HMS Talent was a British submarine of the third group of the T class. She was built as P337(S37) by Vickers Armstrong, Barrow, and launched on 13 February 1945. She was originally to have been named HMS Tasman, but was this was changed to Talent after the previous HMS Talent was transferred to the Royal Netherlands Navy, this may have also been the case due to confusion with HMNZS Tasman in Lyttelton, New Zealand.[1]
Service
Talent saw little action, but still had an eventful career. Her first commission was spent in the Far East after which she returned to the UK. She then spent her commissions alternating between the home and mediterranean stations. In 1953 she took part in the Fleet Review to celebrate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.[2]
On 15 December 1954 she was involved in an accident, claiming four lives. She was washed out of drydock at Chatham Dockyard and not found until the following day. After this accident all caissons at Chatham that were on the river (tidal) were chained down to prevent them lifting and they were inspected more regularly to ensure that they were full of water.
She was reconstructed between 1954 and 1956, when she was streamlined and modified, including the removal of her 4-inch gun. She was then damaged in a collision while dived off the Isle of Wight on 8 May 1956. Talent was later used for a publicity trip around the south and east coasts of England in October 1960, being visited by over 33,000 people.
She was refitted at Malta between late 1960 and early 1961, and was thereafter active in the Mediterranean. She returned to the UK in May 1962 and was present at Portsmouth Navy Days in 1965.[3] She was decommissioned on 19 December 1966[4] and was finally scrapped at Troon, Scotland on 1 February 1970.[5]
References
^"HMNZS Tasman". Torpedo Bay Navy Museum. 15 December 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
^Souvenir Programme, Coronation Review of the Fleet, Spithead, 15th June 1953, HMSO, Gale and Polden
^Programme, Portsmouth Navy Days, 28–30 August 1965, HMSO, p15
