HMS Universal

HMS Universal, 16 October 1943
History
United Kingdom
Name: HMS Universal
Builder: Vickers Armstrong, Newcastle upon Tyne
Laid down: 5 September 1941
Launched: 10 November 1942
Commissioned: 8 March 1943
Fate: Sold for scrap, June 1946
Badge:
General characteristics
Class and type: U-class submarine
Displacement:
  • Surfaced - 540 tons standard, 630 tons full load
  • Submerged - 730 tons
Length: 58.22 m (191 ft)
Beam: 4.90 m (16 ft 1 in)
Draught: 4.62 m (15 ft 2 in)
Propulsion:
  • 2 shaft diesel-electric
  • 2 Paxman Ricardo diesel generators + electric motors
  • 615 / 825 hp
Speed:
  • 11.25 knots (20.8 km/h) max surfaced
  • 10 knots (19 km/h) max submerged
Complement: 27-31
Armament:

HMS Universal (P57) was a Royal Navy U-class submarine built by Vickers-Armstrong at Barrow-in-Furness. So far she has been the only ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name Universal.

Construction

Universal was laid down at Vickers Armstrong, Newcastle upon Tyne in September 1941, launched in November 1942 and commissioned in March 1943.

Career

She spent most of the war in the Mediterranean, where she sank the Italian auxiliary patrol vessels V 130/Ugo and V 134/Tre Sorelle, the Italian merchant La Foce, the German auxiliary gunboat SG 15 (the former French Rageot de la Touche), the German merchants President Dal Piaz and Canosa (the former French Corsa), the German Guardboat FMa 06 (the former French Guarani) and the German auxiliary minesweeper Petrel. Universal also damaged the Spanish sailing vessel Sevellina and the Italian tanker (in German control) Cesteriano, which was later towed to Toulon. Universal also fired a torpedo against what is identified as an enemy auxiliary minesweeper. They claimed to have damaged the so far unidentified ship.

Fate

Universal survived the war and was sold to be broken up for scrap in February 1946. On 3 February, on passage from Foyle, Northern Ireland, to Newport, Monmouthshire, under the command of Lieut-Commander W.F.N. Main R.N.R. her engines failed and the following morning she was taken in tow by the destroyer HMS Southdown. With the weather deteriorating the tow broke eight or nine times and was eventually abandoned. Lifeboats from Aberystwyth, New Quay and Fishguard attended over 24 hours, standing by in heavy seas until Universal's crew had to abandon ship.[1]

She was scrapped at Milford Haven in June 1946.

References

  1. ↑ "Lifeboats get gallant crew off submarine". Lancashire Daily Post. British Newspaper Archive. 5 February 1946. Retrieved 31 October 2014. (Subscription required (help)).
  • "HMS Universal (P 57)". uboat.net.
  • "Universal to Untamed". British submarines of World War II. Archived from the original on 11 July 2007.
  • Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8. OCLC 67375475.
  • Hutchinson, Robert (2001). Jane's Submarines: War Beneath the Waves from 1776 to the Present Day. London: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-00-710558-8. OCLC 53783010.


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