| Navy | The Royal Navy |
| Type | Submarine |
| Class | S |
| Pennant | P 221 |
| Built by | Vickers Armstrong (Barrow-in-Furness, U.K.) |
| Ordered | |
| Laid down | 13 Nov 1940 |
| Launched | 8 Dec 1941 |
| Commissioned | 10 Jul 1942 |
| End service | |
| Loss position | |
| History | HMS Shakespeare (Lt. David Swanston, DSC, RN) was damaged by gunfire and aircraft bombs in the Nankauri Strait, Andaman Islands 3 January 1945 and written off as a constructive total loss. Sold to be broken up for scrap 14 July 1946. Commanding Officers: Lt. David Swanston, DSC, RN |
Commands listed for HMS Shakespeare (P 221)
Please note that we're still working on this section.
| Commander | From | To | |
| 1 | Lt. Michael Frederic Roberts Ainslie, DSC, RN | 10 Apr 1942 | 6 Mar 1944 |
| 2 | Lt. David Swanston, DSC, RN | 6 Mar 1944 | ??? |
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Noteable events involving Shakespeare include:
13 May 1943
HMS Shakespeare (Lt. M.F.R. Ainslie, DSC, RN) sinks the Italian sailing vessels Sant' Anna M. (156 GRT) and Adelina (80 GRT) with gunfire off the north-east coast of Sardinia in position 41º17'N, 10º26'E. (see map)
6 Aug 1943
While on patrol north-west of Ustica, HMS Shakespeare (Lt. M.F.R. Ainslie, DSC, RN) fires three torpedoes at what is identified as an Italian light cruiser. All torpedoes missed their target.
7 Sep 1943
HMS Shakespeare (Lt. M.F.R. Ainslie, DSC, RN) torpedoes and sinks the Italian submarine Velella (offsite link) about 18 nautical miles east of Licosa Island, south of Salerno, Italy in position 40º15'N, 14º30'E. There were no survivors. (see map)
26 Oct 1943
HMS Shakespeare (Lt. M.F.R. Ainslie, DSO, DSC, RN) sinks the Greek sailing vessel Aghios Konstantinos 23 nautical miles north-east of Andros, Greece.
3 Nov 1943
HMS Shakespeare (Lt. M.F.R. Ainslie, DSC, RN) sinks a sailing vessel with gunfire off Kos, Greece.
3 Dec 1943
HMS Shakespeare (Lt. M.F.R. Ainslie, DSO, DSC, RN) sinks a sailing vessel with gunfire off Kos, Greece.
31 Dec 1944
HMS Shakespeare (Lt. D. Swanston, DSC, RN) torpedoes and sinks the Japanese merchant cargo ship Unryu Maru (2515 GRT) east of Port Blair, Andaman Islands in position 11º40'N, 93º15'E. (see map)
3 Jan 1945
HMS Shakespeare (Lt. D. Swanston, DSC, RN) and the Japanese auxiliary minesweeper Wa 1 engage each other with gunfire off the Nancowry Strait, Nicobar Islands. Both ships are damaged in the engagement.