HMS Stygian (P249): Towing a Midget Submarine to War

Built at Birkenhead

HMS Stygian was built by Cammell Laird at Birkenhead, laid down on 6 January 1943, launched on 30 November 1943 and commissioned on 29 February 1944 under Lieutenant Guy Stewart Chetwode Clarabut, a fourth-group S-class submarine that nonetheless retained the external stern torpedo tube of the earlier third group.

A Productive Run Against Japanese Shipping

Across eight war patrols between 1944 and 1945, Stygian built up a substantial record against Japanese shipping in the Malacca Strait, the Java Sea and the South China Sea, sinking eight sailing vessels, five coasters and numerous other small craft by gunfire and demolition charge, along with the tanker Nichinan Maru and the auxiliary minesweeper Wa 104, formerly the Dutch vessel Djember.

She damaged the auxiliary submarine chaser Cha 104 near Bali, and on 27 March 1945 damaged the Japanese minelayer Wakataka, before attacking the destroyer Kamikaze on 8 June 1945, an attack that missed but left her with only minor damage of her own.

A Role in Operation Struggle

Stygian's most historically notable contribution came as a support vessel: she towed the midget submarine XE3 as part of Operation Struggle, the daring attack in July 1945 that saw XE3 place explosive charges beneath the Japanese heavy cruiser Takao in Singapore Harbour, one of the most audacious special operations of the entire Far East campaign.

The End of Her Service

HMS Stygian was sold to be broken up for scrap on 28 October 1949, and was finally scrapped by Metal Industries of Ardgour in August 1950, closing the book on a submarine whose own kills were matched by the quiet but crucial support she gave to one of the war's more remarkable special operations.