HMS Salmon was a second-batch S-class submarine constructed for the Royal Navy during the 1930s, representing an improved and slightly enlarged version of earlier S-class vessels. Laid down at Cammell Laird’s shipyard in Birkenhead on 15 June 1933, she was launched on 30 April 1934 and completed on 8 March 1935, bearing the pennant number 98S. She measured 208 feet 8 inches (63.6 meters) in length, with a beam of 24 feet (7.3 meters) and a mean draught of 11 feet 10 inches (3.6 meters). Displacing 768 long tons (780 tons) on the surface and 960 long tons (980 tons) submerged, Salmon was designed for operations in the North and Baltic Seas, with a crew capacity of 40 officers and ratings. Powered by two 775-horsepower diesel engines for surface travel and electric motors when submerged, she could reach speeds of 13.75 knots (25.5 km/h) on the surface and 10 knots (19 km/h) underwater. Her operational range was substantial, with a 6,000-nautical mile (11,100 km) endurance at 10 knots on the surface, and a submerged range of 64 nautical miles (119 km) at 2 knots. She was armed with six 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes in the bow, carrying six reloads for a total of twelve torpedoes, along with a 3-inch (76 mm) deck gun. Salmon’s service history during World War II was notable. On 4 December 1939, she became the first submarine to sink a U-boat in the conflict, torpedoing and sinking the German U-36 in the North Sea southwest of Kristiansand, Norway. Shortly thereafter, she encountered the German liner SS Bremen but refrained from attacking, believing it was not a legal target—an action that likely delayed unrestricted submarine warfare. The next day, Salmon engaged a German fleet, damaging the cruisers Leipzig and Nürnberg before evading destroyers pursuing her. Salmon was lost on 9 July 1940, probably due to a mine, near Norway. In 2008, a survey ship, also responsible for locating her sister vessel HMS Shark, found her wreck in Norwegian waters, marking the final resting place of this historically significant submarine.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.