HMS Shark (54S)
Encyclopedia
HMS Shark was a Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
S-class
British S class submarine (1931)
The S-class submarines of the Royal Navy were originally designed and built during the modernisation of the submarine force in the early 1930s to meet the need for smaller boats to patrol the restricted waters of the North Sea and the Mediterranean Sea replacing the British H class submarines...
submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
which was launched on 31 May 1934 and fought in the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Shark is one of 12 boats named in the song "Twelve Little S-Boats".
She was surfaced whilst on patrol off Skudesnes, southwest Norway on 5 July 1940, when a seaplane was sighted astern. As the submarine submerged, she was bombed, the explosions causing considerable damage. Without steering gear and the hydroplanes jammed hard to rise, the submarine’s bow broached the surface, where she continued to be bombed. Shark began to sink by the stern and all high-pressure air was used to return her to the surface. Once on the surface she attempted to get underway steering on main engines, but was sighted yet again, and attacked. The submarine then tried to fight off the aircraft, succeeding in shooting down a Dornier Do 17
Dornier Do 17
The Dornier Do 17, sometimes referred to as the Fliegender Bleistift , was a World War II German light bomber produced by Claudius Dornier's company, Dornier Flugzeugwerke...
.
The No. 4 ballast tank was holed, and with more aircraft arriving she had no option but to capitulate. At about 0400 hours the next day three German minesweeping trawlers M-1803, M1806 and M-1807 arrived to take Shark under tow but she began to sink stern first about 25 nautical miles (46 km) west-south-west of Egersund, Norway.
The boat's captain, Lieutenant Commander Peter Buckley, was involved in planning a number of escape attempts from POW camp. ERA W. E. "Wally" Hammond made a number of escape attempts before being held in Oflag IV-C
Oflag IV-C
Oflag IV-C, often referred to as Colditz Castle because of its location, was one of the most famous German Army prisoner-of-war camps for officers in World War II; Oflag is a shortening of Offizierslager, meaning "officers camp"...
— Colditz. With ERA Don "Tubby" Lister (from the captured submarine HMS Seal
HMS Seal (N37)
HMS Seal was one of six ships of the Grampus-class mine-laying submarines of the Royal Navy. She served in the Second World War and was captured by the Kriegsmarine and taken into German service as U-B...
) he made a successful escape
Attempts to escape Oflag IV-C
Prisoners made numerous attempts to escape Oflag IV-C, one of the most famous German Army prisoner-of-war camps for officers in World War II. Between 30 and 36 men succeeded in their attempts...
by campaigning for a transfer from Colditz, arguing that he was not an officer. He was transferred to Lamsdorf prison, escaped from a Breslau work party, and reached England via Switzerland in 1943.
The wreck of the Shark was found by a survey vessel whilst surveying a cable route in April 2008 at a position of 58.7N 4.35E at 251 metres depth. Later the same week the vessel also charted the wreck of HMS Salmon
HMS Salmon (N65)
HMS Salmon was a Royal Navy S-class submarine which was launched on April 30, 1934, and fought in the Second World War. Salmon is one of 12 boats named in the song "Twelve Little S-Boats"....
after it appeared on her sonar
Sonar
Sonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate with or detect other vessels...
scan.
See also
A Stoker First Class from the Submarine is buried in Sola Cemeteary near Stavanger.
The Sailor - was Stoker First Class E Foster