*British, Post WW2, HM Submarine Rorqual (SO2) – Original Photograph*
Original Wire Photograph of Post WW2 Submarine Rorqual. This photograph originally formed part of the Lou Britton British Submarine Collection, which was acquired by the Royal Navy Submarine Museum, Gosport in 2007.
Approximate Dimensions: 19cm x 14.3cm. Marked on the reverse: “H.M.S. Rorqual. Porpoise Class Sub. 1 Jun 1964. Daily Express Wire Photo, Glasgow. 31 May 1964. 2055. 937”. Photograph is marked up for cropping on the front. L42-E-31.
HMS Rorqual (S02) was a Porpoise-class submarine launched in 1956 and built by Vickers in Barrow-in-Furness. Named after both a whale species and a World War II submarine, she was one of the Royal Navy’s first post-war submarines, influenced by German Type XXI U-boats.
The Porpoise-class measured 290 feet in length with a beam of 26 feet 6 inches. She displaced 1,565 tons surfaced and 2,303 tons submerged. Powered by diesel-electric engines, she could reach 12 knots on the surface and 16 knots submerged. Armed with eight 21-inch torpedo tubes, Rorqual carried up to 30 torpedoes. Laid down in 1955, she was launched in 1956 and commissioned in 1958.
Rorqual suffered a fire in 1958 and was caught in a trawler’s net in 1963. In 1966, an explosion killed one crew member and injured another off Mozambique. In 1969, she collided with USS Endurance while docking in Subic Bay but remained undamaged. Under Commander Gavin Menzies, she won the SOCA Efficiency Trophy in 1973.
Decommissioned in 1977, Rorqual was scrapped at Laira near Plymouth.
*Condition*
Excellent used condition. Please see photographs as part of the condition report.
RQMAOXAH_3829195300
