| Navy | The Royal Navy |
| Type | Submarine |
| Class | S |
| Pennant | N 22 |
| Mod | Second Group |
| Built by | Chatham Dockyard (Chatham, U.K.) |
| Ordered | 2 Mar 1936 |
| Laid down | 14 Jul 1936 |
| Launched | 22 Sep 1937 |
| Commissioned | 6 Apr 1938 |
| Lost | 18 Apr 1940 |
| Loss position | 58° 55'N, 10° 10'E |
| History | HMS Sterlet (Lt.Cdr. Gerard Henry Stacpoole Haward, RN) was possibly sunk on 18 April 1940 in the Skaggerak south of Larvik, Norway in position 58º55'N, 10º10'E by the German anti submarine trawlers UJ-125, UJ-126 and UJ-128. She might also have been mined while returning to base. |
Commands listed for HMS Sterlet (N 22)
Please note that we're still working on this section
and that we only list Commanding Officers for the duration of the Second World War.
| Commander | From | To | |
| 1 | Lt. Gerard Henry Stacpoole Haward, RN | 1 Aug 1939 | 18 Apr 1940 (+) |
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Notable events involving Sterlet include:
The history of HMS Sterlet as compiled on this page is extracted from the patrol reports and logbooks of this submarine.
This page was last updated in September 2017.
3 Sep 1939
HMS Sterlet (Lt. G.H.S. Haward, RN) departed Dundee for her 1st war patrol. She was ordered to patrol off south-west Norway.
For the daily positions of HMS Sterlet during this patrol see the map below.
(1)
19 Sep 1939
HMS Sterlet (Lt. G.H.S. Haward, RN) ended her 1st war patrol at Dundee. (1)
4 Oct 1939
HMS Sterlet (Lt. G.H.S. Haward, RN) departed Dundee for her 2nd war patrol. She was ordered to patrol off Stadlandet, Norway.
For the daily positions of HMS Sterlet during this patrol see the map below.
(1)
18 Oct 1939
HMS Sterlet (Lt. G.H.S. Haward, RN) ended her 2nd war patrol at Rosyth. (1)
1 Nov 1939
HMS Sterlet (Lt. G.H.S. Haward, RN) departed Rosyth for her 3rd war patrol. She was ordered to patrol west of Denmark.
For the daily positions of HMS Sterlet during this patrol see the map below.
(1)
16 Nov 1939
HMS Sterlet (Lt. G.H.S. Haward, RN) ended her 3rd war patrol at Rosyth. (1)
20 Nov 1939
HMS Sterlet (Lt. G.H.S. Haward, RN) departed Rosyth for Newcaste on Tyne. She was escorted by HMS Bittern (Cdr. G.F. Stevens-Guille, OBE, RN) and HMS Valorous (Lt. E. Mack, RN). (2)
21 Nov 1939
HMS Sterlet (Lt. G.H.S. Haward, RN) arrived at Newcaste on Tyne where she started a refit at the Swan Hunter shipyard. (2)
12 Feb 1940
With her refit completed, HMS Sterlet (Lt. G.H.S. Haward, RN), departed Newcastle on Tyne for Blyth. (3)
13 Feb 1940
HMS Sterlet (Lt. G.H.S. Haward, RN) arrived at Blyth. (3)
15 Feb 1940
HMS Sterlet (Lt. G.H.S. Haward, RN) departed Blyth for Harwich. (3)
17 Feb 1940
HMS Sterlet (Lt. G.H.S. Haward, RN) arrived at Harwich. (3)
22 Feb 1940
HMS Sterlet (Lt. G.H.S. Haward, RN) departed Harwich for exercises. (4)
23 Feb 1940
HMS Sterlet (Lt. G.H.S. Haward, RN) returned to Harwich. (3)
27 Feb 1940
HMS Sterlet (Lt. G.H.S. Haward, RN) conducted exercises off Harwich. (4)
28 Feb 1940
HMS Sterlet (Lt. G.H.S. Haward, RN) departed Harwich for her 4th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the North Sea to the north of the Netherlands.
[As there is no log available for this period and the patrol report does not mention daily positions no map can be displayed.] (1)
6 Mar 1940
HMS Sterlet (Lt. G.H.S. Haward, RN) ended her 4th war patrol at Lowestoft. At Lowesoft she was docked for reballasting. (1)
11 Mar 1940
HMS Sterlet (Lt. G.H.S. Haward, RN) shifted from Lowestoft to Harwich. (3)
14 Mar 1940
HMS Sterlet (Lt. G.H.S. Haward, RN) departed Harwich for her 5th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the North Sea.
For the daily positions of HMS Sterlet during this patrol see the map below. No log is available for this period, positions were taken from the patrol report.
(1)
15 Mar 1940
HMS Sterlet (Lt. G.H.S. Haward, RN) was ordered to return to Harwich. (1)
16 Mar 1940
HMS Sterlet (Lt. G.H.S. Haward, RN) ended her 5th war patrol at Harwich. (1)
19 Mar 1940
HMS Sterlet (Lt. G.H.S. Haward, RN) departed Harwich for her 6th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the North Sea.
For the daily positions of HMS Sterlet during this patrol see the map below. No log is available for this period, positions were taken from the patrol report.
(1)
27 Mar 1940
HMS Sterlet (Lt. G.H.S. Haward, RN) was ordered to patrol further to the east after two German light cruisers were reported to be at Sea. (4)
31 Mar 1940
HMS Sterlet (Lt. G.H.S. Haward, RN) ended her 6th war patrol at Harwich. (1)
1 Apr 1940
HMS Sterlet (Lt.Cdr. G.H.S. Haward, RN) departed Harwich for her 7th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol off the West coast of Denmark / entrance to the Skagerrak. (4)
12 Apr 1940
HMS Sterlet (Lt.Cdr. G.H.S. Haward, RN) reported an unsuccesful attack on an ememy convoy, made up of three merchant ships escorted by a destroyer, to the west of the Skaw in position 57°48'N, 09°39'E. This was the last communication received from HMS Sterlet. (4)
15 Apr 1940
At 0610 hours, The German transport Bahia Castillo (8580 GRT, built 1918) reported being narrowly missed by a torpedo off the Oslofjord. If this is correct the attacker must have been HMS Sterlet (Lt.Cdr. G.H.S. Haward, RN). Bahia Castillo was in convoy together with Dessau (5933 GRT, built 1923) and Pernambuco (4121 GRT, built 1925). They were escorted by M 1501, M 1502, M 1503, M 1504, M 1506, M 1507, M 1508, UJ 119 and 2 R-boats from the 5.R-Flotilla.
At 2306 hours, HMS Sterlet, torpedoed and sank the German gunnery training ship Brummer in the Skagerrak south of Larvik, Norway in position 58°40'N, 09°56'E. Brummer was hit in the bow which sheered off. She sank the next day at 0658 hours.
This attack was not reported by HMS Sterlet but no other Allied submarine made this attack so the attacker must have been HMS Sterlet.
18 Apr 1940
At 2142 hours (zone -1), a German convoy, made up of the German transports Moltkefels (7862 GRT, built 1940), Neidenfels (7838 GRT, built 1939), Hanau (5892 GRT, built 1921) escorted by the German minesweeper M 75 and the German auxiliaries M 528 / Pelikan, M 581 / Nautilus, Elbe and T 190, reported being attacked with torpedoes near position 58°57'N, 10°36'E. If this attack is genuine the attacker must have been HMS Sterlet (Lt.Cdr. G.H.S. Haward, RN).
The German auxiliary submarine chasers UJ 125, UJ 126 and UJ 128 were patrolling nearby and started a hunt which might have sunk HMS Sterlet.
Sources
- ADM 199/1842
- ADM 173/16149
- ADM 199/2571
- ADM 199/373
ADM numbers indicate documents at the British National Archives at Kew, London.