HMS Walrus (S08): The Last of the Porpoise Class

The Final Porpoise-Class Boat

HMS Walrus was launched on 22 September 1959 and commissioned on 10 February 1961, the last of the eight Porpoise-class diesel-electric submarines to enter Royal Navy service, displacing 2,080 tons on the surface and 2,450 tons submerged, armed with eight 21-inch torpedo tubes, six forward and two aft, capable of carrying up to 30 torpedoes.

An Awkward Training Mishap

During training exercises with the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, a practice torpedo became accidentally lodged in Walrus's casing, a truly awkward mishap that nonetheless caused no lasting harm and served as a memorable footnote to an otherwise steady service record.

A Long Refit and a Royal Occasion

Walrus underwent a major 18-month refit at Devonport Dockyard, recommissioning in December 1969, and went on to take part in Portsmouth Navy Days in 1970 and, in 1977, attended the Silver Jubilee Fleet Review off Spithead as part of the Submarine Flotilla, a fitting public appearance for a submarine whose future commanders would include Lieutenant Commander John Fieldhouse, who would go on to considerably higher rank.

A Sale That Never Quite Happened

HMS Walrus was sold in 1987 to the Seaforth Group, with plans to refit her for resale to Egypt, a scheme that ultimately came to nothing, and she was instead broken up at Grimsby in 1991, closing out the career of the last submarine of her class.