HMS Oswald was an Odin-class submarine built for the Royal Navy during the 1920s.

Oswald before the Second World War
History
United Kingdom
NameHMS Oswald
Ordered2 December 1926
BuilderVickers-Armstrongs, Barrow
Laid down30 May 1927
Launched19 June 1928
Commissioned1 May 1929
IdentificationPennant number: N58
FateSunk, 1 August 1940
General characteristics
Class and typeOdin-class submarine
Displacement
  • 1,781 long tons (1,810 t) (surfaced)
  • 2,030 long tons (2,060 t) (submerged)
Length283 ft 6 in (86.4 m)
Beam30 ft (9.1 m)
Draught16 ft 1 in (4.9 m)
Installed power
Propulsion
Speed
  • 17.5 knots (32.4 km/h; 20.1 mph) (surfaced)
  • 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph) (submerged)
Range
  • 8,400 nmi (15,600 km; 9,700 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) (surfaced)
  • 70 nmi (130 km; 81 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) (submerged)
Test depth300 ft (91 m)
Complement53–55 officers and ratings
Armament

Construction and career edit

She was laid down by Vickers-Armstrongs at Barrow-in-Furness on 30 May 1927, launched on 19 June 1928 and commissioned on 1 May 1929.[1]

Loss edit

Oswald left Alexandria, Egypt, for a patrol east of Sicily on 19 July 1940. On 30 July, she spotted a convoy of several merchant ships. Her attack on the convoy was not successful and she was spotted by the convoy's escorting destroyers. Subsequently, on 1 August Oswald was rammed and sunk by the Italian destroyer Ugolino Vivaldi while on patrol south of Calabria; 52 crewmen were rescued by Italian warships and 3 were lost.[2][3]

 

Citations edit

  1. ^ "HMS Oswald". Uboat.net. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  2. ^ Lenton, p. 44
  3. ^ Heden, p. 229

Bibliography edit