1945 SANGUINE One of the last submarines to be constructed for the Royal Navy in
the Second World War, HMS Sanguine was a direct descendant of the boats designed in the 1 920s for operation in the shallow waters of the North Sea.
THE S-CLASS SUBMARINES
Construction of the S-class boats began under the War Emergency Programme in 1940. A total of 33 were built, and the last did not commission until the final year of the war. In 1942, work on a second group of virtually identical boats, 17 in all, was begun. Sanguine, was one of these; constructed by Cammell Laird, she was laid down in January 1944 and launched on 15 February 1 945. She was sold to Israel in October 1958, refitted, and delivered in May 1960. She served as the Rahav until 1968, when she was decommissioned; she was broken up four years later.
DETAIL IMPROVEMENTS
The second group of S-class boats were slightly improved over the earlier units, with welded, instead of riveted, pressure hulls, which permitted them to dive to 350ft (110m) instead of 300ft (90m) (though the change was actually made to speed up construction). They were always reckoned to be handy boats, fast to respond to the helm, and able to crash-dive in under 30 seconds. Their main armament was 21in (533mm) torpedoes, and they carried 12 one re-load each for their tubes. Originally they had a single 4in (102mm) QF gun on the foredeck, but this was later supplemented by a 20mm AA gun in a basket aft of the conning tower.
TECHNICAL DATA
Type: Patrol/attack submarine
Machinery: 2-shaft, diesels producing 1900bhp; electric motors producing 1 300shp
Dimensions (overall): Length, 66.lm (217ff); beam, 7.25m (23.75ft)
Displacement: 81 4t surfaced, 990t submerged
Draught: 4.25m (1 4fi)
Complement: 48
