940, she attacked the German U-boat , but missed, and in April sank two German merchant ships, ''Amasis'' and ''Antares'', and narrowly missed ''Hanau'' and an auxiliary patrol vessel.
She torpedoed two German '
Q ship
Q-ships, also known as Q-boats, decoy vessels, special service ships, or mystery ships, were heavily armed merchant ships with concealed weaponry, designed to lure submarines into making surface attacks. This gave Q-ships the chance to open fire ...
s' that month, damaging
''Schürbek'' (''Schiff 40'') on 12 April and sinking (''Schiff 35'') on 14 April 1940. On 7 December 1940, she sank the Finnish merchant and damaged the Norwegian merchant ''Dixie'' off
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
.
''Sunfish'' was transferred to the
Soviet Navy
The Soviet Navy was the naval warfare Military, uniform service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy made up a large part of the Soviet Union's strategic planning in the event of a conflict with t ...
in 1944 and renamed ''V-1''.
She did not spend long under Soviet command, being bombed and sunk in error by a
RAF Coastal Command
RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was founded in 1936, when the RAF was restructured into Fighter, Bomber and Coastal commands and played an important role during the Second World War. Maritime Aviation ...
Liberator off Norway, during passage from Dundee to
Murmansk
Murmansk () is a port city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast in the far Far North (Russia), northwest part of Russia. It is the world's largest city north of the Arctic Circle and sits on both slopes and banks of a modest fjord, Ko ...
on 27 July 1944. Her commander –
Capt. 2nd rank Fisanovich – had allegedly taken her out of her assigned area and she was diving when the aircraft came in sight instead of staying on the surface and firing recognition signals as instructed. All crew – including the British liaison staff – were lost.
HMS Sunfish
Uboat.net However, both the Royal Navy and RAF inquiries found that the RAF aircrew, who were at least 80 miles off course and who ignored unmistakable signs that the submarine was friendly, were fully responsible. The submarine's 50 Soviet and one British crew are all commemorated on Dundee International Submarine Memorial.
See also
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References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sunfish
British S-class submarines (1931)
Ships built in Chatham
1936 ships
World War II submarines of the United Kingdom
Maritime incidents in 1939
British S-class submarines (1931) of the Soviet Navy
World War II submarines of the Soviet Union
World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean
Submarines sunk by aircraft
Soviet Union–United Kingdom relations
Friendly fire incidents of World War II
Maritime incidents in July 1944
Ships sunk by British aircraft
Submarines lost with all hands