Being broken up
owned lside with copyright
photo Peter Davey

HMS Rorqual (S02) was a Porpoise-class submarine launched in 1956. She was built by the Vickers shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. The boat was named for both the Rorqual whale and the earlier Second World War-era submarine of the same name.

In 1958, Rorqual experienced a fire. In 1963, she was caught in a trawler's net. An explosion in 1966 killed two crew members and injured twenty; Rorqual was off the coast of Mozambique en route to Singapore. In 1969, Rorqual rammed a moored minesweeper, USS Endurance (MSO-435) while docking at River Point pier in Subic Bay, Philippines. The collision punched a large hole in Endurance's hull but did not damage Rorqual. At the time of the incident, Rorqual was commanded by Lieutenant-Commander Gavin Menzies who retired the following year and later published the controversial book 1421: The Year China Discovered America.

Rorqual won the SOCA Efficiency trophy in 1973.

Rorqual arrived at the Laira breakers yard near Plymouth on 5 May 1977. She was broken up by Davies & Cann.