British Submarine HMS Seal

HMS Seal was a Grampas-class minelaying submarine of the British Royal Navy. Launched on 28 September 1938, she was commissioned on 28 January 1939.

On 4 May 1940 after laying a minefield in the Skagerrak, Seal was hunted by German trawlers after being spotted by aircraft. Successfully avoiding the trawlers, she ran into an uncharted minefield. Suffering considerable damage she sank to the bottom and waited until nightfall before attempting to surface.

After considerable difficulty, the crew managed to raise her, but she could no longer submerge and damage to her rudder meant she could only steer in reverse. After destroying all confidential papers and equipment Seal made for Sweden and internment. Unfortunately she was spotted by two Arado Ar 196 floatplanes, which were soon joined by a Henkel He 115. With his guns out of action, wounded crew members and unable to dive, Captain Lonsdale surrendered.

Despite the crew’s expectation that the submarine would sink by herself as she was listing and holed, the Germans managed to salvage her. She was repaired at huge cost, renamed UB and used as a training ship and for propaganda purposes. A lack of spares and high maintenance costs saw her paid off, stripped and abandoned in 1943. KMS UB was never used operationally against British forces.