HMS Sunfish (81S)



HMS Sunfish was a Royal Navy S-class submarine which was launched on 30 September 1936 and fought in the Second World War. Sunfish is one of 12 boats named in the song Twelve Little S-Boats.

She spent an eventful period with the Royal Navy on the outbreak of war, and was commanded for much of her career in the war by Lieutenant Commander J.E. Slaughter. In February 1940, she attacked U-14, but failed to sink her, and in April sank two German merchant ships, the Amasis and the Antares, and narrowly missed out on sinking the Hanau and an auxiliary patrol vessel.

She also sank a couple of German 'Q ships' that month, the Schürbeck and the Oldenburg. On 7 December 1940, she sank the Finnish merchant SS Oscar Midling (1889) and damaged the Norwegian merchant Dixie off Norway.

Sunfish was transferred to the Soviet Navy in 1944 and renamed V-1.

She did not spend long under Soviet command, being bombed and sunk in error by a RAF Coastal Command Liberator off Norway, during passage from Dundee to Murmansk on 27 July 1944. Her commander — Capt. 2nd rank Fisanovich — had allegedly taken her out of her assigned area and she was diving when the aircraft came in sight instead of staying on the surface and firing recognition signals as instructed. All crew — including the British liaison staff - were lost. However, both the Royal Navy and RAF inquiries found that the RAF aircrew, who were at least 80 miles off course and who ignored unmistakable signs that the submarine was friendly, were fully responsible. The submarine's 50 Russian and one British crew are all commemorated on Dundee International Submarine Memorial.