HMS Selene (P254): Gunfire in the Gulf of Siam

Built at Birkenhead

HMS Selene was built by Cammell Laird at Birkenhead, laid down in April 1943, launched the following spring and commissioned at Holy Loch in July 1944, an Improved S-class submarine that made the long voyage east through Gibraltar, Malta, Aden and on to Trincomalee to join the war against Japan.

Gunfire Off Sumatra and Siam

Through the spring and summer of 1945, Selene fought a notably active campaign against small Japanese coastal shipping, damaging and sinking sailing vessels off Sumatra that March before shifting her attention to the Gulf of Siam that June and July, where she sank several Japanese coasters and further sailing craft by gunfire.

One source suggests she may also have towed the midget submarine XE5 towards Hong Kong that summer as part of a special cable cutting operation, though this detail could not be independently confirmed and should be treated as unverified rather than established fact.

Correcting a Common Mix-Up

It is worth addressing directly a belief sometimes attached to this submarine, that she was eventually sold to the Danish Navy. No source consulted supports any such transfer, and Denmark's own postwar submarine fleet consisted of older U-class boats leased from Britain rather than any S-class vessel.

The likely source of the confusion is a similarly named but entirely unrelated Danish built submarine, HDMS Sælen, whose name simply happens to sound close to Selene's own.

HMS Selene, in fact, remained in Royal Navy service throughout her career.

A Long Peacetime Service

Selene returned to Portsmouth in November 1945 following Japan's surrender, and went on to serve for well over a decade afterwards, based at various points with flotillas at Portland and Rothesay and reportedly converted at some stage into an unarmed training target vessel to support the Navy's anti submarine forces.

She was finally scrapped at Gateshead in June 1961, closing out a career considerably longer and quieter than her active, gunfire filled final months against Japan might have suggested.