The S-class submarines were designed to patrol the restricted waters of the North Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. The third batch was slightly enlarged and improved over the preceding second batch of the S-class. The submarines had a length of 217feet overall, a beam of 23feet and a draught of 14feet. They displaced 865LT on the surface and 990LT submerged.[1] The S-class submarines had a crew of 48 officers and ratings. They had a diving depth of 300feet.[2]
For surface running, the boats were powered by two 9500NaN0 diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a 650hp electric motor. They could reach 15kn on the surface and underwater.[3] On the surface, the third-batch boats had a range of 6000nmi at and 120nmi at submerged.[2]
The boats were armed with seven 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes. A half-dozen of these were in the bow and there was one external tube in the stern. They carried six reload torpedoes for the bow tubes for a total of thirteen torpedoes. Twelve mines could be carried in lieu of the internally stowed torpedoes. They were also armed with a 3-inch (76 mm) deck gun.[4] It is uncertain if Shakespeare was completed with a 20mm Oerlikon light AA gun or had one added later. The third-batch S-class boats were fitted with either a Type 129AR or 138 ASDIC system and a Type 291 or 291W early-warning radar.[5]
She served in the Mediterranean and later in the Eastern Fleet during the Second World War, from December 1944. Whilst serving in the Mediterranean, she sank the Italian sailing vessels Sant' Anna M. and Adelina, the Greek sailing vessel Aghios Konstantinos and two unidentified sailing vessels. She also sank the, which was lost with all hands, and unsuccessfully attempted to torpedo what is identified as an Italian light cruiser. On transferral to the Far East, she sank the Japanese merchant cargo ship Unryu Maru.
She was damaged by gunfire and air attack in the Nankauri Strait, Andaman Islands on 3 January 1945, whilst engaged with the Japanese auxiliary minesweeper Wa 1. Both ships were damaged. Shakespeare returned to port, but was written off as a constructive total loss.[6]
She was sold on 14 July 1946 and was broken up by Thos. W. Ward, of Briton Ferry.