HMS Sceptre (P215) was a third-batch S-class submarine built for the Royal Navy during World War II. Completed in April 1943, she spent the majority of her career in the North Sea, off Norway. After an uneventful patrol, the submarine participated in Operation Source, an attack on German battleships in Norway using small midget submarines to penetrate their anchorages and place explosive charges. However, the midget submarine that she was assigned to tow experienced technical difficulties and the mission was aborted. During her next four patrols, Sceptre attacked several ships, but only succeeded in severely damaging one. She was then ordered to tow the submarine X24, which was to attack a floating dry dock in Bergen. The operation, codenamed Guidance, encountered difficulties with the attacking submarine's charts, and the explosives were laid on a merchant ship close to the dock instead. The dock was damaged and the ship sunk, and X24 was towed back to England. Sceptre then conducted a patrol in the Bay of Biscay, sinking two German merchant ships, before being reassigned to tow X24 to Bergen again. The operation was a success, and the dry dock was sunk.
After a last patrol in which she sank one ship, Sceptre underwent a lengthy refit to serve as a high-speed target submarine for training purposes. When the war ended, the submarine continued training operations, and was sold for scrap in September 1949.
Design and description
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. 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 Sceptre was a third-batch S-class submarine and was ordered by the British Admiralty on 23 January 1940. She was laid down in the Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company shipyard in Greenock on 25 July 1940 and was launched on 6 January 1943. On 15 April 1943, Sceptre, under the command of Lieutenant Ian McIntosh, sailed to Holy Loch, where she was commissioned later in the day. The submarine was named after the symbol of Royal authority, the Sceptre; she was the fourth ship with this name.
After going through training exercises off Scapa Flow and Holy Loch, Sceptre set sail on 20 July 1943 for an anti-submarine patrol off Norway. The patrol was uneventful, and the boat returned to port on 5 August. An auxiliary crew was on board during the passage, which was meant to switch with the operational crew near the target. On 20 September, the midget submarine was released to attack the battleship , but experienced engine troubles and had to abandon the mission. Sceptre returned to Lerwick on 8 October, but X10 had been forced to scuttle due to mechanical problems on 3 October. The ship was sunk and the dock damaged, and X24 rendezvoused with Sceptre and both submarines left the area at full speed; only later was X24 taken under tow again. The pair returned to Port HZZ on 18 April.