HMS X1 was designed as a commerce raider for the British Royal Navy. The concept was to engage a convoys escorts with her gun armament, which would then enable her and other submarines to sink the merchant vessels.
X1’s gun armament consisted of four 5.2 inch guns in twin turrets, one fore and the other aft. In addition she carried six 21-inch torpedo tubes, each armed with one reload.
Launched on 16 June 1923, she was commissioned in December 1925. In operation, she suffered continual engine problems, resulting in the majority of her time undergoing repairs. It was found that conditions were cramped because of the large crew needed to operate the guns (58 men) and associated auxiliary equipment.
HMS X1 was laid up in 1930 and scrapped in 1936.
HMS X1HMS X1HMS X1HMS X1HMS X1HMS X1HMS X1 at seaHMS X1 at seaHMS X1 at seaHMS X1 being broken up
Galileo Galilei was an Archimede-class submarine built for the Italian Regia Marina. Launched on 19 March 1934, she was commissioned on 16 October 1934. At the time of Italy’s entry into the Second World War, Galileo Galilei was in the Red Sea. On her first patrol, she sank the Norwegian tanker James Stove on 16 June 1940. On the afternoon of 18 June a Yugoslavian steamer Drava was spotted. Galileo Galilei fired a shot across her bows to force her to stop, but on seeing the flag of a neutral country allowed her to proceed. The gunshot however was heard by HMS Moonstone an anti-submarine warfare trawler patrolling nearby.
One British aircraft responded to Moonstone’s signal, arriving at 16:40 and which forced the submarine to dive. After nightfall, Galileo Galilei surfaced to recharge her batteries, but was spotted by Moonstone forcing her to dive again. Subjected to a depth charge attack which caused no damage, she waited out the night on the seabed. On the morning on 19 June, methylchloride poisoning began affecting the crew. At this time, she was detected by Moonstone which commenced a depth charge attack. Considering the weak armament of Moonstone (one 4-inch gun and two machine guns, Captain Nardi decided on a surface action with his two-100mm guns and machine guns.
HMS Moonstone moved too fast for the 100mm deck guns to accurately target her, compounded when the sighting mechanism of the forward gun broke. Hits on the forward gun position, conning tower (killing the captain) and then the jamming of the rear gun caused the senior officer to surrender the submarine when the British destroyer HMS Kandahar also arrived.
After her capture, Galileo Galilei was berthed at Port Said and served as a generating station to charge the batteries of British submarines. She was commissioned into the Royal Navy in June 1942 as HMS X2 (later changed to P 711), and was operated as a training boat in the East. She was scrapped on 1 January 1946.
Galileo GalileiGalileo GalileiGalileo Galilei being captured 19 June 1940 by the British armed trawler MoonstoneGalileo Galilei after her capture along with along with HMS KandaharHMS X2 (ex-Galileo Galilei) at Aden after her capture showing the damage to her finGalileo Galilei after her captureGalileo Galilei after being capturedGalileo Galilei after being captured
KMS UB was a Grampas-class minelaying submarine of the German Kriegsmarine during the Second World War. Originally built and operated by the British Royal Navy, she was captured on 5 May 1940. HMS Seal was launched on 28 September 1938 and commissioned into the Royal Navy 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.
HMS SealHMS SealHMS Seal after being capturedFlags after the surrender of HMS SealKMS UJ 128 towing HMS Seal toward Frederikshavn, Denmark. Note the white surrender flag on Seal’s periscopeGermans examining HMS Seal20mm cannon damage to HMS SealHMS Seal riddled with gunfire at Frederikshavn after she was captured on May 5th 1940HMS Seal after being capturedHMS Seal in Kiel after her captureHMS Seal at the Krupp Shipyard ready to be refurbished as a German U-boat. Note the unidentified German light cruiserHMS Seal undergoing repairs at Frederikshavn, Denmark, May 1940The first German crew to man UB (ex-HMS Seal). The photo was probably taken at the commissioning ceremonyKMS UB (ex-HMS Seal) being taken by its German crew for a trial run. UB was never used as a warships against the British
