HMS Porpoise (S01): Painted Bright Red for Her Final Act

The Lead Boat of Her Class

HMS Porpoise was launched on 25 April 1956 and commissioned on 17 April 1958, the lead ship of the postwar Porpoise-class submarines that gave their name to the entire generation of British diesel-electric boats that followed, displacing 2,080 tons on the surface and armed with eight 21-inch torpedo tubes.

A Career of Close Calls

Porpoise's service life was marked by a genuine run of eventful incidents. She collided with the aircraft carrier HMS Centaur while leaving Portsmouth harbour on 18 October 1963; on 1 January 1969 she fouled the nets of a French trawler, the Belle Poule; and in 1982 the Irish trawler Sharelga capsized and sank after being towed backwards for twenty minutes while entangled with Porpoise, a sobering reminder of just how hazardous busy fishing grounds could be for a submerged submarine and the vessels working above her.

More to Explore

Reinforced for Target Duty

In 1979, Porpoise's structure was reinforced to allow her to withstand strikes from unarmed practice torpedoes, taking on the role of a live training target for the rest of the fleet, unglamorous but essential work that kept weapons crews sharp.

A Bright Red Final Act

HMS Porpoise was decommissioned in 1982, and in 1985 was deliberately sunk as a target during torpedo trials, painted bright red for the occasion to make her clearly visible, a truly striking final image for the boat that had given her name to an entire generation of Royal Navy submarines.

You Might Also Like