HMS P553
S-18-class submarine
Service
- as S-2124 August 1921 — 14 September 19421,109 days of the war
- as P.55314 September 1942 — 11 July 1944666 days of the war
- Name
- HMS P553
- Pennant / hull number
- SS-126
- Builder
- Fore River Shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts
- Laid down
- 19 December 1918
- Launched
- 18 June 1920
- Commissioned
- 24 August 1921
- Decommissioned
- 31 March 1922
- Fate
- Returned to the US Navy, 11 July 1944
Sunk as target, 23 March 1945 (1944) - Status
- Wreck
Specifications
- Displacement, surfaced
- 930 long tons (945 t)
- Displacement, submerged
- 1,094 long tons (1,112 t)
- Length
- 66.75 m (219 ft)
- Beam
- 6.1 m (20 ft)
- Draught
- 5.18 m (17 ft)
- Speed
- 14.5 knots (26.9 km/h, 16.7 mph)
- Range
- 3,420 nmi (6,334 km)
- Complement
- 38
- Main gun
- 102 mm (4 in)
HMS P553 was a S-18-class submarine in service with the United States Navy. She carried the pennant number SS-126. Fore River Shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts laid her keel on 19 December 1918. She entered service on 24 August 1921, having been launched on 18 June 1920.
The boat displaced 930 long tons surfaced and 1,094 long tons submerged. She measured 66.8 m (219 ft) long with a beam of 6.1 m (20 ft). Her designed speed was 14.5 knots, and she carried a complement of 38.
Her main battery was one 102 mm (4 in) guns. Her machinery developed 1,200 bhp.
She served with the United States Navy as S-21 until 14 September 1942. She then passed to the Royal Navy, serving as P.553 from 14 September 1942. She was in commission for 1,775 days of the Second World War. She was decommissioned on 31 March 1922.
She was expended as a target on 11 July 1944. 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
- 2 × NELSECO diesel engines
- 2 × Ridgway Dynamo & Engine Company electric motors
- 2 × 60-cell batteries
- 2 × Propellers
- Power
- 1200 bhp diesel
- 2375 hp electric
- Armament
- 4 × 21 in torpedo tubes (12 torpedoes)
- 1 × 4 in/50-caliber
Sister ships
Sources
- Facts harvested from HMS P553 on Wikipedia. Figures only — no wording is taken from it.
- Photograph: Bill Faulk — Scan of original picture in collection of author — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons