RN Subs

Saracen (P247)

Built By:	Cammell Laird (Mersey)
Build Group:	S Group 3

Fate:

14 August 1943 - Depth charged off Corsica by Italian CVT Minerva

Roll of Honour

 

Ex P213
Ex P63

Stoker W Holt was awarded the DSM in March 1943

Related Pages

Captain Micheal Lumby	Read
Submarine skipper who wreaked mayhem on axis shipping
RN Submarines scuttled or captured in WWII	Read
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.

HMS Saracen Found

Extract from the Daily Telegraph of Tuesday 23rd June 2015

One of the most feared Royal Navy Submarines of the Second World War has been found, seventy two years after it was scuttled off the coast of Corsica. Photographs of HMS Saracen lying hundreds of feet below the surface of the Mediterranean were released by Guido Gay, an Italian engineer, following a two year search.

"This morning I inspected a sonar contact found yesterday and there she is – beautifully adorned by white corals" said Mr. Gay, who discovered the S Class Submarine in Italian waters at a depth of 1,385 feet. HMS Saracen terrorised the German and Italian navies in the Mediterranean.

Terry Hodgkinson, a British author who has written extensively about the Submarine, said the find was "absolutely magnificent". "It is an incredible discovery and one which will cause huge excitement around the world," he said.

Mr Hodgkinson said all surviving relatives of the Saracen crew were being informed of the discovery, and a bronze badge honouring those who served on board will now be lowered to the wreck.

Beyond that she will remain exactly where she is, as befits a War Grave.

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Events

16-07-1940 :	Laid Down
16-02-1942 :	Launched
27-06-1942 :	Completed
03-08-1942 :	On her first patrol, HMS Saracen torpedoed and sank U-335 NE of the Faeroes. One survivor from crew of 44
10-10-1942 :	A submarine duel occurred on this day in the Mediterranean. The British submarine HMS Saracen fired two torpedoes at U-605, but missed. The U-boat replied with four torpedoes, but these also missed
09-11-1942 :	HMS Saracen torpedoes and sinks the Italian submarine Granito near Capo San Vito, Sicily, Italy.
16-11-1942 :	At 0907 hours HMS Saracen fires three torpedoes against a convoy made up of the small Italian tanker Labor, the German merchant Menes escorted by the Italian torpedo boats Calliope and Climene north of the Gulf of Tunis. All torpedoes fired missed their targets.
17-12-1942 :	HMS Saracen fires four torpedoes against the German transport ship Ankara and one of her escorts the Italian destroyer Camicia Nera north of Bizerte, Tunisia. All torpedoes fired missed their targets.
20-01-1943 :	HMS Saracen sinks the Italian auxiliary submarine chaser V 3/Maria Angelette with gunfire about 30 nautical miles south of Isola di Capri, Italy.
12-02-1943 :	HMS Saracen sinks the French tugs Provincale II and Marseillaise V. with gunfire off Cape Sardineaux, southern France.
15-02-1943 :	HMS Saracen torpedoes and damages the French (in German service) tanker Marguerite Finaly in the Capo di Noli/Capo di Vado area, Italy.
19-02-1943 :	HMS Saracen damages two sailing vessels with gunfire at Cervo, Liguria, Italy.
19-04-1943 :	HMS Saracen sank the italian boat Francesco Crispi near cap Punta Nera Elba's isle in Tirreno Sea.
22-04-1943 :	HMS Saracen torpedoes and sinks the Italian merchant Tagliamento about 35 nautical miles south of Pianosa, Italy.
06-07-1943 :	HMS Saracen sank the Italian merchant Tripoli near the Island of Monte Cristo
11-07-1943 :	HMS Saracen torpedoes and sinks the German merchant Tell about 25 nautical miles east of Corsica.
14-08-1943 :	HMS Saracen suffers flooding after heavy depth charge attacks by Italian torpedo boats Euterpe and Minerva off Bastia. Unable to control buoyancy, the crew assembles in the control room to make their escape to the surface, and Saracen sinks after being abandoned
22-06-2015 :	The remains of Saracen were found seventy two years after it was scuttled off the coast of Corsica. Photographs of HMS Saracen lying hundreds of feet below the surface of the Mediterranean were released by Guido Gay, an Italian engineer, following a two year search.

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