View source for HMS Unrivalled

{{short description|British submarine}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2017}}
{{Good article}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=HMS Unrivalled.jpg
|Ship caption=HMS ''Unrivalled'' entering Grand Harbour, [[Malta]], flying the [[Use of the Jolly Roger by submarines|Jolly Roger]] flag denoting the sinking of a [[U-boat]].
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United Kingdom
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}}
|Ship badge=[[File:UNRIVALLED badge-1-.jpg|left|100px]]
|Ship name=HMS ''Unrivalled''
|Ship ordered=23 August 1940
|Ship awarded=
|Ship builder=[[Vickers Armstrong]], [[Barrow-in-Furness]]
|Ship laid down= 12 May 1941
|Ship launched= 16 February 1942
|Ship christened=
|Ship commissioned= 3 May 1942
|Ship recommissioned=
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship fate=[[ship breaking|Scrapped]] 22 January 1946
|Ship homeport=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class=[[British U class submarine|''U''-class]] [[submarine]]
|Ship displacement=*{{convert|648|LT|t}} surfaced
*{{convert|735|LT|t}} submerged
|Ship length={{convert|195|ft|6|in|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|15|ft|9|in|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught={{convert|15|ft|10|in|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion=*2 shafts, 2 Davey-Paxman [[Diesel engine]]s, {{convert|615|bhp|kW|lk=in|abbr=on}} total
*2 [[electric motor]]s, {{convert|825|bhp|kW|abbr=on}} total
|Ship speed=*{{convert|11.25|kn|lk=in}} surfaced
*{{convert|9|kn}} submerged
|Ship endurance=*Surfaced: {{convert|5000|nmi|abbr=on|lk=in}} at {{convert|10|kn|abbr=on}}
*Submerged: {{convert|120|nmi|abbr=on}} at {{convert|2|kn|abbr=on}}
|Ship test depth={{convert|200|ft|abbr=on}}
|Ship complement=33
|Ship armament=*4 × [[British 21 inch torpedo|21 inch (533 mm)]] bow [[torpedo tube]]s
*1 × {{convert|3|in|adj=on}} [[QF 3 inch 20 cwt|QF Mk I gun]]
*3 × {{convert|0.303|in|abbr=on}} machine guns
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
'''HMS ''Unrivalled'' (P45)''' was a [[British U class submarine|''U''-class]] [[submarine]] built for the [[Royal Navy]] during [[World War II]]. The boat has been the only ship of the [[Royal Navy]] to ever bear the name ''Unrivalled''. Completed in 1942, the boat spent most of the war in the Mediterranean. She sank a number of small merchant ships and naval auxiliaries, but major success eluded her during the war. Too small and slow for the post-war environment, ''Unrivalled'' was [[ship breaking|scrapped]] in 1946.

==Design and description==
HMS ''Unrivalled'' was one of the second group of ''U''-class submarines ordered on 23 August 1940.<ref name=a9>Akermann, p. 409</ref> These submarines differed from their predecessors in that they were lengthened by {{convert|5|ft|1}} "to give a more streamlined shape aft and to improve the flow of water over the propellers."<ref name=b1>Bragnasco, p. 121</ref>

The submarine was {{convert|195|ft|6|in|1}} long and {{convert|15|ft|9|in|m}} [[beam (nautical)|abeam]]. ''Unrivalled'' had a [[submarine hull|single hull]] with internal [[ballast tank]]s and had a [[draft (ship)|draft]] of {{convert|15|ft|19|in|m}} when surfaced. She displaced {{convert|735|LT|t}} while submerged, but only {{convert|648|LT|t}} on the surface.<ref name=b0>Bragnasco, p. 120</ref> The submarine was equipped with two [[diesel engine]]s and twin [[General Electric]] [[electric motor]]s—for surfaced and submerged running, respectively. They were coupled together with a [[diesel-electric transmission]]. ''Unrivalled'' had a surface speed of up to {{convert|11.25|kn|lk=in}} and could go as fast as {{convert|9|kn}} while underwater. The boat could carry up to {{convert|55|LT|t}} of diesel fuel, giving her a range of {{convert|5000|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|10|kn}}. Her electric motors and batteries provided a range of {{convert|120|nmi}} at {{convert|2|kn}} while submerged.<ref name=a9/>

HMS ''Unrivalled'' was equipped with four {{convert|21|in|0|adj=on}} bow [[torpedo tube]]s and could carry eight [[British 21 inch torpedo|torpedo]]es. The submarine was also armed with a {{convert|3|in|adj=on}} [[QF 3 inch 20 cwt|QF Mk I gun]] [[deck gun]]. She had a crew of 33 men.<ref name=a9/>

==Career==
[[File:Sidelights on the Submarine Service. 26, 27 and 28 January 1943, Malta. A14488.jpg|thumb|left|Lt H B Turner RN, commanding officer of HMS ''Unrivalled'', Malta, 26–28 January 1943 (IWM A14488)]]

HMS ''Unrivalled'' was ordered on 23 August 1940 as part of the 1940 naval construction programme from [[Vickers|Vickers-Armstrong]] at [[Barrow-in-Furness]].<ref name=a9/> She was [[Keel laying|laid down]] on 12 May 1941, launched on 16 February 1942 and commissioned on 3 May 1942.<ref name="p45">{{cite web|url=http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/3553.html|title=HMS Unrivalled (P 45)|publisher=Uboat.net|access-date=21 January 2011}}</ref>

Apart from a work-up patrol in the Norwegian Sea, she spent the bulk of the war in the [[Mediterranean]]. While working up, ''Unrivalled'' fired a torpedo at what was thought to be a submerged enemy submarine. Only the periscope was sighted, and the torpedo was fired in the direction detected by the [[hydrophone]]s, but no German submarine was in the area. Whilst in service in the Mediterranean, she sank a number of small merchantmen and small naval auxiliary vessels with both torpedoes and gunfire. These included the Italian auxiliary submarine chaser O 97 / ''Margherita'', the Italian merchants ''Maddalena'', ''Mostaganem'' and ''Pasubio'', the Italian tugs ''Genova'' and ''Iseo'', the Italian sailing vessels ''Triglav'', ''Albina'', ''Margherita'', ''Sparviero'' and ''Ardito'', the German auxiliary submarine chasers ''UJ 2201/Bois Rose'' and ''UJ 2204/Boréal'', the Italian tanker ''Bivona'', the small Italian merchant ''Santa Mariana Salina'', the Italian auxiliary minesweeper ''R 172 / Impero'' and the small Italian vessel ''San Francisco di Paola A''.<ref name=p45/>

''Unrivalled'' also damaged the {{ship|Italian torpedo boat|Antonio Mosto}} on 3 December 1942, but neither sank or damaged any Axis ships after 28 July 1943.<ref name=p45/> During [[Operation Husky]] in July 1943, she was stationed offshore to mark the landing beaches for the [[1st Canadian Infantry Division]].<ref>Rohwer, p. 261</ref> The boat survived the war, but was too slow for requirements and was not retained after the war.<ref name=a9/> She was scrapped at [[Briton Ferry]], [[Wales]], beginning on 22 January 1946.<ref name=p45/>

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* {{cite book|last=Akermann|first=Paul|title=Encyclopaedia of British Submarines 1901–1955|edition=reprint of the 1989|year=2002|publisher=Periscope Publishing|location=Penzance, Cornwall|isbn=1-904381-05-7}}
* {{Cite Colledge2006}}
* {{cite book|last=Bagnasco|first=Erminio|title=Submarines of World War Two|year=1977|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, MD|isbn=0-87021-962-6}}
* {{cite book|last=Rohwer|first=Jürgen|title=Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|year=2005|edition=Third Revised|isbn=1-59114-119-2}}

==External links==
* {{cite web | url= http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/3553.html | title= HMS ''Unrivalled'' (P 45) | work= uboat.net}}
* {{cite web | url= http://home.cogeco.ca/~gchalcraft/sm/page28.html | title= Universal to Untamed | work= British Submarines of World War II | url-status= dead | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070711191533/http://home.cogeco.ca/~gchalcraft/sm/page28.html | archive-date= 11 July 2007 | df= dmy-all }}

{{British U class submarine}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Unrivalled (P45)}}
[[Category:British U-class submarines]]
[[Category:Ships built in Barrow-in-Furness]]
[[Category:1942 ships]]
[[Category:World War II submarines of the United Kingdom]]