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

HMS Spearhead

S-class submarine

HMS Spearhead
Stewart Bale Ltd, Liverpool — This photograph FL 19259 comes from the collections of the Imperial War Museums (collection no. 8308-29) — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons Plate British S class submarine HMS SPEARHEAD underway. She was sold to Portugal in 1948 and became Neptuno .

Service

  1. Royal Navy as HMS Spearhead21 December 1944 — 1948255 days of the war
  2. Portuguese Navy as NRP NeptunoAugust 1948 — 1967
S-class submarine Particulars
Name
HMS Spearhead
Builder
Cammell Laird & Co Limited, Birkenhead
Laid down
18 August 1943
Launched
2 October 1944
Commissioned
21 December 1944
Fate
Scrapped, 1967 (1967)
Status
Scrapped

Specifications

Displacement, surfaced
814 long tons (827 t)
Displacement, submerged
990 long tons (1,006 t)
Length
66.14 m (217 ft)
Beam
7.01 m (23 ft)
Draught
4.27 m (14 ft)
Speed
14.8 knots (27.3 km/h, 17 mph)
Range
7,500 nmi (13,890 km)
Complement
48
Main gun
102 mm (4 in)

HMS Spearhead was a S-class submarine in service with the Royal Navy. Cammell Laird & Co Limited, Birkenhead laid her keel on 18 August 1943. Launched on 2 October 1944, she entered service on 21 December 1944.

111 ships of the class were built.

The boat displaced 814 long tons surfaced and 990 long tons submerged. She measured 66.1 m (217 ft) long with a beam of 7.0 m (23 ft). Her designed speed was 14.8 knots, and she carried a complement of 48. Her main battery was of 102 mm (4.0 in) calibre.

Her machinery developed 1,900 bhp.

She served with the Royal Navy as HMS Spearhead until 1948. She then passed to the Portuguese Navy, serving as NRP Neptuno from August 1948. She was in commission for 255 days of the Second World War.

She was broken up for scrap in 1967.

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 × diesel engines
  • 2 × electric motors
Power
  • 1900 bhp (diesel)
  • 1300 hp (electric)
Armament
  • 6 × bow 21 in torpedo tubes
  • 1 × 4-inch (102 mm) deck gun

Sister ships

86 more in the class

Sources

  • Facts harvested from HMS Spearhead on Wikipedia. Figures only — no wording is taken from it.
  • Photograph: Stewart Bale Ltd, Liverpool — This photograph FL 19259 comes from the collections of the Imperial War Museums (collection no. 8308-29) — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons