HMS Tally - Ho ( P317 ) HMS " Tally - Ho " was a British submarine of the third group of the " T " class . She was built as " P317 " by Vickers Armstrong , Barrow , and John Brown & Company , Clydebank , and launched on 23 December 1942 . So far she has been the only ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name " Tally - Ho " , probably after Tally - ho , a hunting call . Second World War Service . While commanded by Captain Leslie W . A . Bennington DSO and Bar , DSC and two Bars , " Tally - Ho " served in the Far East for much of her wartime career , where she sank 13 small Japanese sailing vessels , a Japanese coaster , the Japanese water carrier " Kisogawa Maru " , the Japanese army cargo ships " Ryuko " and " Daigen Maru No . 6 " , the Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser " Cha 2 " , the Japanese auxiliary minelayer " Ma 4 " and the German submarine " UIT - 23 " . She also damaged a small Japanese motor vessel , and laid mines , one of which damaged the Japanese merchant tanker " Nichiyoku Maru " . On 11 January 1944 , " Tally - Ho " , then based out of Trincomalee , Ceylon spotted the Japanese light cruiser " Kuma " and " Uranami " on anti - submarine warfare exercises about northwest of Penang . " Tally - Ho " fired a seven - torpedo salvo at the Japanese cruiser from 1 , 900 yards , hitting her starboard aft with two torpedoes , and setting the ship on fire . " Kuma " sank by the stern in the vicinity of . " Tally - Ho " sank the German commanded U - boat " UIT - 23 " just off the western mouth of Malacca Strait on February 14 , 1944 . On the night of 24 February 1944 " Tally - Ho " was ordered back to the Sembilan Islands , and while zig - zagging on the surface at night charging the batteries , lookouts spotted two wakes ahead . Believing there was a possibility of the two vessels being friendly ( both " Truculent " and " Tactician " being in the area ) , " Tally - Ho " immediately altered course to avoid a collision with the rapidly approaching vessels . On making a challenge with the Aldis lamp the vessels responded by altering course straight towards them and dropping depth charges , leaving no doubt they were unfriendly vessels . At this point the closest ship fired a shell which passed dangerously close over " Tally - Ho " ' s conning tower before the attacker passed closely by the submarine and then turned for another attack . During this encounter " Tally - Ho " had been unable to dive due to the proximity of the attackers and the shallowness of the waters in the straight , in addition , diving would have presented the attacking ships with the opportunity to ram or depth charge the submarine . In the darkness " Tally - Ho " manoeuvred to a parallel course to the approaching attacker and the enemy vessel passed closely by the submarine , a loud hammering and tearing noise being heard as the ship passed , the vessel being identified as a " Hayabusa " - class torpedo boat of 600 tonne . As the attacker disappeared in the murk " Tally - Ho " took on a list to port and assumed a marked bow - down attitude . Bennington decided that the batteries would have sufficient charge to risk diving which " Tally - Ho " then did . Before closing the conning tower hatch , he noticed that the submarine had taken on a 12 - degree list . Once submerged , the crew took stock of the damage , and apart from smashed light bulbs and gauge dial glasses , " Tally - Ho " appeared to be seaworthy , and she remained submerged until 06 : 30 of 24 February when Bennington brought " Tally - Ho " to periscope depth and observed his attacker making unusual manoeuvres apparently searching for the submarine on the starboard quarter some four miles ( 6 km ) off . " Tally - Ho " remained dived for the following 12 hours before surfacing after dark at 18 : 25 . Upon surfacing it was noticed that the submarine ' s list had increased to 15 degrees , and it was possible to see the damage to the submarine ' s port ballast tanks which were all open at the top and beyond further use . With transfer of fuel and water from various tanks and moving of stores and torpedoes , the bow - down attitude was reduced to 4 degrees , and the three - day journey to Trincomalee commenced . This was uneventful apart from encountering a monsoon during the passage of the Bay of Bengal and the possibility of encountering a Japanese submarine close to home . Arriving at Trincomalee harbour on 29 February 1944 , " Tally - Ho " missed her escort and found herself amongst Admiral James Sommerville ' s battle fleet at exercises . Later , upon examination in dry dock prior to repairs , the extent of the damage to " Tally - Ho " ' s port ballast tanks became apparent . The rotating screws of the torpedo boat had run the length of the tanks , chewing large holes in them , phosphor bronze fragments of the attacker ' s propeller blades being discovered inside . Post - war enquiries learned that their attacker ' s behaviour after the attack had been due to a combination of " Tally - Ho " s lowered port bow hydroplane having pierced the torpedo boat ' s hull , and the vessel ' s port screw having been shorn of its blades almost down to the hub . On 29 October 1944 , " Tally - Ho " departed Ceylon carrying an OSS - sponsored three - man Free Thai team bound for Siam . On the way , " Tally - Ho " tried unsuccessfully to intercept a German submarine . The journey was further delayed by a search for downed Allied airmen near the Straits of Malacca . The Free Thai team was finally landed on Ko Kradan , Trang Province , on 9 November . Post War service . " Tally - Ho " survived World War II and continued in service with the Royal Navy . In 1953 she took part in the Fleet Review to celebrate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II . She was finally scrapped at Briton Ferry , Wales on 10 February 1967 . Modern - Day Reference . On 5 January 2013 , a caller to the Danny Baker BBC Radio 5 phone - in programme related the story that her father had told her . He had been a serving submariner on the Tally - Ho during its second - world war service , and just before the submarine left Portsmouth to embark on its tour of the Indian Ocean , a black cat entered the craft , and accompanied the boat on its tour of service , becoming a mascot for the crew . On the Tally - Ho ' s return to Portsmouth , Captain Bennington attempted to adopt the cat and take it home , only for it to disappear from its basket during the train journey to Captain Bennington ' s home .