HMS Rorqual (S02)
Encyclopedia : H : HM : HMS : HMS Rorqual (S02)
|
HMS Rorqual | |
| Career |
|
|---|---|
| Ordered: | |
| Laid down: | |
| Launched: | |
| Commissioned: | |
| Decommissioned: | |
| Fate: | Paid off |
| Struck: | |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 2,113 tonnes (2,080 tons) surfaced 2,489 tonnes (2,450 tons) dived |
| Length: | 88.4 m (290 ft) |
| Beam: | 8.1 m (26.5 ft) |
| Draught: | 5.5 m (18 ft) |
| Propulsion: | Two ASR 16VVS AS21 diesel generators totaling 2,740 kW (3680 bhp) Two English Electric main motors totaling 895 kW (12000 hp) driving two shafts Two 880 V batteries each of 224 cells |
| Speed: | 22 km/h) (12 knots) surfaced 31 km/h (17 knots) dived |
| Range: | 17,000 km at 22 km/h (9,000 nautical miles at 12 knots) |
| Complement: | 71 |
| Armament: | 6 x 21 inch (533 mm) bow torpedo tubes 2 x 21 inch (533 mm) stern torpedo tubes 30 torpedoes could be carried (usually Mk8 or Mk23) or mines |
| Motto: | |
In 1958, Rorqual experienced a fire. In 1963, she was caught in a trawler's net. An explosion in 1966 killed two crew members and injured twenty; Rorqual was off the cost of Mozambique en route to Singapore. In 1969, Rorqual [rammed] a moored minesweeper, USS Endurance (MSO-435) while docking at River Point pier in Subic Bay, Philippines. The collision punched a large hole in Endurance's hull but did not damage Rorqual.
Rorqual [won] the SOCA Efficiency trophy in 1973.
From 1968 to 1970, Rorqual was commanded by Lieutenant-Commander Gavin Menzies. Menzies became famous after his retirement for publishing the controversial book . Menzies' book asserted that ships from the Chinese fleet of admiral Zheng He traveled to the Americas prior to Columbus' arrival in 1492 and circumnavigated the globe a century before Magellan.
Rorqual was [broken up] in 1977.
External links
- [Battleships-Cruisers.co.uk's page of photographs of Porpoise Class submarines]
- [Submariners Association -- Post-war Submarines]
- [List of submarine incidents at sea]
| Porpoise-class submarine |
| Cachalot | Finwhale | Grampus | Narwhal | Porpoise | Rorqual | Sealion | Walrus |
| List of submarines of the Royal Navy List of submarine classes of the Royal Navy |
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