| Built By: | Vickers (Barrow) |
| Build Group: | Explorer |
| Fate: | Decommissioned March 5, 1962 Broken Up 1965 |
Laid Down 1951
HMS Explorer had so many teething troubles that her first captain never took her to sea. However, when she eventually made an appearance, in 1958, she was impressively fast - submerged speeds of 25 knots were achieved - with retractable superstructure fittings aiding the streamlined hull-form.
Alan joined HMS Explorer in 'refit' at Barrow in Furness shortly before the Submarine moved from the Graving Dock to a berth at the in the Dock System at the Admiralty Development Establishment, Barrow (ADEB). The 'refit' completed in August 1959 after a slight delay owing to a fire in the Turbine Room - caused by a VSEL Coppersmith working with a blow lamp in a cramped bilge space. Alan's comment 'Nasty.'
| 05-03-1955 | Launched |
| 28-11-1956 | Completed |
|
||
| Official | ||
| Admiralty Approved | 1st Dec, 1954 | |
| Symbology | Both the astrolabe and the leadline were instruments of maritime exploration. The lead was used for sounding depths in uncharted waters. | |
| Design Notes | An astrolabe environed by a gold lead line wavy in orle. | |
| Additional Notes | Excalibur and Explorer were so named to indicate that they were EXperimental submarines. | |
| Length overall | 178 ft |
| Beam | 15 ft 8 inch |
| Draught | 11 ft |
| Displacement | 780 tons (surface) |
| 1120 tons (submerged) | |
| Propulsion | High Test Peroxide (HTP) steam raising plant driving steam turbines (submerged) |
| Diesel-electric (surfaced) | |
| Speed | 25 knots (surface) |
| 25 knots (submerged) | |
| No. of shafts | 2 |
| Armament | None |
| Complement | 41 |
C 5 (I 35) |
|
| Class: | 1903 - 1906: C Class |
| Built By: | |
| Build Group: | C1 |
|
Fate: Scrapped in Malta 1919 |
|
The incredible true story of the search for and discovery of the USS Grunion. Discovered in 2006 after a decades-long, high-risk search by the Abele brothers, whose father commanded the submarine and met his untimely death aboard it.
One question remained: what sank the USS Grunion? Was it a round from a Japanese ship, a catastrophic mechanical failure, or something else? one of the sub's own torpedoes? For almost half the war, submarine skippers' complaints about the MK 14 torpedo's dangerous flaws were ignored by naval brass, who sent the subs out with the defective weapon.
Fatal Dive is the first book that documents the entire saga of the ship and its crew and provides compelling evidence that the Grunion was a victim of the Great Torpedo Scandal of 1941-43. Fatal Dive finally lays to rest one of World War II's greatest mysteries.
13 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.
Please Note: Donations made using this option go directly to the site owner and not to the Submariners Association.
Thankyou for your support.
|
|
||
| Official | ||
| Admiralty Approved | 1st Dec, 1954 | |
| Symbology | Both the astrolabe and the leadline were instruments of maritime exploration. The lead was used for sounding depths in uncharted waters. | |
| Design Notes | An astrolabe environed by a gold lead line wavy in orle. | |
| Additional Notes | Excalibur and Explorer were so named to indicate that they were EXperimental submarines. | |
| Length overall | 178 ft |
| Beam | 15 ft 8 inch |
| Draught | 11 ft |
| Displacement | 780 tons (surface) |
| 1120 tons (submerged) | |
| Propulsion | High Test Peroxide (HTP) steam raising plant driving steam turbines (submerged) |
| Diesel-electric (surfaced) | |
| Speed | 25 knots (surface) |
| 25 knots (submerged) | |
| No. of shafts | 2 |
| Armament | None |
| Complement | 41 |
C 5 (I 35) |
|
| Class: | 1903 - 1906: C Class |
| Built By: | |
| Build Group: | C1 |
|
Fate: Scrapped in Malta 1919 |
|
The incredible true story of the search for and discovery of the USS Grunion. Discovered in 2006 after a decades-long, high-risk search by the Abele brothers, whose father commanded the submarine and met his untimely death aboard it.
One question remained: what sank the USS Grunion? Was it a round from a Japanese ship, a catastrophic mechanical failure, or something else? one of the sub's own torpedoes? For almost half the war, submarine skippers' complaints about the MK 14 torpedo's dangerous flaws were ignored by naval brass, who sent the subs out with the defective weapon.
Fatal Dive is the first book that documents the entire saga of the ship and its crew and provides compelling evidence that the Grunion was a victim of the Great Torpedo Scandal of 1941-43. Fatal Dive finally lays to rest one of World War II's greatest mysteries.
13 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.
Please Note: Donations made using this option go directly to the site owner and not to the Submariners Association.
Thankyou for your support.
Comments
Comment by: Andrew Coulthard on July 2nd, 2017
Thank you for this interesting and detailed account of the HTP experimental submarine programme. Capt. O. J. Coulthard, my grandfather, was master of the RFA Spabeck from April 1961 and this tells us more about his career at sea.
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