HMS Meteorite
Encyclopedia : H : HM : HMS : HMS Meteorite
| Career |
|
|---|---|
| Ordered: | January 4th 1943 (as U 1407 Type XVIIB) |
| Laid down: | November 13th 1943 |
| Launched: | February 1945 |
| Completed: | na |
| Commissioned (into Kriegsmarine: | March 13th 1945 |
| Commissioned (into Royal Navy: | 1946 |
| Decommissioned: | na |
| Fate: | Scrapped 1949 |
| Struck: | na |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 312 tons surfaced 337 tons submerged |
| Length: | 136 feet (41.5 m) |
| Beam: | 15 feet (4.5 m) |
| Draught: | 14 feet (4.3 m) |
| Propulsion: | Submerged - High Test Peroxide (HTP) steam raising plant driving steam turbines, directly to twin shafts. Surfaced - diesel electric. |
| Speed: | 8.8 knots (16 km/h) surfaced maximum 25 knots (46.3 km/h) dived |
| Range: | na |
| Complement: | na |
| Armament: | 4 torpedoes |
In 1945, the British and American forces in Europe had captured a number of U-boats, among which were two prototypes of the Walter design that were built around an experimental engine fuelled by High Test Peroxide. One boat, U 1406, was handed over to the Americans, while the other, U 1407, was raised from where she had bee scuttled at Cuxhaven and rebuilt by the British, being commissioned as HMS Meteorite. The reconstruction was supervised by Professor Hellmuth Walter and his staff at Barrow-in-Furness in England.
Initial trials with HMS Meteorite arose considerable interest in the possibility of High Test Peroxide as an alternative to nuclear power as Air-independent propulsion, and the construction of two larger submarines was ordered, these being HMS Explorer and HMS Excalibur.
HMS Meteorite was not popular with its crews, who regarded it as a dangerous and volatile piece of machinery, and control was difficult due to its lack of forward hydroplanes and aircraft-type controls.
Meteorite's Royal Navy service came to an end in September 1949.
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