HMS Ambush (P418)

HMS Ambush (P418), was an Amphion-class submarine of the Royal Navy, built by Vickers Armstrong and launched 24 September 1945.

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Ambush.

HMS Ambush (P418/S68)
History
United Kingdom
Ordered: Very late in World War II
Builder: Vickers Armstrong, Barrow-in-Furness
Laid down: 17 May 1945
Launched: 24 September 1945
Commissioned: 22 July 1947
Decommissioned: November 1967
Fate: Sold to be broken up for scrap on 24 June 1971. Scrapped at Thos W Ward Inverkeithing in July 1971.[1]
General characteristics
Displacement: 1,360/1,590 tons (surface/submerged)
Length: 293 ft 6 in (89.46 m)
Beam: 22 ft 4 in (6.81 m)
Draught: 18 ft 1 in (5.51 m)
Propulsion: 2 × 2,150 hp Admiralty ML 8-cylinder diesel engine, 2 × 625 hp electric motors for submergence driving two shafts
Speed: 18.5/8 knots (surface/submerged)
Range:
  • 10,500 nautical miles (19,400 km) at 11 knots (20 km/h) surfaced
  • 16 nautical miles (30 km) at 8 knots (15 km/h) or 90 nautical miles (170 km) at 3 knots (6 km/h) submerged
Test depth: 350 ft (110 m)
Complement: 5 officers 55 enlisted
Armament:
  • 6 × 21 inch (533 mm) (2 external) bow torpedo tube, 4 × 21" (2 external) stern torpedo tube, containing a total of 20 torpedoes
  • Mines: 26
  • 1 × 4" main deck gun, 3 × 0.303 machine gun, 1 × 20 mm AA Oerlikon 20 mm gun

In 1948 she took part in trials of the submarine snorkel.[2] In 1951 she heard and decoded a distress message from HMS Affray, which was sunk with the ultimate loss of all 75 hands.[3] In 1953 she took part in the Fleet Review to celebrate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.[4]

Design

Like all Amphion-class submarines, Ambush had a displacement of 1,360 tonnes (1,500 short tons) when at the surface and 1,590 tonnes (1,750 short tons) while submerged. It had a total length of 293 feet 6 inches (89.46 m), a beam length of 22 feet 4 inches (6.81 m), and a draught length of 18 feet 1 inch (5.51 m). The submarine was powered by two Admiralty ML eight-cylinder diesel engines generating a power of 2,150 horsepower (1,600 kW) each. It also contained four electric motors each producing 625 horsepower (466 kW) that drove two shafts.[5] It could carry a maximum of 219 tonnes (241 short tons) of diesel, although it usually carried between 159 and 165 tonnes (175 and 182 short tons).[5]

The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 18.5 knots (34.3 km/h; 21.3 mph) and a submerged speed of 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph).[6] When submerged, it could operate at 3 knots (5.6 km/h; 3.5 mph) for 90 nautical miles (170 km; 100 mi) or at 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) for 16 nautical miles (30 km; 18 mi). When surfaced, it was able to travel 15,200 nautical miles (28,200 km; 17,500 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) or 10,500 nautical miles (19,400 km; 12,100 mi) at 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph).[5] Ambush was fitted with ten 21 inches (530 mm) torpedo tubes, one QF 4 inch naval gun Mk XXIII, one Oerlikon 20 mm cannon, and a .303 British Vickers machine gun. Its torpedo tubes were fitted to the bow and stern, and it could carry twenty torpedoes. Its complement was sixty-one crew members.[5]

Construction

Ambush was laid down at Vickers Armstrong's Barrow-in-Furness shipyard on 17 May 1945, was launched on 24 September 1945 and completed on 22 July 1947.[7]

Service

On commissioning, Ambush joined the 3rd Submarine Flotilla based at Rothesay, Scotland.[8] The early post-war years saw the Royal Navy introduce the submarine snorkel (known as the Snort in British service), with a number of trials carried out on extended submarine operations using the snort in various weather conditions. Ambush set out from Rothesay on 10 February 1948 on an extended submerged cruise in Arctic waters between Jan Mayen and Bear Island. The submarine encountered a severe storm, which forced Ambush to the surface as she could not maintain depth control well enough to use the snort, returning to base on 18 March.[9][10]

Ambush joined the 10 Submarine Flotilla based at Singapore in November 1959 and remained based in the Far East until 25 July 1967.[11]

Decommissioning and disposal

Following decommissioning, she was sold to Thos W Ward and arrived at Inverkeithing for breaking up on 5 July 1971.[12]

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References
  1. Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
  2. "1948 trials". Naval History. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  3. http://www.submariners.co.uk/Dits/Articles/disaster.php
  4. Souvenir Programme, Coronation Review of the Fleet, Spithead, 15th June 1953, HMSO, Gale and Polden
  5. Paul Akermann (1 November 2002). Encyclopedia of British Submarines 1901-1955. Periscope Publishing Ltd. p. 422. ISBN 978-1-904381-05-1.
  6. "Acheron class". World Naval Ships, Cranston Fine Arts. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  7. Blackman 1962, p. 275.
  8. Watson, Graham (12 July 2015). "Royal Navy Organisation and Ship Deployments 1947–2013". Naval-history.net. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  9. Hennessy and Jinks 2016, pp. 71–72.
  10. Critchley 1981, p. 56.
  11. "Ambush on Way Home". Navy News. September 1967. p. 10. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  12. Warlow, Ben Lt Commander, Channel Sweep, (Maritime Books,Liskeard), p7 ISBN 0-907771-40-8
  • Blackman, Raymond V. B. (1962). Jane's Fighting Ships 1962–63. London: Sampson Low, Marston &Co., Ltd.
  • Critchley, Mike (1981). British Warships Since 1945: Part 2. Liskeard, UK: Maritime Books. ISBN 0-9506323-6-8.
  • Hennesey, Peter; Jinks, James (2016). The Silent Deep: The Royal Navy Submarine Service since 1945. Penguin. ISBN 978-0-241-95948-0.
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