HMS Seraph (Pennant number: P219) was an S-class submarine built for the Royal Navy during the Second World War.

She was afterwards assigned to the 8th Submarine Flotilla in the Mediterranean on 25 August; she found herself selected to carry out special operations duties.

[5] Seraph first saw action in support of Operation Torch, the Allied landings in North Africa; her first combat mission, under the command of Lieutenant Norman "Bill" Jewell, was carrying out a periscope reconnaissance of the Algerian coast during the last two weeks of September 1942.

Loaded with collapsible canoes, submachine guns, walkie-talkies, and other supplies, the submarine carried Clark, two other United States Army generals, United States Navy Captain Jerauld Wright, several other officers, and three members of the British Special Boat Section - Captain G.B.

On the night of 5 November she finally arrived at a location some 20 miles (32 km) east of Toulon, as arranged to secretly take aboard French General Henri Giraud, his son, and three staff officers for a meeting with Eisenhower in Gibraltar, with the intention to enlist the support of the pro-Vichy forces at Oran and Casablanca to the Allied cause.

After the pick-up, on 7 November Seraph transferred her charges to a PBY Catalina flying boat that was sent from Gibraltar to search for her after they lost contact with the sub due to a problem with her main radio.

This mission was part of Operation Barclay, a plan to convince the Germans that the Allies intended to land in Greece and Sardinia, and not Sicily.

For the remainder of 1943 the Seraph operated against German and Italian forces in the Mediterranean theatre and attacked several convoys, but her performance in that area was lacklustre, sinking only a few small ships.

Trevor Russell-Walling, she carried out her final patrol in the English Channel, when she suffered accidental damage and was docked for repairs.

The submarine was streamlined by careful attention to the attachments on the outside of the hull, the size of the bridge reduced, the gun was removed along with one of the periscopes and the radar mast, and torpedo tubes blanked over.

The motors were upgraded and higher-capacity batteries fitted along with replacement of the propellers with the coarser pitched type used on the larger T class submarines.

[6] Trials and ASW exercises were carried out in September and October 1944, giving an insight into the difficulties and possible remedies to the new underwater menace.

When she arrived at Briton Ferry for scrapping on 20 December 1962, parts from her conning tower and a torpedo loading hatch were preserved as a memorial at The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina, where General Clark served as president from 1954–1965.

This monument is the only shore installation in the United States where the Royal Navy ensign is authorised to be permanently flown by the British Admiralty.

[8][9] See also: reference to HMS Seraph in 'FDR's 12 Apostles', The Spies who paved the way for the invasion of North Africa, Hal Vaughan, Lyons Press, 2006, 311 pp