| Built By: | Vickers (Barrow) |
| Build Group: | Amphion |
| Fate: | Decommissioned: November 1967 Sold to be broken up for scrap on 24 June 1971. Scrapped at Inverkeithing in July 1971 |
| 1946: | Lieutenant | Peter Frank Bassett Roe | |
| 1947: | Lieutenant Commander | George Edward Hunt | DSO DSC MID |
| 1948: | Lieutenant Commander | Albert George Davies | DSC |
| 1950: | Lieutenant | Charles Robert Bradley | |
| 1951: | Lieutenant Commander | Allan Gordon Tait | DSC MID |
In 1948 she took part in trials of the Schnorkel - a device that allows a submarine to operate submerged while still taking in air from above the surf ace. It was invented by the Dutch shortly before the Second World War and was copied by the Germans during the war for use by U-Boats. Its common name is snort.
In March 1948 HMS Ambush returned to Port Edgar, Firth of Forth, following an extensive period in the Arctic. Using her 'snort' mast she was able to remain submerged for most of the five week patrol. The Commanding Officer (Lt-Cdr A G Davies DSC) said they encountered some of the worst weather he had known in his eleven years at sea.
In 1951 HMS Ambush heard and decoded a distress message from HMS Affray, which was sunk with the ultimate loss of all 75 hands on April 17 in 1951.
HMS Ambush was one of the founder members of the 6th Submarine Flotilla formed on 15th Mar 1955, based at Halifax, Nova Scotia. She remained in Canadian waters until she returned to Portsmouth in June 1956.
During 1956/57 the Submarine underwent an extensive Refit and modernisation in Chatham Dockyard. This Refit involved streamlining the hull to improve the silent speed of the submarine, including fitting a tall enclosed fin around the masts and periscopes and removing four torpedo tubes (two forward and two aft). Provision was also made for a portable gun to be fitted, if required for particular service.
Following this Refit HMS Ambush served at home until sailing from Portsmouth on 9th Oct 1959 for Singapore, via the Suez Canal and Aden, to join the newly formed 10th Submarine Squadron. HMS Ambush remained in the Far East until she returned to the UK on 12th Nov 1967. She was reduced to Reserve in Portsmouth in 1969.
This happened at sea on board HMS Ambush while we were doing work up trials not long after the boat had been handed over from the Dockyard, the Skipper was a bit of a Gunnery addict (I think he liked the smell of cordite) and he had an obsession to be able to go to
| 17-05-1945 | Laid Down |
| 24-09-1945 | Launched |
| 20-05-1947 | Commissioned under the command of Lieutenant Commander George E Hunt, DSO, DSC |
| 22-07-1947 | Completed |
| 16-03-1955 | Joined the newly formed 6th Submarine Flotilla based at Halifax, Nova Scotia. |
| 24-06-1971 | De-equipped at Rosyth and sold to Ship Breakers at nearby Inverkeithing. |
| Length overall | 280 ft 6in |
| Beam | 22 ft |
| Depth | 16ft |
| Displacement | 1385 tons (surface) |
| 1620 tons (submerged) | |
| Diving Depth | 350 ft |
| Speed | Surface 18.5 knots (design) |
| Submarged 8 knots (design) | |
| No. of shafts | 2 |
| Armament | 6 x 21 inch bow tubes (2 external) |
| 4 x 21 inch stern tubes (2 external) | |
| 20 torpedoes carried | |
| 1 x 4 inch gun | |
| 1 x 20mm Qerlikon cannon | |
| 3 x 0.303in machine-guns | |
| Endurance | Surface: 10 500 miles at 11 knots (design) |
| Submerged: 16 miles at 8 knots or 90 miles at 3 knots | |
| Complement | 6 Officers and 55 Ratings. |
| 6 Officers and 58 Ratings after modernisation. |
| Class: | 1941 - 1958: V Class |
| Built By: | Vickers (Barrow) |
| Build Group: | V2 |
| Fate: | |
| Scrapped in May 1946 at Cochin. | |
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| Length overall | 280 ft 6in |
| Beam | 22 ft |
| Depth | 16ft |
| Displacement | 1385 tons (surface) |
| 1620 tons (submerged) | |
| Diving Depth | 350 ft |
| Speed | Surface 18.5 knots (design) |
| Submarged 8 knots (design) | |
| No. of shafts | 2 |
| Armament | 6 x 21 inch bow tubes (2 external) |
| 4 x 21 inch stern tubes (2 external) | |
| 20 torpedoes carried | |
| 1 x 4 inch gun | |
| 1 x 20mm Qerlikon cannon | |
| 3 x 0.303in machine-guns | |
| Endurance | Surface: 10 500 miles at 11 knots (design) |
| Submerged: 16 miles at 8 knots or 90 miles at 3 knots | |
| Complement | 6 Officers and 55 Ratings. |
| 6 Officers and 58 Ratings after modernisation. |
| Class: | 1941 - 1958: V Class |
| Built By: | Vickers (Barrow) |
| Build Group: | V2 |
| Fate: | |
| Scrapped in May 1946 at Cochin. | |
17 pages added or updated in the last Array month
Please help to maintain this site by reporting any Errors, Broken Links, Information or Site Issues on this page using this button
If you find this site useful, please consider supporting my work with a small Donation. Or you can make a big one if you like :)
Please Note: Donations made using this option go directly to the site owner and not to the Submariners Association.
Thankyou for your support.
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