Oswald (N 58)
| Built By: | Vickers (Barrow) |
| Build Group: | O2 |
| Fate: | On 1st August 1940 HMS Oswald was rammed by the Italian Destroyer Vivaldi off Cape Spartivento. The Submarine sank and three of the crew members were lost. The remainder of the crew survived and were taken as Prisoners of War. |
Oswald (N 58)
Oswald
Oswald in the South China Sea
Commanders
| 1929: | Lieutenant | Philip Ruck-Keene | |
| 1931: | Lieutenant Commander | Reginald Robert Helbert | |
| 1932: | Commander | Stanley Edward Norfolk | |
| 1939: | Lieutenant Commander | Geoffrey Mainwaring Sladen | |
| 1940: | Lieutenant Commander | David Alexander Fraser |
1929-1930: Portsmouth
1930-1937: China Station
1938-1939: Portsmouth
1939-1940 - 1st Flotilla: Malta.
Related Pages
This is an account of the events leading to the loss of HMS Oswald in 1940 and the court martial of her Captain in 1946, put together from the copies of archived evidence given at the Inquiries and finally the five charges brought by the Court Martial.
RN Submarines scuttled or captured in WWII
Descriptions of the events in WWII that led to the loss of Royal Navy Submarines in actions where the submarines were sunk, usually by scuttling, with the captains and crew taken prisoner. Included are two variations - in one case the submarine was captured and in another the captain was killed in action.
Roll of Honour |
4
|
| Chaff, William George D/M 38778 | |||
| Died: 1st Jul, 1940. | |||
| Engine Room Artificer 2nd Class | Aged: 30 | ||
| Woodfield, Leonard Norman D/LX 20563 | |||
| Died: 1st Jul, 1940. | |||
| Leading Steward | Aged: 32 | ||
| Young, Frederick George P/KX 90511 | |||
| Died: 1st Jul, 1940. | |||
| Stoker 1st Class | Aged: 26 | ||
| Elliott, Ronald Douglas P/KX 88582 | Born: 27th Jan, 1918. | ||
| Died: 19th Nov, 1944. | |||
| Stoker 1st Class | Aged: 26 | ||
| from Windsor, Berkshire | |||
| The son of Josiah Sidney Elliott and Edith Alice Elliott (nee Moody). On 1st August 1940 he was onboard Submarine HMS Oswald when the Italian destroyer Vivaldi rammed the Submarine whilst it was on patrol in the Straits of Messina. The crew abandoned ship and were taken Prisoner of War. In November 1944 Ronald Elliott made an escape with another member of the crew. However, they were spotted and Ronald was shot & killed Ronald was the husband of Olive Lilian Elliott (nee Tennant) of Chiswick, there was also one daughter. |
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Events
| 30-05-1927 | Laid Down |
| 19-06-1928 | Launched |
| 01-05-1929 | Completed |
| 01-08-1940 | After detection by the Italians, HMS Oswald is rammed and sunk by Italian destroyer Ugolino Vivaldi. The RN submarine makes no attempt to escape or to attack the Italian ship, possibly because the commander suffers from night blindness when he is suddenly called to the bridge The RN commander (who ordered abandon ship BEFORE the ramming occurred, when Vivaldi was 100 yards away) is court martialed on 5 charges for the loss of his ship and found to have been negligent in performing his duties. He is sentenced to forfeit all seniority as a lieutenant commander, to be dismissed and to be severely reprimanded. There were 3 casualties, but 52 of the crew survived to become POW The sentence was reviewed and reduced to the loss of two years seniority from the time of the loss of Oswald. Summarised initially the sentence included most of the charges he was found guilty of however, in review the charges were split to those actions up to the ramming and depth charging and those after the action. They being rightly two entirely different cases In addition the Board of Inquiry and the Court Martials were held 6 years after the event, memories had time to either forget salient points and enhance opinions. There also seemed to be a raft of Court Martials .... which caused concern in certain circles and caused an MP to question the First Lords as to what was going on. |
Comments
Comment by: David Tooes on November 29th, 2024
My father was A/B Jack Tooes he was a gunlayer on the Oswald. He is mentioned in the Courts Martial. It concludes by having to have his record reviewed for 5 years.
In 1946 he is awarded the BEM for his courageous escape from the notorious prison camp for recidivist escapers. POW Camp 5 or Gavi Fort. Which at the time of his escape was held in German hands.
He went on to have a good career in the RN, becoming CPO in 1951. He was then sent to Australia at the submarine base at Balmoral in 1953-56.
His story is with RN Submarine Museum at Gosport.
Comment by: Alex Underwood on February 16th, 2021
My Father was also a stoker on the Oswald. Frederick Underwood. He was also imprisoned and escaped with an Australian friend, who was shot dead by the Germans. My Father was recaptured and transported to a German POW camp for the rest of the war.
Comment by: Pat Larkin10 on July 28th, 2018
My uncle was a stoker on the Oswald. Ronald Douglas Elliott. He was imprisoned and later tried to escape. He was challenged then shot dead in his efforts to escape.
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