HMS Sceptre (P215)

Sceptre underway soon after completion
History
United Kingdom
NameSceptre
Ordered23 January 1940
BuilderScotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Greenock
Laid down25 July 1940
Launched6 January 1943
Commissioned15 April 1943
DecommissionedFebruary 1947
IdentificationPennant number: P215
FateSold for scrap, September 1949
Badge
General characteristics
Class and typeS-class submarine
Displacement
  • 842 long tons (856 t) (surfaced)
  • 990 long tons (1,010 t) (submerged)
Length217 ft (66.1 m)
Beam23 ft 9 in (7.2 m)
Draught14 ft 8 in (4.5 m)
Installed power
  • 1,900 bhp (1,400 kW) (diesel)
  • 1,300 hp (970 kW) (electric)
Propulsion
Speed
  • 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph) (surfaced)
  • 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph) (submerged)
Range
  • 6,000 nmi (11,000 km; 6,900 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) (surfaced)
  • 120 nmi (220 km; 140 mi) at 3 knots (5.6 km/h; 3.5 mph) (submerged)
Test depth300 ft (91.4 m)
Complement48
Sensors and
processing systems
Armament

HMS Sceptre (P215) was a third-batch S-class submarine built for the Royal Navy during World War II. Completed in April 1943, she spent the majority of her career in the North Sea, off Norway. After an uneventful patrol, the submarine participated in Operation Source, an attack on German battleships in Norway using small midget submarines to penetrate their anchorages and place explosive charges. However, the midget submarine that she was assigned to tow experienced technical difficulties and the mission was aborted. During her next four patrols, Sceptre attacked several ships, but only succeeded in severely damaging one. She was then ordered to tow the submarine X24, which was to attack a floating dry dock in Bergen. The operation, codenamed Guidance, encountered difficulties with the attacking submarine's charts, and the explosives were laid on a merchant ship close to the dock instead. The dock was damaged and the ship sunk, and X24 was towed back to England. Sceptre then conducted a patrol in the Bay of Biscay, sinking two German merchant ships, before being reassigned to tow X24 to Bergen again. The operation was a success, and the dry dock was sunk.

After a last patrol in which she sank one ship, Sceptre underwent a lengthy refit to serve as a high-speed target submarine for training purposes. When the war ended, the submarine continued training operations, and was sold for scrap in September 1949.