HMS Amphion (P439)



HMS Amphion (P439), was an Amphion-class submarine of the Royal Navy, built by Vickers Armstrong and launched 31 August 1944.

HMS Amphion, later S43, was the first of the class to be launched in August 1944. She was originally to be named as HMS Anchorite but their names were exchanged before launch. Of the class, only Amphion and HMS Astute were completed before the end of the war, and neither were involved in hostilities. In 1953 she took part in the Fleet Review to celebrate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.

Design
Like all Amphion-class submarines, Amphion had a displacement of 1360 t when at the surface and 1590 t while submerged. It had a total length of 293 ft, a beam of 22 ft, and a draught of 18 ft. The submarine was powered by two Admiralty ML eight-cylinder diesel engines generating a power of 2150 hp each. It also contained four electric motors each producing 625 hp that drove two shafts. It could carry a maximum of 219 t of diesel, although it usually carried between 159 and 165 t.

The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 18.5 kn and a submerged speed of 8 kn. When submerged, it could operate at 3 kn for 90 nmi or at 8 kn for 16 nmi. When surfaced, it was able to travel 15200 nmi at 10 kn or 10500 nmi at 11 kn. Amphion was fitted with ten 21 in torpedo tubes, one QF 4 inch naval gun Mk XXIII, one Oerlikon 20 mm cannon, and a .303 British Vickers machine gun. Its torpedo tubes were fitted to the bow and stern, and it could carry twenty torpedoes. Its complement was sixty-one crew members.