HMS Sportsman was a third-batch S-class submarine built for the Royal Navy during World War II.

After an initial patrol off Norway, she sank the heavy transport Général Bonaparte in the Mediterranean in 1943 and missed a French oil tanker.

She was heavily damaged after a mistaken attack by an Allied bomber, and was sent east after repairs to participate in operations in the Black Sea.

She sank the German transport SS Petrella in early 1944 despite it being clearly marked as a prisoner-of-war ship, killing 2,670 out of 3,173 Italians aboard.

Between 6 January and 13 February, Sportsman took part in training exercises around Holy Loch, along with the destroyer HMS Ambuscade and Uproar.

[9] A week later, on the 26th, Sportsman sighted the 12,309-gross register ton (GRT) French oil tanker Marguerite Finaly south of Îles d'Hyères and fired six torpedoes, but all missed their target.

[7] Sportsman left Algiers on 19 June, tasked with patrolling the Gulf of Genoa and landing two special operations agents in Italy.

[7] Sportsman departed Algiers on 23 July after conducting anti-submarine exercises, tasked with patrolling the northern part of the Tyrrhenian Sea, east of Corsica.

She began an attack on a large German fishing trawler, but had to dive after coastal batteries opened fire on Sportsman and her target during the action off Bastia.

Three days later, she picked up 44 survivors from the Italian Navigatori-class destroyer Ugolino Vivaldi, which had been sunk by the Germans while trying to pass through the Strait of Bonifacio to reach an Allied-held port on 9 September.

Seven depth charges were dropped, one which hit the radar array, wounding one crew member, and another landed on the submarine's deck, although it was not noticed at the time.

On 15 November, the boat sank the 70 GRT Greek sailing vessel Eleftherios V with gunfire north of Naxos, Greece.

On 19 December, the submarine sank the Greek vessel Zora south of Lemnos Island with a demolition charge after the crew was taken off.

Sportsman next torpedoed and sank the 3,838 GRT Bulgarian transport Balkan south of Mudros, Greece at 39°44′N 25°16′E / 39.733°N 25.267°E / 39.733; 25.267 on 23 December, despite being escorted by the destroyer TA-14, the minesweeper R-211 and the E-boat S-54.

[14][15] Three days later, the submarine sank the German motor vessel Grauer Ort, sailing from Monemvasia to Gythion, off Cape Maleas.

On 28 April, the boat sank the heavily defended, 5,809 GRT German merchant ship Lüneburg north of Iraklion, Crete, at 35°26′N 25°07′E / 35.433°N 25.117°E / 35.433; 25.117[16] and the submarine successfully evaded her escorts.

On 3 May, she attempted to attack another heavily defended convoy, formed by the German cargo ships Gertrud and Suzanne and five to seven escorts.

The boat dived and suffered only minor damage from the subsequent depth-charge attacks, then returned to Malta after three days, ending her patrol.

[7] On 25 May 1944, Sportsman departed Malta for Gibraltar, arriving on 31 May, then, after conducting training exercises, left for Holy Loch on 9 June.

On 5 April 1945, participating in exercises off Philadelphia and New London, Sportsman set sail for the United Kingdom, escorted by the frigate HMCS Carlplace.

After a stop at Horta, Azores, for fuel, Sportsman arrived at Holy Loch on 23 April, then left for Scapa Flow on 6 July.

Search planes from the French Admiralty found a large oil patch six miles (9.7 km) east of Cape Camarat, in an area where the sea is 2,400 feet (730 m) deep.