HMS Finwhale (S05): Deeper Under the Ice Than Any Submarine Before Her

Constructed at Birkenhead

HMS Finwhale was built by Cammell Laird at Birkenhead, launched on 21 July 1959 and commissioned on 19 August 1960, later recommissioning in January 1964. She was a Porpoise-class submarine displacing 2,080 tons on the surface and 2,450 tons submerged, armed with eight torpedo tubes, six forward and two aft, and crewed by 71 officers and ratings.

She holds the distinction of being the only ship in Royal Navy history to be named after the fin whale.

Pushing Further Under the Ice

During her first commission, Finwhale went further under Arctic ice than any other submarine at the time, a notably significant achievement for underwater navigation in an era before the sophisticated systems modern submariners take for granted.

She built on that record in March 1965, penetrating 95 miles into the Arctic ice pack during her second Arctic patrol, precisely the kind of demanding, technically difficult operation that pushed the boundaries of what Cold War submarines could achieve.

Public Appearances and Far Eastern Service

Finwhale featured at Portsmouth Navy Days in both 1965 and 1966, giving the public a glimpse of one of the Navy's genuine Arctic pioneers, and was fitted with an Oerlikon deck gun while serving in the Far East, before later spending eight years, from 1979 to 1987, working as a harbour training vessel.

The End of the Line

HMS Finwhale left under tow for scrapping in Spain on 28 March 1988, bringing to a close the career of a submarine that, in her prime, had quite literally gone further beneath the Arctic ice than any Royal Navy boat before her.