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Traveller (N 48)

Built By: Scotts (Clyde)
Build Group: T 2
Fate: Reported overdue on 12th December 1942 and is presumed to have been lost with all hands to Italian mines in the Gulf of Taranto on 4th December 1942.

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Traveller
Traveller

Roll of Honour

65
Died: 04-12-1942
Astley, Stuart  D/KX 122366
Stoker 1st Class Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 26
Baker, Charles Henry  D/MX 49170
Engine Room Artificer 3rd Class Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 25
Bartlett, Victor James Herbert  DSM* D/MX 48222
Chief Engine Room Artificer Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 28
Berry, John  D/KX 136712
Stoker 1st Class Born: 03-02-1923 Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 19
Bolton, Derrick Richard  C/SSX 25844
Able Seaman Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 24
Brown, Archibald McLean  C/KX 97870
Stoker 1st Class Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 22
Byiast, Alfred Charles  C/KX 78646
Leading Stoker Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 36
Christopher, Thomas William  P/K 61482
Chief Stoker Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 42
Cooley, Henry  C/JX 166344
Telegraphist Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 20
Davis, Charles Victor  P/KX 88300
Stoker Petty Officer Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 28
Dean, Arthur Joseph  D/JX 135454
Petty Officer Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 27
Deller, William George Alfred  C/JX 160643
Leading Seaman Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 20
Dickinson, Richard  P/KX 98125
Leading Stoker Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 21
Ellgood, Harry  D/JX 198550
Able Seaman Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 22
Ellis, Robert York Dyer  P/MX 66698
Engine Room Artificer 4th Class Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 22
Finn, Vincent Thomas  C/JX 133600
Petty Officer Telegraphist Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 29
Groves, Austin Leonard  D/JX 256009
Able Seaman Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 29
Groves, William  BEM P/KX 98006
Stoker 1st Class Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 23
Hardwick, William Espin  (RNVR)
Lieutenant Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 22
Hedges, Percival  P/JX 237283
Able Seaman Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 24
Hewlett, Frederick  C/KX 117088
Stoker 1st Class Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 22
Hills, Horace Charles  D/JX 199982
Able Seaman Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 24
Holman, Albert Roy  C/MX 72247
Engine Room Artificer 4th Class Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 22
Hooton, Wilfred Harry  D/JX 21300
Able Seaman Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 22
Hubbard, Walter Frederick  C/MX 59040
Engine Room Artificer 4th Class Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 23
Hulbert, Wyndham Bertram 
Lieutenant Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 21
Hunter, Robert  C/KX 126609
Stoker 1st Class Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 21
Hutchings, John James  P/JX 146019
Telegraphist Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 22
Hutton, Norman William  C/SSX 25256
Leading Seaman Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 22
McBride, William  D/J 108623
Telegraphist Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 34
McGuire, James  C/KX 87895
Stoker Petty Officer Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 28
Meikle, Alexander  D/SSX 24353
Able Seaman Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 23
Mills, Edward Percival  C/KX 137193
Stoker 1st Class Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 20
Moncrieff, Ronald McCulloch  P/SSX 28335
Leading Seaman Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 23
Morrow, Thomas Albert Duncan  MID D/JX 138627
Petty Officer Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 25
Nelson, Louis Cyril  D/JX 238458
Leading Seaman Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 24
Newbery, Eric  P/SSX 19851
Leading Seaman Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 25
Newell, Robert James Herbert  P/JX 144811
Able Seaman Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 27
Nicholson, John Edward  C/JX 136212
Leading Telegraphist Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 26
O'Brien, Charles  P/JX 24715
Able Seaman Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 20
Odam, Samuel George  D/LX 22897
Leading Steward Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 27
Owen, Brinley  D/JX 208331
Able Seaman Born: 27-04-1922 Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 20
Palmer, Samuel  MID D/KX 80440
Stoker Petty Officer Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 31
Paris, Frederick James Stevenson  C/KX 82464
Stoker Petty Officer Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 29
Parkinson, Peter Roscoe  D/JX 237788
Able Seaman Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 25
Payne, Charles Edmund Hunkin  DSM P/JX 129472
Chief Petty Officer Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 31
Pickvance, Samuel Fred Osborne Wood  D/JX 143645
Leading Stoker Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 24
Pinkney, Howard  P/KX 138052
Stoker 1st Class Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 19
Price, Ronald  D/KX 138543
Stoker 1st Class Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 22
Ramsay, Robert Swan  C/KX 85854
Stoker 1st Class Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 26
Reed, Eugene Robert  C/JX 152603
Able Seaman Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 21
Reid, George William Alfred  C/KX 93243
Leading Stoker Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 23
Robinson, Harold Ernest  P/MX 78482
Engine Room Artificer 4th Class Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 23
Ross, Murdo  D/SSX 33710
Able Seaman Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 22
Rush, William George Horace  C/JX 150776
Able Seaman Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 21
Russel, Hugh Dunbar Sutherland 
Lieutenant Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 26
Scholes, Joseph  D/MX 73359
Engine Room Artificer 4th Class Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 22
Smith, George Albert  C/JX 215077
Able Seaman Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 24
St Clair-Ford, Drummond 
Lieutenant Commander Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 34
Taylor, William  P/KX 93841
Stoker 1st Class Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 22
Tolson, Sydney  P/JX 139762
Yeoman of Signals Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 25
Verner-Jeffreys, Robert David 
Engineer Lieutenant Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 30
Wickenden, Charles Alfred Bernard  C/SSX 14418
Petty Officer Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 27
Wild, John Russel  (RNR)
Lieutenant Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 21
Wilson, Richard Allison  P/MX 53659
Petty Officer Cook Died: 04-12-1942 Aged: 25

Events

17-01-1940 Laid Down
27-08-1941 Launched
10-04-1942 Completed
14-05-1942 After a work up period in the Clyde area HMS Traveller departed Holy Loch for Gibraltar. She makes the first part of the passage through the Irish sea together with P211 and P43. They were escorted until Bishops Rock by the British minesweeper/escort vessel HMS La Capricieuse (former French)
24-05-1942 HMS Traveller arrived at Gibraltar
02-06-1942 HMS Traveller conducted exercises off Gibraltar together with P42 and P43
03-06-1942 HMS Traveller departed Gibraltar for her 1st war patrol. This is a work-up patrol in the Alboran Sea.
11-06-1942 HMS Traveller ended her 1st war patrol at Gibraltar.
19-06-1942 HMS Traveller departed Gibraltar for Alexandria where she is to join the First Submarine Flotilla. While on passage she was diverted to Haifa.
19-07-1942 HMS Traveller departed Haifa for her 2nd war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the Adriatic. En-route to her patrol area she is to patrol along the North coast of Crete.
28-07-1942 While in transit through the Otranto Straits to her patrol area HMS Traveller is detected on the surface by an Italian destroyer. Traveller dived and a few depth charges were dropped but these inflicted no damage.

Later on the same day she attacks the Italian merchant Ezilda Croce, on passage from Bari to Valona, in the Otranto Strait. The torpedoes fired however miss their target. An escorting aircraft dropped bombs on the submarine.
30-07-1942 The conning tower of an Italian submarine was sighted at a range of 10,000 yards but HMS Traveller could not close the range. This was most probably the Italian submarine Topazio on passage from Fiume to Naples.
31-07-1942 While operating in the Adriatic HMS Traveller fires 6 torpedoes at the Italian gunboat Cattaro. The torpedoes however missed their target.
03-08-1942 HMS Traveller attacked the German merchant Pluto with two torpedoes off Mulo Island. No hits were obtained. The coastal battery at Scoglio Mulo fired three shells at the submarine.
05-08-1942 HMS Traveller attacked the Italian submarine Porfido in the Adriatic Sea, about 25 nautical miles North-East of Pescara. Two torpedoes were fired which missed astern. Traveller then surfaced for gun action. 15 rounds were fired before the target dived as soon as Traveller opened fire and suffered no damage.
07-08-1942 HMS Traveller attacked an Italian submarine in the Otranto Strait. Three torpedoes were fired but no hits were obtained.
14-08-1942 HMS Traveller ended her 2nd war patrol at Beirut.
30-08-1942 HMS Traveller departed Beirut for her 3rd war patrol. She was ordered to patrol off the North-African coast in the Tobruk area. Later she was ordered to patrol North of Crete.
03-09-1942 HMS Traveller HMS Traveller was off Tobruk, patrolling at periscope depth when she was bombed by an unseen aircraft. There was no damage.
05-09-1942 HMS Traveller torpedoed and sank the Italian merchant Albachiara about 30 nautical miles North-East of Derna, Libya.

Later on the same day two torpedoes were fired against a merchant vessel about 50 nautical miles North-West of Derna, Libya.
17-09-1942 2.5 miles south of Cape Archangelo (Rhodes), HMS Traveller picked up Lt. David Sutherland and Marine Duggan of the SBS (Special Boat Service, operation ANGLO), ten other members of the party failed to make the rendezvous and were captured.
20-09-1942 HMS Traveller ended her 3rd war patrol at Beirut
04-10-1942 HMS Traveller departed Beirut for her 4th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol off Crete.
09-10-1942 HMS Traveller attacks the Italian tanker Proserpina that is escorted by the Italian torpedo boats Castore and Ciclone, with four torpedoes west of Crete. None of the torpedoes fired hit the target.
11-10-1942 HMS Traveller attacked the German auxiliary minelayer Bulgaria with two torpedoes to the West of Crete. No hits are obtained.
15-10-1942 HMS Traveller attacks an Italian convoy to the West of Crete. 4 torpedoes were fired against the Italian merchant Anna Maria. No hits were obtained.
26-10-1942 HMS Traveller ended her 4th war patrol at Port Said. She is almost immediately put into dry-dock for the fitting of petrol tanks to enable her to transport petrol to Malta.
13-11-1942 HMS Traveller departed Port Said with a cargo of aviation spirit for Malta
23-11-1942 HMS Traveller (Lt. M.B. St. John, RN) arrived at Malta with a cargo of aviation spirit.
28-11-1942 HMS Traveller sailed from Malta for her 5th war patrol. She was to carry out a preliminary reconnaissance of Taranto for Special Operation Principal (projected attacks on Italian ports by Chariot human torpedoes).
04-12-1942 HMS Traveller sunk

On 28th November HMS Traveller was carrying out a reconnaissance patrol of the coast of Taranto as part of operation Portcullis (an attack on Italian battleships in Taranto Harbour using chariots) The submarine did not return from the operation and was probably mined on or about 4th December.
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