| Navy | The Royal Navy |
| Type | Submarine |
| Class | S |
| Pennant | N 72 |
| Built by | Cammell Laird Shipyard (Birkenhead, U.K.) |
| Ordered | 23 Dec 1932 |
| Laid down | 16 May 1933 |
| Launched | 16 Mar 1934 |
| Commissioned | 21 Dec 1934 |
| End service | |
| History | Scuttled as Asdic target off Isle of Arran, Scotland on 3 March 1945. |
Commands listed for HMS Sealion (N 72)
Please note that we're still working on this section.
| Commander | From | To | ||
| 1 | Lt.Cdr. Benjamin Bryant, RN | 3 Sep 1938 | 12 Oct 1941 | |
| 2 | Lt.Cdr. Christopher Haynes Hutchinson, RN | 31 Jan 1940 | ||
| 3 | Lt. George Robson Colvin, RN | 12 Oct 1941 | Apr 1942 ? | |
| 4 | Lt. Douglas Lambert, DSC, RN | Jul 1942 | 12 Jan 1943 | |
| 5 | Lt. David Stuart McNeile Verschoyle-Campbell, DSC, RN | 12 Jan 1943 | ||
| 6 | Lt. Norman Jack Coe, DSC, RNR | 15 Mar 1943 | 2 Mar 1944 | |
| 7 | Lt. Peter Edward Newstead, DSC, RN | 2 Mar 1944 | ??? | |
| 8 | Lt. Francis Elliott MacVie, DSC, RN | ??? | ??? | |
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Noteable events involving Sealion include:
6 Nov 1939
HMS Sealion (Lt.Cdr. B. Bryant, RN) fires 6 torpedoes against German U-boat U-21 off the Dogger Bank in position 55°10'N, 02°11'E. All torpedoes fired missed their target. (see map)
11 Apr 1940
HMS Sealion (Lt.Cdr. B. Bryant, RN) torpedoed and sank the German merchant August Leonhard (2593 GRT) in the Skagerrak in position 56°29'N, 11°43'E. (see map)
6 May 1940
HMS Sealion (Lt.Cdr. B. Bryant, DSC, RN) attacked the German merchant Moltkefels (7862 GRT) with 3 torpedoed about 19 nautical miles south-west of Vaderob in position 58?30'N, 10?30'E. However the torpedoed miss their target. (see map)
3 Jul 1940
HMS Sealion (Cdr. B. Bryant, DSC, RN) fires 6 torpedoes against a German convoy off the Boknafjord, Norway. None of the torpedoes found it's target and Sealion was heavily depth charged following this failed attack.
8 Jul 1940
HMS Sealion (Cdr. B. Bryant, DSC, RN) fires a torpedo at the beached wreck of the German merchant Palime (2863 GRT) off Obrestadt. The Palime was beached after hitting a mine on 5 June 1940 that was laid by HMS Narwhal.
29 Jul 1940
HMS Sealion (Cdr. B. Bryant, DSC, RN) attacks German U-boat U-62 with torpedoes (that miss) and then with gunfire south-west of Stavanger, Norway in position 58°21'N, 04°24'E.
(see map)
4 Aug 1940
HMS Sealion (Cdr. B. Bryant, DSC, RN) torpedoed and sank the Norwegian merchant Toran (3318 GRT, offsite link) off Homborsund, Norway in position 58°17'N, 08°38'E. (see map)
6 Aug 1940
HMS Sealion (Cdr. B. Bryant, DSC, RN) fires four torpedoed against the German merchant Cl?re Hugo Stinnes (5295 GRT) off Kristiansand, Norway in position 57°51'N, 07°24'E. All torpedoed missed their target. (see map)
5 Feb 1941
HMS Sealion (Cdr. B. Bryant, DSC, RN) sank the (German controlled) Norwegian Ryfylke (1151 GRT, offsite link) off Honningsv?g, Norway.
30 May 1941
HMS Sealion (Cdr. B. Bryant, DSC, RN) fires 6 torpedoed against German U-boat U-74 in the Bay of Biscay about 45 nautical miles south-west of Belle-Ile Island, France in position 46?58'N, 04?12'W. All six torpedoed missed their target. (see map)
7 Jul 1941
HMS Sealion (Cdr. B. Bryant, DSC, RN) sank the French fishing vessels Gustav Eugene (120 GRT) and Gustav Jeanne (39 GRT) with gunfire off Ushant.
8 Jul 1941
HMS Sealion (Cdr. B. Bryant, DSC, RN) sank the French fishing vessel Christus Regnat (28 GRT) with gunfire off Ushant.
9 Jul 1941
HMS Sealion (Cdr. B. Bryant, DSC, RN) sank the French fishing vessel St Pierre d'Alcantara (329 GRT) with gunfire off Ushant.
18 Nov 1941
HMS Sealion (Lt. G.R. Colvin, RN) sank the Norwegian tanker Vesco (331 GRT, offsite link) off the Laksefjord, Norway in position 70°57'N, 26°50'E. (see map)
5 Dec 1941
HMS Sealion (Lt. G.R. Colvin, RN) torpedoed and sank the Norwegian merchant Island (638 GRT, offsite link) north of Mehavn, Norway in position 71°07'N, 27°54'E. (see map)
29 Nov 1942
The Italian blockade breaker Cortellazzo had departed Bordeaux bound for Japan on 29 November 1942. The next day the ship was spotted by a Sunderland flying boat. The British submarines HMS Graph (Lt. P.B. Marriot, RN), HMS Clyde (Lt. R.S. Brookes, DSC, RN), and HMS Sealion (Lt. D. Lambert, DSC, RN), were ordered to intercept but failed to do so.