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HMS P556 (pennant number P556), was a S1-class submarine of the British Royal Navy. She was formerly known as USS S-29.
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMS P556 |
| Builder | Bethlehem Steel |
| Laid down | 17 April 1919 |
| Launched | 9 November 1922 |
| Acquired | 5 June 1942 |
| Decommissioned | 24 January 1947 |
| Fate | Scrapped 1947 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 202 ft 6 in (61.72 m) |
| Beam | 24 ft (7.3 m) |
| Draught | 10 ft 6 in (3.20 m) |
| Speed |
|
| Complement | 36 |
| Armament |
|
USS S-29 was transferred to the Royal Navy at New London on 5 June 1942. She arrived at Gibraltar, via Bermuda, in August 1942 to refit, nominally as part of the 8th Flotilla. She moved to Plymouth in February 1943, for an anti-submarine training role. In November 1943, she moved to Portsmouth for service in the same role. Due to the number of mechanical failures it suffered, it acquired the nickname "Reluctant Dragon".[1]
HMS P556 was damaged by a battery explosion on 27 January 1944, and was decommissioned into the reserve in April. She was returned to the United States Navy on 26 January 1945.
She was sold for scrap to Messrs Pounds, Portsmouth on 24 January 1947. There she became one of Pounds' submarine 'fleet' and was not broken up until 1988. The sail was kept and is now outside Fort Southwick.
References edit
- ^ Ferguson, Julie H. (2014). Through a Canadian periscope (2nd ed.). Dundurn. p. 208. ISBN 978-1-45971-055-9.
External links edit
- "P552 to P714". British Submarines of World War II. Archived from the original on 6 May 2006. Retrieved 23 July 2006.
- "S-29 (SS-134)". Allied Warships. uboat.net. Retrieved 23 July 2006.