| Navy | The Royal Navy |
| Type | Submarine |
| Class | Porpoise |
| Pennant | N 45 |
| Built by | Vickers Armstrong (Barrow-in-Furness, U.K.) |
| Ordered | |
| Laid down | 29 May 1934 |
| Launched | 29 Aug 1935 |
| Commissioned | 28 Feb 1936 |
| Lost | 23 Jul 1940 |
| Loss position | |
| 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. Commanding Officers: Lt.Cdr. Ronald James Burch, RN |
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
The German submarine 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 destoyers 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 54º37'N, 06º35'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 57º37'N, 06º35'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 57º26'N, 10º45'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 57º26'N, 10º45'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 57º26'N, 10º45'E. (see map)
1 May 1940
HMS Narwhal (Lt.Cdr. R.J. Burch, RN) torpedoes and sinks the German troop transport Buenos Aires (6097 GRT) and torpedoes and damages the German troop transport Bahia Castillo (8580 GRT) in the Kattegat about 20 nautical miles north of Anholt, Denmark in position 57º05'N, 11º35'E.
The Bahia Castillo reaches port but is declared a total loss. (see map)
1 May 1940
The Swedish merchant Haga (1296 GRT) sinks on a mine laid by the British submarine HMS Narwhal (Lt.Cdr. R.J. Burch, RN) on the same day in the Skaggerak east of Cape Skagen in position 57º30'N, 10º43'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 57º30'N, 10º43'E. (see map)
3 May 1940
The German auxilary minesweeper M 1102/H.A.W. Möller sinks on a mine laid by the British submarine HMS Narwhal (Lt.Cdr. R.J. Burch, RN) on 1 May 1940 in the Skaggerak east of Cape Skagen in position 57º30'N, 10º43'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 62º58'N, 06º48'E. (see map)
30 May 1940
The German armed trawler V 1109 / Antares (291 GRT) sinks 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 62º58'N, 06º48'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 58º46'N, 05º25'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 sinks while the Palime is beached and later delared 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 58º46'N, 05º25'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 59º26'N, 05º10'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 63º15'N, 07º39'E. (see map)
6 Jul 1940
The German auxiliary submarine chaser UJ D / Treff VIII (356 GRT) sinks 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 63º15'N, 07º34'E. (see map)
26 Aug 1940
The Norwegian fishing vessel Arild (126 GRT, offsite link) sinks after hitting a mine near Steinestø, Norway in position 59º26'N, 05º10'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 58º46'N, 05º25'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 59º26'N, 05º10'E. (see map)