HMS Stratagem P234

HMS Stratagem was a Royal Navy S-class submarine built by Cammell Laird at Birkenhead during World War II. She was ordered in August 1941, launched on 21 June 1943, and commissioned on 9 October 1943.

Design

Stratagem belonged to the third batch of the successful S-class submarines, designed for operations in confined waters but later used worldwide. She:

• Displaced 865 tons surfaced and 990 tons submerged.
• Carried a crew of 48.
• Had seven 21-inch torpedo tubes and a 3-inch deck gun.
• Could reach 15 knots on the surface and 10 knots submerged.

Wartime Service

Norwegian Patrol

Following her work-up and training in British waters, Stratagem carried out her first operational patrol off the coast of Norway against German shipping.

Transfer to the Far East

In 1944 she joined Britain's submarine campaign against Japan, operating from Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). She conducted three war patrols in the Malacca Strait, one of the most important Japanese shipping routes.

During one patrol she bombarded Japanese installations on a Japanese-held island using her deck gun.

Sinking of Nichinan Maru

On 19 November 1944, Stratagem intercepted a Japanese convoy near Malacca. Lieutenant Clifford Raymond Pelly attacked with a salvo of torpedoes, damaging the cargo ship Nichinan Maru. A further torpedo from the stern tube finished the target, sinking the vessel. This was Stratagem's only confirmed sinking.

Loss of HMS Stratagem

On 22 November 1944, while operating in the Malacca Strait, Stratagem was detected by a Japanese aircraft which reported her position. A Japanese escort vessel, identified as submarine chaser CH-35, launched a heavy depth-charge attack.

The attack severely damaged the submarine:

• Internal flooding developed.
• Control of the boat was lost.
• The crew attempted to surface and save the vessel.
• Eventually the submarine had to be abandoned and scuttled.

Survivors and Prisoners

A small group of men reached the bow torpedo compartment and escaped from the sunken submarine in shallow water. Ten crewmen were captured by the Japanese. Their subsequent treatment was brutal, involving imprisonment, beatings, and interrogation. Only three of those prisoners survived the war and were liberated in August 1945.

In total, 45 members of the crew were lost when Stratagem was destroyed.

Legacy

HMS Stratagem's story is one of the most tragic episodes of the Royal Navy's Far Eastern submarine campaign. Although her operational career lasted barely a year, she demonstrated the aggressive submarine warfare being conducted against Japanese shipping in the final stages of World War II. Her loss, and the ordeal endured by her surviving crewmen, remain an important part of Royal Navy submarine history. 

Key Facts