Welcome

This website is brought to you in association with the Barrow-in-Furness Branch of the Submariners Association and is the premier UK internet resource for Submariners and anyone interested in Royal Navy Submarines.

Vickers and Barrow are names synonymous with the development of the submarine. Hundreds of submarines covering virtually every class have been built for the Royal Navy and foreign Navies. This site is dedicated to not only to those who have served on Her Majesty's Submarines but also to those employees past and present whose skills and efforts have given pride to the phrase 'Barrow built' and made the name Vickers known and respected throughout the world.

On This Day - September 30

1916	E 39	Completed
1936	Sunfish (N 81) / V1 (USSR)	Launched
1939	H 34	HMS H-34 fires two torpedoes at the German submarine U-3 15 nautical miles north of Kinnaird Head. The torpedoes miss.
1939	Artifex (F28) 1924 - 1961	Passenger ship Aurania requisitioned by the Admiralty from the Cunard White Star Ltd, Liverpool for conversion to an armed merchant cruiser.
1941	Trident (N 52)	HMS Trident fires three torpedoes against the German hospital ship Birka in the Breidsundet about 4 nautical miles north-west of Havaysund, Norway. All three missed.
1941	Urge (N 17)	Overnight, HMS URGE took part in an operation to deliver a package to an agent on a beach in the Gulf of Gioia. It turned out that the agent was a double agent and the officer who was paddling ashore to deliver the package was killed by gunfire from the shore.
1941	Taurus (P 339)	Laid Down
1943	Sibyl (P 217)	HMS Sibyl torpedoes and sinks the German auxiliary minesweeper M 7022/Hummer about 12 nautical miles north-east of Bastia, Corsica, France.
1943	Strongbow (P 235)	Launched
1943	Sturdy (P 248)	Launched
1954	USS Nautilus	The world's first nuclear reactor-powered vessel, USS Nautilus, is commissioned.
2011	Ambush (S 120)	Initial dive test completed in Devonshire Dock

Lastest Comments

29/09/2026 on page Chariots
Rhys Nolan wrote:
	In relation to the Operation Title, the fishing boat Arthur was not "newly built" in fact built 1898, lengthened at some point and converted for the operation. I have not seen any records of the mentioned breakdowns in the writings by Leif Larsen, doesn't mean that there weren't, just surprising he ...

22/09/2026 on page P 222
Colin Megill wrote:
	The night of December 12th, 1942, my grandfather, conscripted into the Italian infantry, departed by troop ship from Trapani, Sicily, some 200 miles southwest of where the P222 disappeared, and made the crossing to Bizerte, Tunisia. He made it safely home after years as a prisoner of war after their ...

19/09/2026 on page Israeli sub wreck found 31 years on
Janet Burns wrote:
	My Dad was the chief stocker on the Totem 45/47 I have his Talisman, unfortunately he passed away at 39 in 1962. I am so proud of him.

19/09/2026 on page Renown (S 26)
Alan Hewitt wrote:
	Commanding Officer (Port crew) 1972 - 1976 Commander H N M Thompson RN

29/08/2026 on page Stratagem (P 234)
Clare Cunningham wrote:
	My Uncle Frederick Hayes was a stoker on board when she went down. I’m trying to find as much information as possible. I’d love to see some pictures of the crew if there ever were any. His name is on the war memorial in Plymouth, UK, and whenever any of the family are near the memorial, we alway ...

RN Subs

Have You Read?

The Dolphin Code

The Dolphin Code has earned a solid international reputation, and is now well known within Western Submarine navies. It has even been rumoured that the late Soviet Naval Air Force used the code on occasion. The Royal Australian Navy additions were added in 1997 and serve to attest to the popularity of the DOLPHIN CODE

Read

Featured Film

Part of the military documentary series examining each aspect of the armed forces.

This volume looks at the history and role of the submarine in the modern navy. Starting out as experimental oddities in the American Civil War, the most advanced submarines in the present day hold a crew of several hundred, can remain at sea for a year at a time, and are capable of launching dozens of thermonuclear missles at any spot in the world.

Buy from Amazon