Recognition Guide Warships of the Second World War
Royal Navy — Submarine 1941

HMS P38 (1941)

U-class submarine

Displacement
540 long tons (549 t)
Length
58.22 m (191 ft)
Beam
4.9 m (16.1 ft)
Speed
11.3 knots (20.8 km/h, 12.9 mph)
Complement
27
Main gun
76 mm (3 in)

Service

  1. Royal Navy as P3817 October 1941 — 23 February 1942129 days of the war
U-class submarine Particulars
Name
HMS P38
Pennant / hull number
1941
Builder
Vickers-Armstrongs, Barrow-in-Furness
Laid down
2 September 1940
Launched
9 July 1941
Commissioned
17 October 1941
Fate
Sunk 23 February 1942 (1942)
Status
Wreck

Specifications

Displacement, surfaced
540 long tons (549 t)
Displacement, submerged
730 long tons (742 t)
Length
58.22 m (191 ft)
Beam
4.9 m (16.1 ft)
Draught
4.62 m (15.2 ft)
Speed
11.3 knots (20.8 km/h, 12.9 mph)
Complement
27
Main gun
76 mm (3 in)

HMS P38 was a U-class submarine in service with the Royal Navy. She carried the pennant number 1941. Vickers-Armstrongs, Barrow-in-Furness laid her keel on 2 September 1940. She entered service on 17 October 1941, having been launched on 9 July 1941.

53 ships of the class were built.

The boat displaced 540 long tons surfaced and 730 long tons submerged. She measured 58.2 m (191 ft) long with a beam of 4.9 m (16 ft). Her designed speed was 11.2 knots, and she carried a complement of 27.

Her main battery was one 76 mm (3 in) guns.

She was in commission for 129 days of the Second World War.

She was sunk on 23 February 1942, at 32°48′N 14°58′E. The wreck survives.

Written from the harvested record. Every figure above is sourced; the wording is this site's own.

Armament and machinery

Armament and machinery
Propulsion
  • Two shaft diesel-electric
  • Two Paxman Ricardo diesel generators + electric motors
  • 615 / 825 hp
Armament
  • 4 × bow internal 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes; 8–10 torpedoes
  • 1 × 3 in gun

Sister ships

28 more in the class

Sources

  • Facts harvested from HMS P38 (1941) on Wikipedia. Figures only — no wording is taken from it.