| Navy | The Royal Navy |
| Type | Submarine |
| Class | Porpoise |
| Pennant | N 45 |
| Built by | Vickers Armstrong (Barrow-in-Furness, U.K.) |
| Ordered | 15 Mar 1934 |
| Laid down | 29 May 1934 |
| Launched | 29 Aug 1935 |
| Commissioned | 28 Feb 1936 |
| Lost | 23 Jul 1940 |
| History | Lost in the North Sea or off Norway. HMS Narwhal (Lt.Cdr. Ronald James Burch, DSO, RN) sailed from Blyth on 22 July to lay mines off Kristiansund, Norway. A German aircraft (Do-17, Lt. Karl Müller, 1/KF1Gr 606) reported attacking a submarine on the afternoon of 23rd July 1940 about 125 nautical miles east of Aberdeen, Scotland in position 56º50'N, 01º40'E, it was most likely this attack that is responible for the loss off Narwhal as she failed to return to base and was reported overdue on 1 August 1940. |
Commands listed for HMS Narwhal (N 45)
Please note that we're still working on this section.
| Commander | From | To | |
| 1 | Lt.Cdr. Eric Roland John Oddie, RN | 18 Jul 1939 | 26 Feb 1940 |
| 2 | Lt.Cdr. Ronald James Burch, RN | 26 Feb 1940 | 23 Jul 1940 (+) |
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Noteable events involving Narwhal include:
25 Feb 1940
German U-boat U-63 tried to attack convoy HN-14, in doing so she was sighted by the British submarine HMS Narwhal (Lt.Cdr. E.R.J. Oddie, RN). The escorting destroyers HMS Escort (Lt.Cdr. J. Bostock, RN), HMS Inglefield (Capt. P. Todd, RN) and HMS Imogen (Cdr. C.L. Firth, RN) were warned. They located, attacked and sank U-63 with depth charges south east of the Shetland Islands. (see map)
4 Apr 1940
HMS Narwhal (Lt.Cdr. R.J. Burch, RN) lays minefield FD 1 (50 mines) in the North Sea in position 54°37'N, 06°35'E. (see map)
13 Apr 1940
The German armed trawler V 403 / Deutschland is damaged when she hits a mine laid by the British submarine HMS Narwhal (Lt.Cdr. R.J. Burch, RN) on 4 April 1940 off Skagen in position 57°37'N, 06°35'E. (see map)
13 Apr 1940
HMS Narwhal (Lt.Cdr. R.J. Burch, RN) lays minefield FD 5 (50 mines) in the Kattegat in position 57°26'N, 10°45'E. (see map)
20 Apr 1940
The German merchant Togo (5042 GRT) is damaged when she hits a mine laid by the British submarine HMS Narwhal (Lt.Cdr. R.J. Burch, RN) on 13 April 1940 off Skagen in position 57°26'N, 10°45'E (see map)
23 Apr 1940
The German auxiliary minesweeper M 1302 / Schwaben (436 GRT) is sunk when she hits a mine laid by the British submarine HMS Narwhal (Lt.Cdr. R.J. Burch, RN) on 13 April 1940 off Skagen in position 57°26'N, 10°45'E. (see map)
1 May 1940
HMS Narwhal (Lt.Cdr. R.J. Burch, RN) torpedoed and sank the German troop transport Buenos Aires (6097 GRT) and torpedoed and damaged the German troop transport Bahia Castillo (8580 GRT) in the Kattegat about 20 nautical miles north of Anholt, Denmark in position 57°05'N, 11°35'E.
The Bahia Castillo reaches port but is declared a total loss. (see map)
1 May 1940
The Swedish merchant Haga (1296 GRT) sank on a mine laid by the British submarine HMS Narwhal (Lt.Cdr. R.J. Burch, RN) on the same day in the Skagerrak east of Cape Skagen in position 57°30'N, 10°43'E.
(see map)
1 May 1940
HMS Narwhal (Lt.Cdr. R.J. Burch, RN) lays minefield FD 6 (50 mines) in the Kattegat in position 57°30'N, 10°43'E. (see map)
3 May 1940
The German auxiliary minesweeper M 1102/H.A.W. M?ller sank on a mine laid by the British submarine HMS Narwhal (Lt.Cdr. R.J. Burch, RN) on 1 May 1940 in the Skagerrak east of Cape Skagen in position 57°30'N, 10°43'E. (see map)
11 May 1940
HMS Narwhal (Lt.Cdr. R.J. Burch, RN) lays minefield FD 12 (50 mines) off Bud, Norway in position 62?58'N, 06?48'E. (see map)
30 May 1940
The German armed trawler V 1109 / Antares (291 GRT) sank on a mine laid by the British submarine HMS Narwhal (Lt.Cdr. R.J. Burch, RN) on 11 May 1940 off Molde, Norway in position 62?58'N, 06?48'E. (see map)
3 Jun 1940
HMS Narwhal (Lt.Cdr. R.J. Burch, RN) lays minefield FD 16 (50 mines) off Jaederens Point, Norway in position 58?46'N, 05?25'E. (see map)
5 Jun 1940
The German merchant Palime (2863 GRT) and the German minesweeper M 11 (874 tons) both hits mines. The M 11 sank while the Palime is beached and later declared a total loss. The mines were laid by the British submarine HMS Narwhal (Lt.Cdr. R.J. Burch, RN) on 3 June 1940 off Feiestein, Norway in position 58?46'N, 05?25'E.
(see map)
12 Jun 1940
HMS Narwhal (Lt.Cdr. R.J. Burch, RN) lays minefield FD 19 (50 mines) off Haugesund, Norway in position 59?26'N, 05?10'E. (see map)
4 Jul 1940
HMS Narwhal (Lt.Cdr. R.J. Burch, DSO, RN) lays minefield FD 21 (50 mines) north of Kristiansund, Norway in position 63°15'N, 07°39'E. (see map)
6 Jul 1940
The German auxiliary submarine chaser UJ D / Treff VIII (356 GRT) sank on a mine laid by the British submarine HMS Narwhal (Lt.Cdr. R.J. Burch, DSO, RN) on 4 July 1940 off the Norwegian coast in position 63°15'N, 07°34'E. (see map)
26 Aug 1940
The Norwegian fishing vessel Arild (126 GRT, offsite link) sank after hitting a mine near Steinest?, Norway in position 59°26'N, 05°10'E. This sinking is often credited to a mine laid by HMS Narwhal on 12 June 1940. But in fact Arild ran into a German defensive minefield. (see map)
28 Sep 1940
The German merchant Clara M. Russ (1600 GRT) is damaged when she hits a mine laid by the British submarine HMS Narwhal (Lt.Cdr. R.J. Burch, RN) on 3 June 1940 some 15 nautical miles south-west of Stavanger, Norway in position 58°46'N, 05°25'E. (see map)
13 Oct 1940
The German auxiliary minesweepers Gnom 7, Kobold 1 and Kobold 3 sink on mines laid by the British submarine HMS Narwhal (Lt.Cdr. R.J. Burch, RN) on 12 June 1940 off the Osterfjord, Norway in position 59°26'N, 05°10'E. (see map)