HMS Splendid (P228)

The S-class submarines were designed to patrol the restricted waters of the North Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. The third batch was slightly enlarged and improved over the preceding second batch of the S class. The submarines had a length of overall, a beam of and a draught of . They displaced on the surface and submerged. The S-class submarines had a crew of 48 officers and ratings. They had a diving depth of . For surface running, the boats were powered by two diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a electric motor. They could reach on the surface and underwater. On the surface, the third-batch boats had a range of at and at submerged. It is uncertain if Splendid was completed with a Oerlikon light AA gun or had one added later. The third-batch S-class boats were fitted with either a Type 129AR or 138 ASDIC system and a Type 291 or 291W early-warning radar. ==Construction and career==

HMS Splendid was a third-group S-class submarine and was ordered as part of the 1941 Naval Programme on 14 October 1940. She was laid down in the Chatham Dockyard on 7 March 1941 and launched on 19 January 1942. On 8 August 1942, Splendid, under the command of Lieutenant Ian McGeoch, was commissioned into the Royal Navy. Splendid was the third Royal Navy ship with this name. After a period of training, Splendid departed Holy Loch on 3 October 1942, together with her sister ship, . After ten days at sea, Splendid spotted smoke shortly after midday and gave chase to the unidentified ship; four hours later, she stopped and boarded the vessel, which turned out to be the Allied Gaizka, running behind schedule. Later in the day, the submarine spotted a U-boat, but could not identify it and did not attack. Splendid safely arrived in Gibraltar on 16 October. Sinking Splendid departed Malta on 18 April 1943 for a patrol off Naples which was her last. Three days later the submarine's periscope was spotted by the , which also detected the submarine on sonar. Hermes was the largest German ship in the Mediterranean Sea except for auxiliary minesweepers. Splendids commander, Ian McGeoch, despite having lost the use of one eye during the submarine's sinking, made two escape attempts, the second of which was successful; he arrived in Switzerland to have a metal splinter removed from his eye, then travelled through France and Spain to England. ==Summary of raiding history==

During her service with the Royal Navy, Splendid sank eight Axis ships as well as an Italian destroyer for a total of . == References ==