War Diaries Talk

S.S. and H.M.S.

  • rockywr by rockywr

    Regarding Hannah's comment 3 days ago, the S.S. actually stands for Steam Ship so it won't be a Submarine - I would think that submarines would also have been H.M.S. as they are warships. Or, if you're a submariner a ship is on top and a boat goes under the water.

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  • ral104 by ral104 moderator, scientist

    Thanks - you're absolutely right. Ships with SS before their name were merchant navy vessels, used as troopships in this case. Most references I've seen to submarines do indeed prefix their names with HMS, although they more usually had a code, rather than a name, e.g. HMS. E12

    I'm not sure about HMS Victoria being a WW2-era sub. There were two midget submarines operating off the beaches in the run-up to D-Day.

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