| Built By: | Blohm and Voss (Germany) |
| Build Group: | XVIIB |
| Fate: | Broken up by Thomas Ward Limited at, Barrow-in-Furness in September 1949. |
| 1946: | Lieutenant | William David Stewart Scott | |
| 1947: | Acting Lieutenant Commander | James Stuart Launders | DSO DSC |
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 (HTP). One boat, U-1406, was handed over to the Americans, while the other, U-1407, was raised from where she had been 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 HTP as an alternative to nuclear power as Air-independent propulsion, and the construction of two larger submarines was ordered, these being HMS Explorer and 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
| 13-11-1943 | Laid Down |
| 13-03-1945 | Completed |
| Displacement | 312 long tons (Surfaced) |
| 337 long tons (Submerged) | |
| Length | 136ft (Over all) |
| 89ft 7in (Pressure hull) | |
| Beam | 14 ft 9in (Over all) |
| 10 ft 10 inch (Pressure hull) | |
| Draught | 14 ft 1in |
| Propulsion | 1 x Deutz SAA SM517 supercharged 8-cylinder diesel engine, 210 shp, 150 kW |
| 1 x AEG Maschine AWT98 electric motor, 76 shp, 57 kW | |
| 1 x Walter gas turbine, 2,500 shp, 1,800 kW | |
| 1 shaft | |
| Speed | 8.8 knots (Surfaced) |
| 5 knots (Submerged) | |
| 25 knots (Submerged HTP drive) | |
| Range | 3,000 nmi at 8 knots (Surfaced) |
| 76 nmi at 2 knots (Submerged electric drive) | |
| 123 nmi at 25 knots (Submerged HTP drive) | |
| Complement | 19 |
| Armament | 2 x 21 inch bow torpedo tubes |
| 4 x torpedoes |
| Class: | 1956 - 1988: Porpoise Class |
| Built By: | Cammell Laird (Mersey) |
| Build Group: | P2 |
| Fate: | |
| Removed from disposal list and taken in hand at Portsmouth to be converted as a static underwater target during 1980 and sunk off the coast of Scotland in the same year. | |
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| Displacement | 312 long tons (Surfaced) |
| 337 long tons (Submerged) | |
| Length | 136ft (Over all) |
| 89ft 7in (Pressure hull) | |
| Beam | 14 ft 9in (Over all) |
| 10 ft 10 inch (Pressure hull) | |
| Draught | 14 ft 1in |
| Propulsion | 1 x Deutz SAA SM517 supercharged 8-cylinder diesel engine, 210 shp, 150 kW |
| 1 x AEG Maschine AWT98 electric motor, 76 shp, 57 kW | |
| 1 x Walter gas turbine, 2,500 shp, 1,800 kW | |
| 1 shaft | |
| Speed | 8.8 knots (Surfaced) |
| 5 knots (Submerged) | |
| 25 knots (Submerged HTP drive) | |
| Range | 3,000 nmi at 8 knots (Surfaced) |
| 76 nmi at 2 knots (Submerged electric drive) | |
| 123 nmi at 25 knots (Submerged HTP drive) | |
| Complement | 19 |
| Armament | 2 x 21 inch bow torpedo tubes |
| 4 x torpedoes |
| Class: | 1956 - 1988: Porpoise Class |
| Built By: | Cammell Laird (Mersey) |
| Build Group: | P2 |
| Fate: | |
| Removed from disposal list and taken in hand at Portsmouth to be converted as a static underwater target during 1980 and sunk off the coast of Scotland in the same year. | |
11 pages added or updated in the last 1 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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