HMS Anchorite (P422)

HMS Anchorite (P422), was an Amphion-class submarine of the Royal Navy, built by Vickers Armstrong and launched 22 January 1946.[1]

History
United Kingdom
Ordered: Very late in World War II
Builder: Vickers Armstrong, Barrow-in-Furness
Laid down: 13 August 1945
Launched: 22 January 1946
Commissioned: 18 November 1947
Fate: Sold to be broken up for scrap on 28 July 1970. Scrapped at Troon, Scotland in August 1970.
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 (1,603 kW) Admiralty ML 8-cylinder diesel engine, 2 × 625 hp (466 kW) electric motors for submergence driving two shafts
Speed: 18.5/8 knots (surface/submerged)
Range:
  • 10,500 nautical miles (19,450 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

Design

Anchorite had a displacement of 1,360 long tons (1,380 t) when at the surface and 1,590 long tons (1,620 t) while submerged. It had a total length of 293 ft 6 in (89.46 m), a beam of 22 feet 4 inches (6.81 m), and a draught of 18 feet 1 inch (5.51 m). The submarine was powered by two Admiralty ML eight-cylinder diesel engines generating 2,150 horsepower (1,600 kW) each. Four electric motors each producing 625 horsepower (466 kW) drove two shafts.[2] It could carry a maximum of 219 long tons (223 t) of diesel, although it usually carried between 159 and 165 long tons (162 and 168 t).[2]

The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 18.5 knots (34.3 km/h) and a submerged speed of 8 knots (15 km/h).[3] When submerged, it could operate at 3 knots (5.6 km/h) for 90 nautical miles (170 km) or at 8 knots (15 km/h) for 16 nautical miles (30 km). When surfaced, it was able to travel 15,200 nautical miles (28,200 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h) or 10,500 nautical miles (19,400 km) at 11 knots (20 km/h).[2] Anchorite was fitted with ten 21 inch (533 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.[2]

Anchorite was laid down at Vickers-Armstrongs' Barrow-in-Furness shipyard on 19 July 1945, was launched on 22 January 1946 and completed on 18 November 1947.[4]

Service

During build and before launch the names of Anchorite and HMS Amphion were switched. In 1953 she took part in the Fleet Review to celebrate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.[5]

Anchorite ran aground in Rothesay Bay, Firth of Forth, on 12 October 1956.[6] On 3 October 1960, Anchorite, which was a member of the 4th Submarine Squadron based at Sydney, hit an uncharted rock in the Hauraki Gulf off Auckland, New Zealand at a depth of 110 feet (34 m). No-one was injured in the incident. The submarine's commanding officer, Lieutenant Commander W. L. Owen, was cleared of any blame for the incident to the resulting court martial.[7][8] The rock is now known as Anchorite Rock on the nautical charts of the area at depth, 16 m, 36°26′S 175°8′E.

gollark: The set of possible things to do is much larger than the set of all OSes.
gollark: Other things?
gollark: There are so many and they are mostly pointless and unnecessary.
gollark: RubenKnijn, DO NOT MAKE AN OS.
gollark: Why did you ping me‽‽

References
  1. "Anchorite". Uboat.net. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  2. Akermann, Paul (1 November 2002). Encyclopedia of British Submarines 1901–1955. Periscope Publishing Ltd. p. 422. ISBN 978-1-904381-05-1.
  3. "Acheron class". World Naval Ships, Cranston Fine Arts. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  4. Blackman 1962, p. 275
  5. Souvenir Programme, Coronation Review of the Fleet, Spithead, 15 June 1953, HMSO, Gale and Polden
  6. "Submarine Runs Aground". The Times (53661). London. 13 October 1956. col F, p. 6.
  7. Critchley 1981, p. 56
  8. "Captain was not to blame". Navy News. December 1960. p. 9. Retrieved 24 August 2018.

Publications
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