HMS Trump (P333): The Last Royal Navy Submarine in Australia
Constructed at Barrow and Clydebank
HMS Trump's construction was shared between Vickers Armstrong at Barrow-in-Furness and John Brown at Clydebank, launched on 25 March 1944 and commissioned on 8 July 1944, the only Royal Navy ship ever to carry the name Trump. She was a Group III T-class submarine featuring an all-welded hull for deeper diving and freon blowers to help her crew cope with tropical conditions.
A Productive Final Year of War
After deploying to Perth, Australia, in October 1944, Trump went on to sink the vessel Shosei Maru No.15 on 13 May 1945 and several further merchant vessels, and took part in joint operations with her sister boat HMS Tiptoe against Japanese cargo shipping in the Sunda Strait area that August, attacking a convoy on 3 August and sinking a cargo vessel on 9 August, and surviving an attack by Japanese aircraft along the way with only minor damage.
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A Postwar Rebuild
Trump underwent a substantial Super T conversion, gaining a streamlined fin, the removal of her deck gun, more powerful diesel engines and an extended hull for additional battery capacity, keeping her relevant well into the Cold War era.
The Last to Leave Sydney
Trump rejoined the 4th Submarine Squadron at Sydney in 1960, taking part in anti-submarine exercises for the Royal Australian Navy through 1966, before finally departing Australia on 10 January 1969, the last Royal Navy submarine stationed there, closing a long chapter of British submarine presence in Australian waters. She was scrapped at Newport, Wales, from 1 August 1971.
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