HMS P556

HMS P556 (pennant number P556), was a S1-class submarine of the British Royal Navy. She was formerly known as USS S-29.

HMS P556 (left) moored alongside the jetty at HMS Dolphin
History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS P556
Builder	Bethlehem Steel
Laid down	17 April 1919
Launched	9 November 1922
Acquired	5 June 1942
Decommissioned	24 January 1947
Fate	Scrapped 1947
General characteristics
Displacement	640 long tons (650 t) surfaced 935 long tons (950 t) submerged
Length	202 ft 6 in (61.72 m)
Beam	24 ft (7.3 m)
Draught	10 ft 6 in (3.20 m)
Speed	13.75 kn (15.82 mph; 25.47 km/h) surfaced 10 kn (12 mph; 19 km/h) submerged
Complement	36
Armament	6 × 21 inch (533 mm) forward torpedo tubes, 12 torpedoes 1 × 3 in (76 mm) gun 1 × .303-calibre machine gun

USS S-29 was transferred to the Royal Navy at New London on 5 June 1942. She arrived at Gibraltar, via Bermuda, in August 1942 to refit, nominally as part of the 8th Flotilla. She moved to Plymouth in February 1943, for an anti-submarine training role. In November 1943, she moved to Portsmouth for service in the same role. Due to the number of mechanical failures it suffered, it acquired the nickname "Reluctant Dragon".^[1]

HMS P556 was damaged by a battery explosion on 27 January 1944, and was decommissioned into the reserve in April. She was returned to the United States Navy on 26 January 1945.

She was sold for scrap to Messrs Pounds, Portsmouth on 24 January 1947. There she became one of Pounds' submarine 'fleet' and was not broken up until 1988. The sail was kept and is now outside Fort Southwick.