HMS Rorqual (S02)

Porpoise class submarine of the Royal Navy

HMS Rorqual (S02) was a Porpoise class submarine launched in 1956. She was built by the Vickers shipyard in Barrow in Furness, Cumbria, England. The boat was named for both the rorqual, a family of whale, and the earlier Second World War era submarine of the same name.

The Porpoise class was the first class of operational submarines built for the Royal Navy after the end of the Second World War, and were designed to take advantage of experience gained by studying German Type XXI U boats and British wartime experiments with the submarine , which was modified by streamlining and fitting a bigger battery. The Porpoise class submarines were 290 feet (88 m) long overall and 241 feet (73 m) between perpendiculars, with a beam of 26 feet (8 m) and a draught of 18 feet (5 m). Displacement was standard and full load surfaced and submerged. In 1963, she was caught in a trawler's net. An explosion in 1966 killed one junior rate and injured the chief of the watch, who died ashore at Inhambane, Rorqual was off the coast of Mozambique en route to Singapore. In 1969, Rorqual rammed a moored minesweeper, USS Endurance (MSO 435) while docking at River Point pier in Subic Bay, Philippines. The collision punched a large hole in Endurance's hull but did not damage Rorqual. At the time of the incident, Rorqual was commanded by Lieutenant Commander Gavin Menzies who retired the following year and later published the controversial book 1421: The Year China Discovered America. Rorqual won the SOCA Efficiency trophy in 1973. Rorqual arrived at the Laira breaker's yard near Plymouth on 5 May 1977. She was broken up by Davies & Cann.