HMS Trenchant (P331) was a British T class submarine

British T class submarine

The Royal Navy's T class of diesel-electric submarines was designed in the 1930s to replace the O, P and R classes. Fifty-three members of the class were built just before and during the Second World War, where they played a major role in the Royal Navy's submarine operations...

 of the Second World War.

On completion she was given over to the crew of HMS Thrasher

HMS Thrasher (N37)

HMS Thrasher was a T-class submarine of the Royal Navy. She was laid down by Cammell Laird & Co Limited, Birkenhead, launched in November 1940, and had an active career in the Mediterranean and Pacific Far East.-Mediterranean:...

 whose submarine was due for a refit.

Service

Trenchant under her captain Commander Arthur Hezlet

Arthur Hezlet

Vice-Admiral Sir Arthur Richard "Baldy" Hezlet, KBE, CB, DSO and Bar, DSC, Legion of Merit was a decorated Royal Navy submariner...

, DSO

Distinguished Service Order

The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...

, DSC

Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom)

The Distinguished Service Cross is the third level military decoration awarded to officers, and other ranks, of the British Armed Forces, Royal Fleet Auxiliary and British Merchant Navy and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries.The DSC, which may be awarded posthumously, is...

 acted in the Far East mostly off South East Asia against Japanese shipping sinking a range of vessels both transports and warships, using her torpedoes, gun and also by ramming. She often operated in company with her sister, HMS Terrapin

HMS Terrapin (P323)

HMS Terrapin was a British submarine of the third group of the T class. She was built as P323 by Vickers Armstrong, Barrow and Bellis and Morcom Ltd, and launched on 31 August 1943...

.

On 23 September 1944 she sank the German submarine U-859 in the Straits of Malacca, by torpedoes. 11 of the crew were taken aboard as prisoners of war.

On 27 October 1944, "Chariots"

Human torpedo

Human torpedoes or manned torpedoes are a type of rideable submarine used as secret naval weapons in World War II. The basic design is still in use today; they are a type of diver propulsion vehicle....

 carried into action by Trenchant sank a Japanese Army cargo ship, the Sumatra Maru in Phuket

Phuket Province

Phuket , formerly known as Thalang and, in Western sources, Junk Ceylon , is one of the southern provinces of Thailand...

 harbour, Siam

Thailand

Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

.

Her most significant action

Action of 8 June 1945

The Action of 8 June 1945, sometimes called the Sinking of the Ashigara was a naval action that resulted in the sinking of the heavy cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy by the British Royal Navy submarine...

 during the war was on 8 June 1945, when she sank the Japanese cruiser Ashigara

Japanese cruiser Ashigara

Ashigara was a Myōkō class heavy cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy. The other ships of her class were Myōkō , Nachi , and Haguro...

 at a range of 4,000 yards with five out of eight torpedoes fired. The action in the Bangka Straits earned her commander a second DSO

Distinguished Service Order

The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...

 and the US Legion of Merit

Legion of Merit

The Legion of Merit is a military decoration of the United States armed forces that is awarded for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements...

, and the ship the battle honour

Battle honour

A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags , uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible....

 "Malaya 1944-45". The Ashigara had been carrying some 1,600 Japanese Army

Imperial Japanese Army

-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...

 troops and materiel

Materiel

Materiel is a term used in English to refer to the equipment and supplies in military and commercial supply chain management....

.

External links

• http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/server/show/nav.2558